Shock Theater

Excellent article from Louise Kennedy of the Boston Globe about shock theater. Among the points she makes, she write about her "[frustration] with the culture for mistaking cheap thrills for real ones". Hallelujah, girl! In numerous festivals that I have participated in, I can tell you first hand that the show that features nudity and any kind of phallic display is always the one that sells out--doesn't matter how good it is.
As a comedian, who has worked clubs across the country, the above quote hits home--comedy today is all about shock. The finesse of a well-crafted, well-thought out joke is rare indeed. Why put forth the effort to craft a jewel of comedy if a dick joke or sexual reference will more easily get a laugh? To go even further, I think the line between shock and comedy has been blurred: comedy is shock and shock is comedy. One of the principles in creating a great punchline is to incorporate the element of surprise. I think this has been perverted into the element of shock, and I do not believe the average comedy-going audience really knows or cares to know the difference.
For all the parallels I see between theater and stand-up, I have to say it's disappointing that theater has taken this turn, but again, kudos to Louise!

Drama Department vs Show Biz Department

Again, another great post from Theatre Ideas: Tom Laughlin writes: To my knowledge, there are no Departments of Show Business at any universities — The Departments, Drama Departments, but no Show Business Departments. Maybe we need to encourage this label, so that potential students can make a distinction between commercially-oriented departments (Show Business), Big Regional Theatre -oriented departments (Theatre), liberal arts-oriented departments (Drama), and community-based departments (Community Arts), or Interdisciplinary Arts. At least there would be truth in advertising.

I think this is a great proposition. Again, I have seen in the past five years an incredible encroachment of big business in even regional performing arts booking conferences. Moneyed producers take presenters out to dinner and a (their) show. Result: the small artist showcasing has no presenters to present to. Prior to this, all showcasing for these conferences were confined to the hotel hosting the conference, which produced a level playing field. Not so anymore...

Alcohol and Rock of Ages

I found this article from the Guardian about whether to have alcohol at a performance amusing, especially since I've come from the clubs where alcohol is a staple. I'm betting no one has ever shouted to an actor "Show me your *&^%!" while they've been performing...

WalMarting of Theatre--NY Myth

Read this post in the ArtsJournal from Theatre Ideas. Basically, it talks about the NY Myth. For me, it's manna from heaven. In fact, my tech and I were having a conversation (again) about the fallacy that all the creativity comes from NY. I think creative people move to NY, and therefore creativity is irrespective of a geographic region. While there, I saw a number of Off-Broadway plays, many which were of a caliber I would see in any hometown. It seems as if there is a one-upmanship occurring. Let's take shock value, for example. If one show contains on stage nudity, the next show contains on stage masturbation. Wow. Having worked comedy professionally, everyone knows sex is the easiest way to get an audience's attention (and in this game, the press's). As an aside, I've often laughed at how poets and theatre can be as graphic sexually as they want, yet when comedians are, it's vulgar.

I also saw this in LA when I did comedy. I did not see some stratospheric increase in the quality of comedy. I saw actors competing in comedy contests to beef up their resume. They did not care about the craft or their subject matter--was it something new? Something from their own experience? Unfortunately, no. They were simply good at acting funny. Some of the best comedy I've ever seen was in DC--smart and political savvy.

I will say, I disagree on this point of: " [having] local arts organizations run by and staffed by artists whose lives are made within a specific community and whose artistic vision is informed by that community". Having sat in numerous "how to book a season" seminars with arts presenters (many of whom are artists) at booking conferences, I do not think their vision is soley informed by the community. From many of the questions asked, their vision is tempered by money. None of them want a show that loses money--this could mean their job.

All in all, however, I thought the post was insightful and contained many truths. Let me know what you think!

Hamilton, NY

I just finished another Feminazi show, and I have to say, the people in Hamilton were FANTASTIC. (You know it's rural when your hotel window is looking out on a cemetary :-) ). Got in late Thurs, tech'd Fri basically till showtime, then went out and slammed! They were a great crowd, not self-conscious (thank God), had a sense of humor and were looking for a good time. They were pretty animated when they left, and that's when I know I've done my job! The talkback after the show went nicely--there's always something you learn from talking back to people in different parts of the country. This time the topic of feminism as being accepting of all types led into a discussion of why diversity is not seen as a strength in society as a whole. Another interesting topic that came up was should women be fighting for a place in the system as it is, or should we be fighting for a new system? Again, it was a great time. I love the road!

Stage Managing, Part Deux

Well, I made it through the run! And I have to say, it was amazing! We rehearsed for six weeks and for at least four we were short actors, so I was standing in reading lines...that got to be pretty tiring, especially when I needed to make sure the actors were moving where they were supposed to be. As rehearsals progressed, I saw my job change from feeding lines/movement to making sure costumes changes went smoothly and all props were in place (prop table). I also ran sound for the show, so all in all it kept me busy--not as busy as a solo show, that's for sure! I think the most amazing thing about the process was to see a group with no coherence suddenly gel and the show came alive--that was the wildest thing to see! Kudos to everyone in the show, too, because they had to learn those Shakespearean lines--not for me, that's for sure! I prefer colloquial dialog. But again, I really liked doing the stage managing and working with a great group of actors--it's something I will definitely do again!