a poor player

Well, now I’m gonna stay up late and write, because after writing the last post below, I began to read some of the other theatre blogs, and after spending some time commenting on them, I figured it was better to get on my own damn blog and write up a piece on NewYorkCentrism.

I have been meaning to write about this issue for some time, actually, but as everyone knows, when you get in a show some things get shoved aside, and for me this blog went AWOL for a bit. So I think my readings tonight are merely the trigger for these thoughts I write, and not the cause.

It did not escape my notice that of the four blogs that got mentioned in the UK CultureVulture piece, three were New York City blogs. Histriomastix has only been around since August 29th, but it gets mentioned because it’s the blog of the TimeOut NY theatre editor. The fourth was Alison Croggon’s blog from Australia. It should also be no secret that the majority of blogs out there now are also based in New York City. Others exist in other cities, of course, and around the world, but it appears, for better or worse, that the connection is rapidly being made that, because New York City is the center of the theatrical world, NYC bloggers have their hands right on the pulse of American theatre, and what they are writing about is what’s the latest and best in the theatrical world. And just like it has done to regional theatre efforts across the country, New York City bloggers may eventually push non-NYC theatre bloggers to the fringes of the theatrical blogosphere. I mean, who of any importance in the theatre world really cares about what happens theatrically in Buffalo? Or Milwaukee? Or Austin? Or even Seattle? Heck, even Michael Rice of the Cool as Hell Theatre Podcast in the San Francisco Bay Area felt the need to interview George Hunka about his theatre blog (in all fairness George is also a playwright and occasional reviewer for the NY Times. However, he may no longer be an “unimportant man.” I think at this point I’d like that title; that is, if you’re done with it, George).

As an educator and also as a theatre artist, I have fought for years against this NewYorkCentrism, the notion that all good things in theatre happen only in New York, and therefore one must go to New York City to become successful and do theatre well. I have tried to convince my students and some fellow artists that practicing their art in other cities might be a viable alternative. But so often I get that blank stare back, as if someone is questioning in their minds whether or not I am serious. I’ve invited a number of people to come to Buffalo, for example, if they really want to work and create good art. Why? Because it can easily be done. There are at least six “open” theatres in the city which rent out or are otherwise available for productions, and that doesn’t count the odd church basements. There is a burgeoning new neighborhood up on Hertel Ave. with several abandoned storefronts. This neighborhood has a number of good restaurants and a young clientele, with the city’s large “art movie” house as its anchor. It’s crying for a good small theatre. In the past three years alone there have been at least four new or renovated spaces – legitimate theatre spaces – which have opened up.

On top of that, rent is cheap, and the city is affordable. A one-bedroom can run as little as $350/month in a good neighborhood. Very nice two-bedrooms can be had for $650/month, some with utilities included. There is a great organic whole foods co-op, many independent book stores, record stores, movie outlets and coffee shops along the Elmwood strip. The Albright-Knox is a world-class art museum. The Shaw Festival is 30 minutes away, Toronto is 90 minutes away, and the Stratford Festival in Ontario is about 3.5 hours away. NYC fares on JetBlue run as little as $99 one-way, so a fast trip for a “Big Apple fix” is relatively cheap. Actors Equity has a special letter of agreement so Equity actors can work, not to mention a fine supply of non-union talent. So why wouldn’t a theatre artist, and particularly a playwright, bent on having his/her work produced NOT come up here? What could possibly be the reason?

If my students are any indication of what the answer to that question might be, it’s that the one thing Buffalo and every other city (with the possible exception of LA) lacks is the promise of fame and fortune. Quality of work is not the real issue; that’s a smokescreen behind which many people hide. So is quality of talent. They are comfortable illusions, ones which gives a person struggling to make ends meet in NYC (and probably not getting any work done) the strength to try to continue and achieve that fame and notariety. My students dream of being on Broadway, and believe there is no other viable response to the definition of success. I have seen work in NYC and I have seen work in Milwaukee and I have seen work in Pittsburgh and I have seen work in Minneapolis and I have seen work in Seattle and I have seen a lot of work in Buffalo – all by local actors and local companies – and guess what? There is shitty work and great work in every one of those cities. But New York has the “big dream” – succeed in NYC, and you will work with the best, have the best, be the best. If only….

But for 90% of the people in this business, the “big dream” turns out to be the big lie, or merely just a dream. So much talent in this country goes to waste because NYC sucks so many young artists in, and then sucks the life out of so many talented people that, after awhile, they just sort of give up and move on to something else. What might this country’s theatrical scene as a whole look like if only half, or even just a third of those people had chosen to pursue artistic careers outside of New York City? Would Cincinnatti have this description?

When will this NewYorkCentrism madness end? No time soon, I expect. Of all the theatrical bloggers I’ve read, I may possibly be the only one actually born in New York City and who grew up in the metropolitan area, and I have noticed the changes in the city over 30 years (I also sense I may be the oldest theatre blogger out there). I remember a time when rent for a theatre space might be $400/month. I remember rehearsing on the 13th floor of a hotel, and I remember when the West Side Theatre Row was just beginning. I remember when off-Broadway was experimental. And I think that we can have all that again – if people will just get the hell out of NYC and practice their art in places where those prices might still exist. Bemoaning the fact that they don’t exist in NYC is pointless. There are wonderful, vibrant communities all across this country where high-quality, exciting theatre can be done. Cleveland, Kansas City MO, Denver, Atlanta, Charlottesville VA, you name it. And if a city of your choice doesn’t have what you want, then there’s the opportunity to create it! One of our esteemed blogger colleagues recently wrote about coming back to NYC from Boston because the theatre scene there wasn’t too exciting. And I thought, “if that’s true, then what an opportunity to start something.” I would find it hard to believe that with all the theatre training schools and ART, Boston Theatreworks, the Huntington Theatre Company and Speakeasy Stage Company and nearby companies in Portland ME one couldn’t find a decent opportunity to create good theatre.

By no means am I saying that my NYC blogger colleagues do not deserve their attention. They write fine blogs which I read often for their news and opinions on things New York. And make no mistake – I get that twinge of jealousy and envy when I read about many of the theatre projects everyone is involved with. I get that urge to go down to NYC and try my luck once more. It’s a strong pull. But I fear that, unless we push back a bit against this NewYorkCentrism approach to all things theatrical, we will never grow a rich and rewarding theatre scene in this country. Never. I see no point in turning every damn city and educational institution in this country into some tiny theatrical replica of New York City. And if I have one dream left in me, it’s that all the talented people whose work I am reading about on the blogs out there would pack up and go back to from whence they came, and offer to the people in their nearest regional city their abilities and talents.

But can you get a good pastrami on rye there? -twl