A Poor Player

Dunkirk, NY - As my days as an administrator dwindle down, I find myself sitting in my office with little to do. In order to fill up some of the time this afternoon, I tuned into the theatrical blogosphere to read the daily goings-on. Scott welcomes me back, which was nice, and then I read this and this and then this. I also viewed this. I’m sure there will be more to follow.

What can one make of all this? You experience a rush of feelings as you absorb the text and subtext: you feel the passion, you sift through the ideas, you sense the anger, you shiver at the sarcasm, you sigh at the accusations, and finally, you hang your head and wonder - what can one make of this? [Read more →]

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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Dunkirk, NY - This article appeared in the New York Times this morning in the education section. It seems as if Mayor Bloomberg is trying to push arts back into the NYC education system, but it remains to be seen how successful he can be. This comes on the heels of Chancellor Joel Klein’s decision last winter to give NYC school principals “discretion” over the $67+ million which had been specifically designated for the arts (meaning they could use the money for projects other than the arts). [Read more →]

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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Dunkirk NY - Two things from this morning’s read. The first has to do with the downsizing (PDF link to save you the hassle of registering at the Globe) of Boston’s Shakespeare on Boston Common. Free Shakespeare is really taking a hit this summer. In Buffalo we play for 22 performances over 3.5 weeks, and someone whispered in my ear that our “pass the hat donation” take averaged $1.50/person for All’s Well. Of all the festivals I’ve ever seen or participated in, ours here in Buffalo is about as bare-bones as you can get, and even with that, it squeaks by year after year. In the past two or three seasons it even had to do without Erie County’s or the city of Buffalo’s contributions, as they are both under the restraints of a financial control board and zeroed out the arts in the previous three years. Funding was restored for this year. Crowds this year were OK, but they are nothing like they were 15 or more years ago.

On the technology front, I found this interesting as a parallel to the notion that artists seem to have lost touch with the larger culture.  I read (skim, really) a lot of tech blogs, and judging from the looks of this it seems geeks have the same issues. The guy who writes this blog loves the Everun, but in taking it to the Helsinki public and getting some direct feedback, it looks like he may have to re-think his position.  -twl

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Dunkirk, NY - It’s been close to an ideal weekend. Friday’s day at work was not too stressful, just a few things here and there, mostly about filling paperwork. Friday night I was on the ball field umpiring for the local men’s hardball league, on a beautiful evening with plenty of sunshine and temperatures in the low 70s. Saturday I had a meeting to recruit a visual arts summer camp, which was not much more than a tour of the campus, pleasant talk and a free lunch. Then I went out to my property where some people were camping out for the weekend, joining them in a card game call Phase 10, a very long game which takes its origins from 500 rummy. The cool evening was spent reading a few chapters in my latest book Becoming Shakespeare. This Sunday morning I was again on the ball field umpiring a terrific game (which unfortunately ended in a too-obvious balk in the bottom of the 7th with one out, runners on first and third, and the score tied 1-1), then mowed the lawn. While I am writing this, the Yankees are slaughtering the Devil Rays 14-3 (update: final score 21-4). My wireless reaches outside, so I’m sitting in the back yard on another beautiful 76-degree day, sipping on a lemonade and writing this post. [Read more →]

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Dunkirk NY - This is scary!

You’re Ulysses!
by James Joyce

Most people are convinced that you don’t make any sense, but compared
to what else you could say, what you’re saying now makes tons of sense. What people do
understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once
brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in
the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you
additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

-twl

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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Dunkirk, NY - I have been out cruizin’ the web to try to catch up on as much theatre blog reading as I can over the past six months I have been inactive. One thing is for sure: the blogosphere is certainly an experience of the “now.” Disappear for six months and stuff simply moves on by you. But another observation, if I may: very little changes. Controversies arise, ideas (and words) are exchanged, events are promoted, opinions are expressed, but theatre, on the whole, largely remains unchanged - and unimportant culturally. All the blogs in the world seem to make very little difference in terms of any positive movement towards a greater cultural acceptance for theatre and the arts in general.

So what did I run across so far that I found of interest? Here is a quick run-down of some of the interesting things I’ve come across so far: [Read more →]

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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Dunkirk, NY - Last night was the closing night for All’s Well in Delaware Park. Today I am recovering, just lounging around the house and reveling in my new-found freedom. A good nap from 2:30-5:00 PM took some time to recover from, so at the moment I feel somewhat refreshed, but still a bit tired. I’m pretty glad the whole thing is over. My wife asked me if I enjoyed playing the role; my response was along the lines of being too tired to really enjoy it.

But I think it goes deeper than that. It isn’t a question of whether or not I find a particular role enjoyable; it’s whether I continue to find theatre enjoyable. [Read more →]

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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Recently in Buffalo there was an agreement made between Actors’ Equity and Studio Arena Theatre which resulted in two local non-union theatre companies “presenting” their shows in the Studio Arena space as part of Studio Arena’s subscription series, using non-union actors on a one-shot AEA contract at the LORT D level rather than Studio’s LORT B scale. The whole situation was quite stunning both in its conception and resolution. To gain a background, you can read this, then this, then this. Below is an article I wrote which I intended as a letter to the editor of ArtVoice, but then decided simply to post it here.

*****

The recent dust-up between Studio Theatre and Actors’ Equity Association is symptomatic not only of what’s wrong with Buffalo theatre, but what’s wrong with American theatre in general. As someone who has worked as a union and (mostly) non-union actor in this city since 1989, the agreement reached between these two parties, far from being “revolutionary” or “out of the box” thinking, appears to be nothing but a short-term fix for a troubled theatre that has seldom, in the time I have been here, shown one iota of respect for the local theatre community, especially for local actors. [Read more →]

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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I suppose it’s something of a non-event, but I’d like to announce that this blog will continue once again beginning Wednesday, July 18. I am slowly but surely finishing all the extra commitments I’ve had to deal with over the past semester, and I believe at that time I will have more time to begin writing again. I’d like to get it started before the coming fall semester begins and try to catch up with myself and things happening about me.

Currently I am appearing in Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s production of All’s Well That Ends Well, which closes Sunday July 15. I’m giving myself two days to rest, and then hopefully will begin posting on my blog again. On July 31 I end my term as interim dean, and for three blessed weeks I will have some vacation time available. While I hope to begin posting seriously beginning 7/18, some of the first posts will be erratic. I imagine I’ll be getting more up to speed in late August or so as the fall begins.

If you’re reading this after my long hiatus, thanks for being patient. Keeping a blog up takes time, time I haven’t had for most of this past year. Something had to give, and this was the most expendible candidate. I’ve missed it, more than I can say. It will be good to return soon. -twl

Tags: by Tom Loughlin
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