Dunkirk NY - Another reason why American theatre is dying is because we have a total inferiority complex when it comes to all things British. British imports populate the Broadway stage and basically are the only dramatic plays on Broadway. This is another example of how much we have simply ceded to the Brits, and how uninterested American philanthropists are in supporting American theatre. -twl
Dunkirk NY - Those of you who read this blog with any regularity probably know by now that my son Eric is currently in Moscow studying with the Moscow Art Theatre for a semester as part of his BFA education from Northern Illinois University. If you’re interested in keeping up with his studies and observations, he has started his own blog. He calls it From Russia With Love. His latest post has some interesting observations about the first play he saw at the MAT. Take some time to check it out. -twl
(This is the fifth and final installment of a five-part series looking at theatre education today. Please be sure to read Scott Walters’ companion piece over at Theatre Ideas.)
Dunkirk NY - So what in theatre education needs reforming? If I had to sum it all up, I would say that there needs to be a fundamental change in philosophy and approach. The focus of the educational effort needs to move decisively away from the pre-professional model and towards providing students the sort of education which gives them the ability to become active creators of theatre. They need an education attuned to the issues of their time, not ours, and one which develops an independent and critical mind that can turn what they see and experience of life into art. They need a subversive education. [Read more →]
Fredonia NY - I’ve been tagged with the latest meme going about, as follows:
“Make a list of five strengths that you possess as a writer/artist. It’s not really bragging, it’s an honest assessment (forced upon you by this darn meme). Please resist the urge to enumerate your weaknesses, or even mention them in contrast to each strong point you list. Tag four other writers or artists whom you’d like to see share their strengths.”
My list is as follows:
The only person I can think to tag at this point is Sarah Deutsch, who wrote in my comments about a very interesting project she’s trying in San Francisco. If you’re reading this and you have a blog, consider yourself tagged. I think everyone else I know is taken up. -twl
(This is the fourth part in a five-part series on theatre education being written in collaboration with Scott Walters of Theatre Ideas. Please be sure to visit his site to view his own entry on these issues - twl)
Dunkirk NY - It seems that after pounding theatre departments for the past three posts for all the things I believe are not working, I would be remiss if I did not spend some time talking about what’s happening that’s right. There are some things going on which I think have merit, and in the interest of balance it’s important that we get them out there.
Interestingly enough (and this will almost seem like a contradiction with what I’ve written so far), in looking at this issue it’s important to understand that, were the theatre business healthy and popular, and there were more nationwide opportunities available (basically, if the regional theatre movement had lived up to its potential), we would not in fact be doing much wrong at all. In fact, we’d be doing a lot of things right. It isn’t that the model of training itself is intrinsically bad or ineffective; it’s just that realities within the theatre world itself have changed radically, and theatre education has not met the challenges of change. [Read more →]
…to bring you this. I really liked its deeply personal tone and the sense of concern, as well the observations about today’s theatre scene. -twl
Dunkirk NY - I mentioned in the last post that one of the “big lies” perpetrated on theatre students is that they get to work in near ideal conditions for their time in school, something they won’t get a chance to do for a long time after. I’d like to take a more extended look at how colleges perceive the creation of art. This is a topic that goes a bit wider than theatre, and I think exposes the deep conservative nature of artistic training on most campuses.
When was the last time you read or heard about a really good controversy concerning a show produced on a college campus? Or an art exhibit? Or a music concert? They seem to be extremely rare, and even when they exist, they hardly raise any fuss outside the institution. I guess the closest I ever came to creating a major fuss was in a production of MacBeth where I had one of the witches in the fourth act vision scene bare a breast under very low light. It raised a stir with the local Baptist minister and some local high schools because they wanted to bring their students to the show and assumed they were going to get a “traditional” rendition of the play. And that sort of says it all - the expectation is that universities will present us with “traditional” art in traditional ways, the “high art” that everyone talks about. There is absolutely no expectation that universities will produce any sort of original art whatsoever, but rather act as a museum of art in every possible way. Shakespeare will be done as “Shakespeare,” classics are expected, and high art will be enjoyed by all. [Read more →]
Dunkirk NY - Having given a history of how current theatre educational came into existence and the general framework of how their curricula were developed, Scott and I will now look to examine whether or not theatre education programs live up to the promise of their curricula and training. On the whole, I am going to come down on the side of saying they do not. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most theatre departments engage in what I call “the big lie.” I could, I suppose, modify this slightly by calling it “the big myth,” and if I did so it would not be inaccurate, but I don’t want to do injustice to the concepts of myth and mythology, because often myths can be very positive forces for societies. It is when myths are taken to be truths that they become lies. Since theatre departments are largely in denial about their situation, I think “the big lie” is more accurate. [Read more →]
Dunkirk, NY - Over the Labor Day weekend I spent a lot of time doing two things. One was bringing my son back to NIU, where he will spend two weeks preparing for his upcoming semester studying at the Moscow Art Theatre school. The other was arranging with Scott Walters over at Theatre Ideas for a series of parallel postings discussing the state of theatre education. Both of us had talked in each of our blogs about our desire to write about the state of theatre education, but neither of us had gotten around to it. So after trading some emails, we’ve arranged on a very loose structure for these series of posts. Scott has already posted his first entry, so I am following up with my entry on how theatre education has gotten to the point that it has.
Rather than taking an objective historical perspective, though, I thought I would take a more introspective approach and tell my own story within theatre education and try to parallel that with Scott’s historical perspective. I am hoping this will provide readers with both an objective and subjective look at the same issue. [Read more →]
Dunkirk NY - From Theatreforté. Worth linking to.