WHAT?!?!

If that's the case, we're all in deep trouble folks. Minnesota Playlist provides this incredible video interview. He discusses ensembles, financial issues, and the ecology of the arts. Please watch.

Pop-geographer Richard Florida - author of the wildly successful Rise of the Creative Class - released a new book recently, strangely titled Who's Your City? I guess some people out there still demand to know "Who's your daddy?" at, I don't know, mud volleyball tournaments or something. How, exactly, this phrase connects with geography is tenuous, at best.

The book, in a nutshell, proposes that there are three big decisions a person must make in life. 1) Choose a career. 2) Choose a spouse/partner. 3) Choose a place to live. Florida's assertion is that choosing a good fit with regards to no. 3 can not only help you lead a happier and more satisfying life, but it can help you find a good fit for nos. 1 and 2, as well. Yes, it's a little self-helpy, but whatever.

How does this idea intersect with theater? Obviously, any professional must decide at some point whether it makes sense to move to a big showbiz town, namely New York or Los Angeles. Not to discount Scott Walters' lengthy discussions about the decentralization of theater, but Florida emphasizes a significant trend toward the clustering of industries in particular metro areas. In fact, he says, the big story of the last 30 years or so has been that of cities "sorting themselves out," gaining greater distinction and specialization in various industries. Here's a smattering of Florida's urban specializations:

What is the Value of Theatre?

First of all, this post is part of a Theatre Think Tank initiative - a group effort to crack this nut. Please also visit Theater for the Future, Rat Sass, Theatre Ideas, Parabasis, The Next Stage, Steve on Broadway, Theatre is Territory, Freedom Spice in the New Mash-Up World, Mike Daisey, An Angry White Guy in Chicago, Bite & Smile, That Sounds Cool, A Rhinestone World, GreyZelda Land, On Theatre and Politics, and The Devil Vet.

And be sure to check back here for additions to that list. (UPDATE: There's a better list here.)

What is the "value" of theatre? We need to figure out what it is that theatre does well and better than other art/entertainment forms. Then we need to figure out a positive way to describe those things to people who do not already identify themselves as theatregoers.

Theatre is local, and a group experience, and exchange does happen. Yes. And those are good examples because they are qualities that theatre excels at, even though they're not necessarily things you can't get elsewhere. Are those, then, the qualities that we can leverage into the concrete end-result we're hoping for - greater attendance? (Or is that the gold at the end of the rainbow? Is it even bigger? A sustainable model? I think that's another discussion.)

What does make theatre different, and, indeed, why WOULD anyone choose it over NetFlix? Is relevance the key? Obviously, we hope to make our art relevant to our potential audience members. So, we choose universal themes and/or write about current events. That's one advantage of theatre - it can be quick. But that's not unique, the news is quicker, so are radio talkshows. I don't think we can definitely prove that theatre is better at being relevant than books, movies, etc.

Relevance is important, but it also sounds like importance. I bet if you ask the "great unwashed masses" if theatre is "important" in the world, they'd say yes. If you asked them if they go, well, we know the answer. I think the symphony is important here in my hometown, but that motherfucker's about to go out of business, and it's at least in part because people like me don't go often enough.

It's not one of mine. It's an article for Seattle's "The Stranger" and it's by Mike Daisey. Who I'm gonna start calling "the bravest man in the American Theatre".

I won't hide it from you, loyal friends, I cried reading this, even as I sit here at Luck Bros coffee shop, 300 steps from my front door.

Seven years ago, I left Seattle for New York--I abandoned the garage theaters and local arts scene and friends and colleagues--because I was a coward. I'd already tried to sell out once, by working at a shitty Wal-Mart of a tech company, but I knew I would not survive in the theater if I stayed. I fled to New York to bite and claw a living out of the American theater as an independent artist because I was young and stupid enough to think that would actually work. Today, my wife and I are one of a handful of working companies who create original work in theaters across the country. We're a very small ensemble: I am the monologuist; she is the director. We survive because we're nimble, we break rules, and when simple dumb luck happens upon us, we're ready for it.

We return to Seattle maybe once a year. During my first week back this time, I ended up at a friend's party, long after the rest of the guests had gone, in that golden hour when the place is almost cleaned up, but the energy of the night is still hanging in the air. We settled down in the kitchen under the bright light, making 4:00 a.m. conversation and, as all theater artists do, I asked the traditional question: "What are you working on?"

My friend's face fell, for just a moment--she's a fantastic actress, one of the best in the city, with an intelligence and precision that has taken my breath away for years. She corrected a moment later, and told me carefully that she wasn't going out for anything now--that she was giving it up. She has a job-share position at her day job to let her take roles when needed, but now she is going to go permanent for the first time in her entire life. After 15 years of working in theaters all over Seattle, she'd felt the fire go out of her from the relentless grind of two full-time jobs: one during the day in a cubicle, the other at night on a stage.

Here's a little project for you.

Visit the homepage for the estimable League of Resident Theatres and try to explain why their web design sucks so badly.

Do they really have to use Times New Roman throughout the whole thing? Really? And what's with the color scheme? I'm tempted to dig up some 3D glasses to see if there's some hidden subliminal message buried within the text. And when was it last modified? Oh. Oh, my. Yes, that would be eighteen months ago. Adam, if you're reading this, please get to work. Otherwise nobody's ever going to take LORT seriously.

Amen, Scott. Amen.

the system of American theatre is so full of grit that hardly any artists are free to really do what it is they are best at -- follow their inner vision. Instead, they are forced to think like...well, like engineers: what does the market want, how can I get my work seen? If things were working correctly, a bunch of us engineers would keep the system running smoothly so that the work that artists created would be seen and appreciated and they wouldn't be bothered with marketing and administration.

Celebrate the end of the strike with Broadway's Back. ( They should put the thing on TV.) Then, read The Playgoer's post-strike round-up. Lastly, please keep in mind that we narrowly avoided the strike's trickle-down effects.

In Cincinnati, a high school production of Ten Little Indians was almost canceled because of the play's original title. Anytown (say, Houston) is a good town for more Maria Irene Fornes. d’bi young anitafrika is writing a dub opera. The BBC will film the complete Shakespeare. Read about Fiona Shaw & Deborah Warner's Happy Days. Go see No Dice.

Here's a great response to theatre-goers worried about how the strike will affect their vacation plans.

From Terry Teachout:

How long will the strike last? Your guess is as good as mine. I'll let you know what I know when I know it. In the meantime, though, keep in mind that at any given moment, most of the good shows in America are playing way off Broadway. In recent weeks I've praised productions I saw in Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. You don't have to go to New York City--or anywhere near it--to spend an unforgettable night at the theater. What are you waiting for?

Doubt is everywhere. That's very clear. And it's rather stunning because 34 is the greatest number of productions any play has racked-up since TCG started counting in 1994. It's been a few years since we've seen a phenom like this; Art pulled 30 in 2000, and Proof did 29 in 2002, but since then, nothing's broken 16.

(What am I talking about? Read this.)

Anyway, I spent some time with American Theatre's Season Preview, the second time through with a highlighter, and I gleaned some subtler trends.

Jeffrey Hatcher is the most produced playwright in America. Well, not really, but between Jeckyl & Hyde, Smash!, Ella, The Turn of the Screw, Murderers, and The Government Inspectors he's got a lot of work on-stage this season all over the country.

American Theatre has released the list of the coming season's most produced plays as reported to TCG at press time by its member theatres nationwide.

1. Doubt (34)
by John Patrick Shanley

2. Rabbit Hole (12)
by David Lindsay-Abaire

and The Clean House (12)
by Sarah Ruhl

4. Moonlight and Magnolias (10)
by Ron Hutchison

5. 9 Parts of Desire (8)
by Heather Raffo

and A Year with Frog and Toad (8)
Book and lyrics by Willie Reale; music by Robert Reale

and The Little Dog Laughed (8)
by Douglas Carter Beane

and The Piano Lesson (8)
by August Wilson

and The Santaland Diaries (8)
adapted by Joe Mantello from David Sedaris

6. Gem of the Ocean (7)
by August Wilson

and It's a Wonderful Life (7)
adapted from Frank Capra

and The Diary of Anne Frank (7)
adapted by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

By way of comparison, I'd love to see a Top Ten for non-TCG theatres nationwide. Or one that included the non-TCGers. Anyone wanna volunteer to do that? Or have an idea of how to organize that?

Well, I think it's my turn to respond to some comments. If you haven't read this post below, you should do so, otherwise you'll shortly be pretty well bewildered.

Over at his own blog, Matt Freeman responded with some thoughts that mirror my own pretty damn well, especially this one:

Better to work through the problems and challenges with the goal of success, than see challenges and problems and let them stop the project from going forward.

The comments at Matthew Freeman's Theatre and Politics blog have wrought an idea I'd never heard or had before.

What would be the logistics of "national openings" for major plays? What if, in lieu of endless try-outs, major productions ... all opened with different casts on the same night at major theaters throughout the United States AND Broadway?

Yes friends, Columbus' own Michael Grossberg is heading to Las Vegas next week, and the Dispatch has given him some blog space to tell us all about his fanciful escapades. Why Vegas?

The American Theatre Critics Association will visit Las Vegas for the first time with about 135 people, mostly critics, attending the June 18-24 conference. Theater critics are curious to see how Las Vegas' monied producers are thinking bigger and staging more theatrical entertainments. Many seem well beyond the budget or scope of Broadway - or just about anywhere else.

Mr. Excitement today has a dispatch from writer/instructor/actor Alan Berks who's wandering the wilds of the TCG Conference in Minneapolis. His experience thus far seems to have been less-than-inspiring.

I get the sense that no one likes the current state of American theater. They like what they do, but believe that no one else is doing it. Or they worry about how their audiences don’t like what they do – or, of course, “need to be educated” about what they do. Ensemble-based, collaboratively-ambitious companies think that institutional theaters support playwrights too much ... And playwrights think that institutional support from theaters is stifling, condescending, uncreative, and even usurious ... I might wander into the session on new musical theater right now since I imagine that people who do musicals can’t be that unhappy – but I expect to hear the same kind of didactic push for this or that style of this or that so that this or that theoretical audience will be theoretically more engaged by our risk-taking or our importance or our . . . whatever.

So I'm catching up on some non-required reading this weekend, taking a break from the grad school grind, when I came across this old post on ArtsJournal. A week-old story on the internet is downright ancient, and I almost chose not to blog about this. But I get off on this kinda stuff, when the arts and urban development mash together in a gory spectacle of bombastic ideas and lukewarm execution.

Such is the case in Minneapolis, where the brand-spankin' new Guthrie Theater is not quite turning out to be the hub of activity everyone thought it was going to be in the revitalized Mill District. Not that this is the Guthrie's fault. Rather, Star-Tribune columnist Linda Mack places the blame on bureaucratic conflict between the Public Works Dept and the Planning Dept, resulting in a conspicuous lack of trees, inadequate pedestrian street lighting, inconsistent building setbacks, and other little things that are supposed to tie a neighborhood together. This is probably a fair assessment, as building a swanky theatre can only do so much to turn a neighborhood around.

The NY Times had a fairly comprehensive article the other day about summertime offerings from 30 theatres and festivals from all over the country (plus the 2 big fests in Canada).

Here are some highlights:

LA JOLLA PLAYHOUSE - “After the Quake” (July 24-Aug. 26), an adaptation by the director Frank Galati of two short stories by the Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, written after a 1995 earthquake

MARK TAPER FORUM - David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face” (through July 1), his first new full-length play in more than a decade. This drama revolves around an artist with a familiar name — David Henry Hwang — who mistakenly casts a white actor in the role of an Asian.

WESTPORT COUNTRY PLAYHOUSE - In “Being Alive!”, Stephen Sondheim’s songs are mixed with Shakespeare’s poetry and then performed as jazz, soul, R&B and other African-American musical idioms. That’s right: hip-hop Sondheim.

Please contribute to the Contemporary American Theatre Festival and help them excercise our freedom of expression.

Let's start by quoting The Playgoer:

Remember Howard Dean and his online $25 clicks adding up? And now Barak Obama has almost outpaced Hillary Clinton with small donations from a wider list of supporters?

Is there some applicable model here, say, for the nonprofit theatre company?

Yeah, I know that anyone who subscribes to ArtsJournal has probably already seen this, but given our recent discussions about the "value" of the arts, I thought it'd be relevant to highlight this article here at Theatreforte. Arne Zaslove over at the impressive Crosscut Seattle outlines the sad history of his city's theatre scene.

The first round of Ford Foundation money, which had created the regional boom, faded away, and corporations shifted money from arts to social services. Costs kept escalating as the scramble for funders and subscribers got more intense. A city such as Seattle, which had practiced little birth control about artistic groups during the boom years after the World's Fair, had a lot of mouths to feed.

The whole article is definitely worth reading, if for nothing else than it might make you feel a little less lonely when you look around your city and wonder whatever happened to all the cool little theatres that used to be around. While theatre in some cities may fare marginally better than others, it's important to remember that this crisis is on a national scale, and it's impacting theatre artists no matter where they live.

The Rude Mechanical's annual summer theatre workshop for girls (13-16) is now accepting applications. Grrl Action offers the opportunity for girls to work with professional theatre artists to create and perform their own multi-disciplinary performance pieces, based on their own experiences. More information, including application, can be found here. Man, I would've loved something like this in high school...

More information after the jump. (photo, Grrl Action Class 02).

Earlier in the week, Mr. Excitement brought in playwright Alan Berks to blog about Minneapolis. Alan's post was great and left me begging for more. Here's a taste.

Also, there are numerous high quality theaters in the Twin Cities that do new work – Mixed Blood always has at least two new plays if not more. The Jungle does one or two a year, depending. The Children’s Theater Company does almost entirely new work – and, I have to say, creates some of the edgiest work that I have ever experienced from a major institution. The Children’s Theater Company in Minneapolis. Go figure.

As far as I can tell, NO ONE is blogging about theatre from Minneapolis, and that's just a crime.

Seriously, though.

Mike updated his blog with an account of the aftermath of "the incident," including an encounter with the man who vandalized his work.

His name is David. At the beginning of the conversation there was a lot of silence--long, long silences that neither of us were willing to puncture. First I made him understand what he had done--that these were the only set of notes for the show, how I work with them, what he had cost me in terms of my physical work and in terms of what it had been like that next night to go out in front of them. I needed him to understand what he had taken from me.

He quietly said that he had heard me, and that he understood.

I gradually opened him up by listening, and responding, the one-on-one version of what I do with an audience. We talked about many things, for almost an hour, and step by step, his story emerged.

Seriously, EVERYONE. In case you're one of the 12 people reading a theatre blog who haven't been following the story and resultant debate, let's see if we can re-construct this.

Mike Daisey posted last Friday about an incident at his show at ART the night before. ART apparently followed-up by blast emailing about the event and linking to the YouTube video. Obviously, the next thing to happen was the explosion of links throughout the theatrical blogosphere. To date, it's even made it to boing boing, one of the most widely-read blogs on the net. (They got it from the Boston Globe.)

After a day gone by, The Playgoer started to stir things up with his reaction to L'Affaire Daisey.

Yes, there are people who disagree with us! Maybe even in our home town! We usually enjoy the luxury of not seeing them at our edgy little downtown shows (they're too busy waiting on line for Mamma Mia) but when they come, don't be surprised if they don't like the naughty words. I mean, there is a culture war going on.

This story is simply incredible. Mr. Daisey begins it like this:

Last night's performance of INVINCIBLE SUMMER was disrupted when eighty seven members of a Christian group walked out of the show en masse, and chose to physically attack my work by pouring water on and destroying the original of the show outline.

Mike, our hearts go out to you. Of course, the best revenge will be when you turn this into a beautiful story for a new show.

Maybe it's because I'm an Artistic Director, but I found this article in Backstage pretty fascinating.

7 Artistic Directors discuss how they choose a season. (They represent Arena Stage, The Goodman, The Guthrie, The Wilma, the Alley Theatre, ACT, and Oregon Shakes.)

The Playgoer has some nice, biting commentary on the subject. My favorite excerpts are through this link ...

I'm not sure if I'm posting this because I need an appetizer for the Pulitzers (which will be posted at 3:15 this afternoon), or because I've had Boston on the brain lately. Whatever the case, Geoff Edgers reports that the 24th annual Elliot Norton Awards for excellence in theatre will be awarded by the Boston Theatre Critics Association on May 21st. Most interesting to me were the four separate categories for a best production by large, mid-size, small, and fringe theatre companies. If only there were as many companies in Bustown as there are in Beantown. Check out the full list of the nominees after the jump.

Denver, Colorado - 9-year old Curious Theatre opens Mall*Mart: The Musical, (it's first musical production) which is about exactly what it sounds like it's about, but don't expect a simple 2-hour anti-Wal*Mart campaign.

Walton [the director] says the musical intends to go a little deeper and look at "this desire that we have in America, and we're starting to see all across the world, to acquire more and more at lower and lower prices, and not really be conscious of the consequences of that ... and at what kind of impact mega stores have on a community."

The book is by Joan Holden, a member of the fairly legendary San Francisco Mime Troupe. She's probably best and most recently known for her work on Nickel and Dimed, the theatrical adaptation of Barbara Ehrenreich's book. She must be getting quite good at documentary theatre.

You can listen to one of the songs on iTunes.

Read more and get some links at the original post, on Curious Theatre's blog.

The much-lauded La Jolla playhouse is getting new leadership, and the Paper Mill Playhouse enjoyed a star-studded rally last night. (Liza was there!) Let's hope it was enough.

Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House opened well in Seattle, the Central Asian Theater Festival opened in Dushanbe (I shit you not) and Edward Albee will help decide that fate of us all in Boston. (Better him than me.)

Meanwhile, the Coachella Valley's first regional theatre has failed, for now. Maybe they should have waited for answers from Albee, or maybe they should have tried something more reliable, like a Neil Simon festival.

from The Feminist Spectator, reviews of 5 shows.

It was apparently Jill's first time at Humana, but she immediately caught-on to part of what makes the Festival so special.

People wandered the spacious ATL facility with badges, and the air crackled with that very particular vibe of people who toil in the same field but don’t often get to spend face-time.

Unlike some multi-media performances in which video seems a pretentious embellishment that distracts from the live performance, in Batch, video images made the truth tangible and mysterious, as spectators watched previously taped or projected simultaneous images interacting with live bodies.

from theaterboy: because you need more drama in your life

Check out this fun, albeit brief, look into the life of Humana Festival actress Jennifer Mendenhall (also a member of Woolly Mammoth). Jennifer is in the amazing ensemble of dark play or story for boys, currently running at Actors Theatre of Louisville.

It is, in my opinion, the best play of this year's festival. General consensus is that it will also be the most produced.

Here's a brief excerpt from her letter.

We stay up way too late and drink way too much and talk about everything. I hear the poker game went till 6am. There's talk of a double-cast bowl-off next week, and Josh Lefkowitz is going to do his one-man show for us. BYOB.