Articles
Belarus Free Theater Makes It To Under The Radar Festival
Theater Groups Team Up to Help Playwrights Develop Works
David Hare on the evolution of theatre and the changing place of theatre criticism in the world
The Latest From PDC's Dramaturg
Farewell and Thanks for the Memories
by Martha Steketee
posted: 2010-06-29 17:37:17
When Wally and I first discussed in summer 2009 the possibility of working with PDC as its first Resident Dramaturg, I was intrigued. I was a new arrival from Chicago where I had an actively engaged theatre life. I was a production dramaturg, member of the Joseph Jefferson Award Committee, member of several professional boards, reader for several of the largest theatre literary departments (Steppenwolf, Goodman, and Northlight among them), critical writing mentor in a program at the Goodman, and occasional theatre critic and writer.
Yeah, it was hard to leave Chicago. And Wally was not wrong -- the experience of working with the staff and members of PDC has been challenging and rewarding. I read and provided feedback on member plays; I conducted post show discussions; I participated as the PDC representative on the play selection committee; I obtained "ingredients" for the 2nd annual PDC "bake-off" event from two Chicago playwright pals; I dramaturged two member's plays in reading/development adventures; I blogged here as I blog elsewhere (more on that to follow); I helped structure questions, lead conversations, and write up the first four "In Conversation" interviews with Philadelphia critics; and I led conversations with six early members and leaders of PDC for the current PDC History Project.
This organization has a role in Philadelphia. The energy that drives it is palpable and strong.
Where there are playwrights seeking a place of support and nourishment, they will find a place like Philadelphia Dramatists Center. I have been honored to work with you for almost a year.
I leave with my husband at the end of July for the next phase of my life, based for the first time on the island of Manhattan. I expect to follow the development of PDC from near and far. And I invite you, those of you who are interested, to follow my adventures on my own blog called "Urban Excavations" at http://msteketee.wordpress.com.
Thank you all for the privilege of working with you.
Comments:
Valdemar Zialcita said on 2010-09-04:
I'm personally grateful for all that you did for us, Martha. I'm excited for you for all the opportunities that lie ahead, and I wish you all the best in New York.
Richard Kotulski said on 2010-06-30:
It's been great to have you around, Martha. Thanks for all your hard work over the past year.
Break a leg in NYC!
"Criticism is a habit of mind, a discipline of writing, a way of life"
by Martha Steketee
posted: 2010-04-01 08:11:50
A.O. Scott has crafted a bittersweet and reflective piece on the state of arts criticism in America, posted on the New York Times on line, and to be published Sunday in print form. (if i read the dates and details correctly).
The piece seems to have been inspired for him by recent speaking engagements on the future of criticism, the same Variety dismissal I blogged about a week or so ago, and other "currents" in the cultural ether including the recent decision to pull the plug on the television show with film criticism, "At The Movies", originated by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. (Just a short aside: I do so miss Chicago. Sigh. There. Now I am able to continue.) Scott and Michael Phillips have been at the helm of "At The Movies" for a time. They recently were told that this season will be the show's last. August 2010 will end the venerable run.
What is stunning about this New York Times piece and Scott's response is that he takes these events as a time of reflection. Articulate reflection. A sample:
- "How can you do a movie justice in 60 seconds? You can't of course -- or in 800 words of print or in a blog post -- but you can start a conversation, advance or rebut an argument, and give people who share your interest something to talk about. And that kind of provocation, that spur to further discourse, is all criticism has ever been. It is not a profession and does not stand or fall with any particular business model. Criticism is a habit of mind, a discipline of writing, a way of life -- a commitment to the independent, open-ended exploration of works of art in relation to one another and the world around them. As such, it is always apt to be misunderstood, undervalued, and at odds with itself. Artists will complain, fans will tune out, but the arguments will never end."
I don't know about you, but this inspires me.
For the full article, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/movies/04scott.html
Comments:
Drake said on 2010-11-17:
Thank you for posting this. It's interesting to consider the critic's important role: while many artists complain about them, they do perform the important function of furthering discussion about works of art.
Roger Ebert, Variety, and a Four-Letter Word
by Martha Steketee
posted: 2010-03-09 15:06:34
Theatre and film criticism is much on my mind today. I've been mulling news of layoffs of major reviewers at major papers and news outlets, and PDC's own "In Conversation" series and its current focus on some of the city's theatre critics. I recently transcribed several of the wonderful conversations Tom and I held several months ago, so my sense of the articulate and intelligent set of critical voices Philly's theatre arts community has been refreshed. What makes them tick, where they came from, why they love criticism, why they love theatre. Why they do what they do.
So news of recent layoffs at Variety and elsewhere that hit the blogosphere today led me, through clickable links, to some thoughts that seem worth sharing. These thoughts offer some insight perahps on why the trained critical mind is important, and what we all gain from the products of that mind.
Robert Ebert in his blog from some time ago wrote a post "Critic is a four-letter word" (September 18, 2008). These words were directed at movie criticism, yet apply to all arts criticism in my mind. [for full blog entry see: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/09/critic_is_a_fourletter_word.html]
- "I believe a good critic is a teacher. He doesn't have the answers, but he can be an example of the process of finding your own answers. H can notice things, explain them, place them in any number of contexts, ponder why some "work" and others never could. He can urge you toward older movies to expand your context for newer ones. He can examine how movies touch upon individual lives, and can be healing, or damaging. He can defend them, and regard them as important in the face of those who are "jsut looking for a good time." He can argue that you will have a better time at a better movie. We are all allotted an unknown but finite number of hours of consciousness. Maybe a critic can help you spend them more meaningfully."
Ebert in his March 9, 2010 blog post ("Variety: This thumb's for you") offered his thoughts on the firing of Variety's chief film critic Todd McCarthy and chief theatre critic David Rooney. [for full blog entry see: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/03/variety_this_thumbs_for_you.html] Ebert's discussion is personal (he has known the film critic McCarthy for many years) and professional and reflects on the state of the profession.
- "Todd McCarthy is not a man Variety should have lightly dismissed. He is the longest-serving and best-known member of the paper's staff, and if they made such a drastic decision, we are invited to wonder if Variety itself will long survive." He goes on, "Variety used to cover everything. ... Well, those days are over with. The glory days of the famous Variety critics are finished.... About Todd McCarthy I am not very worried. He's one of a kind. I can think of no better candidate as the director of a major film festival. Or as a professor, or of course as a film critic. What I lament is the carelessness with which his 31 years of dedication were discarded. Oh, the paper cites its reasons. 'It's economic reality,' Variety President Neil Stiles said of the move. Some 'downsizing' is necessary cost-cutting. Some symbolizes the abandonment of a mission. If Variety no longer requires its chief film critic, it no longer requires me as a reader."
Arts criticism is in a quandary and if nothing else it will serve this current transformation for all of us to watch carefully, ask many questions, and vote with our subscription dollars. I have not yet dropped a print subscription based on staffing decisions but this too may come.
Comments:
Jaimie said on 2010-10-22:
The critic's role as a teacher is an interesting topic. Critics provide a refreshing sense of objectivity and can question films or plays without considering the feelings of those involved or how much work went into a project. The film industry may be feeling the economic squeeze (see this article at http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-10378654-261.html), but as more cuts are made, including the fate of critics, the art form will continue to decline in quality.
“Serendipitous Acts of Fate and Community”: A report of an event, a publication, a state of the state, and a call to action.
by Martha Steketee
posted: 2010-03-01 09:22:52
On Tuesday, February 16, 2010, in the historic Plays & Players main stage theatre space, the Philadelphia New Play Initiative and Philadelphia playwrights and other theatre professionals welcomed Todd London, one of the authors of the December 2009 TDF publication Outrageous Fortune: The Life and Times of the New American Play. These initial reflections are offered as a starting point for my own synthesis of this event and this report. My own professional perspective is as a reader for several literary departments in large theatres in several American cities, and as dramaturg on productions, readings, and informal arrangements with playwrights and their new works. My love for new work is personal and deep. From the report and the presentation I wanted truth and I wanted some hope. And I believe I received a bit of both.
This multi-year study report has now engendered pages of press on theatre websites including those dedicated to playwrights, dramaturgs, new play development, and theatre criticism generally. Whether this initial splash of attention will yield an enduring interest, debate, analysis remains to be seen. This snowy Philadelphia evening the themes and findings were front and center at Plays & Players. London appeared in Philadelphia as part of a multi-month whistle stop tour of similar theatre community conversations about the report. The study presents and analyzes survey and interview and focus group results/findings/themes from the perspectives of established playwrights and from the theatre institutions that produce and that don’t produce their work. In London’s words in Philadelphia: this study on new play development “wanted to find out where the blockage was”.
I will let the report speak for itself with some quotations. In general these comments are the words of others, the study participants, who responded to surveys and participated in interviews and group discussions. Hopefully these snippets will lure you into reading the report as a whole.
[reflections on producing and the profession]
[on playwrights and income]
[on the “emerging playwright” label]
[on the need to see a play on its feet .. not a finding really an evocative statement of the playwright's need to support development ]
[on production’s changing role in the evolution of a new play]
[on getting through the season planning decision making process]
I purchased the book as soon as press began appearing in theater blogs and discussion lists and Facebook status updates, and have been consuming it in bits and pieces since. When I compared notes with several folks at the Philly event, they reported the same slow wade into the work. London noted this attribute of the report’s content and structure -- report is intended to acknowledge the dense reality, this perspective divide, these institutional barriers. The report is intended also to agitate and to provoke conversations about the experience of new play development for theatres, for playwrights, for literary managers and artistic directors. The writing is clear and inviting – it’s the content that challenges. It gives voice to our individual concerns and calls us out on our biases and misconceptions of process and fellow professionals. The findings of the report can be boiled down to simple long understood lessons such as organizations (and theatre literary departments and artistic directors) and individuals (playwrights) have different perspectives and needs. And the findings of the report can be as complex as the nature of art itself and its essential social role.
It took me a cross country plane flight to dig into this publication in earnest. My advice is to take an hour, close off other distractions, get yourself a nice beverage of your choice, and dig in. The findings are timely, the conversation is important, and the lessons are essential to what we all care about: the life and times of the new American play. Jump in.
For TDF’s own press release with summary findings: http://www.tdf.org/TDF_NewsDetailsPage.aspx?id=88
For information on how to order the published report http://www.tdf.org/tdf_servicepage.aspx?id=3&%20do
Comments:
Richard Kotulski said on 2010-03-01:
I particularly liked the comment about "Emerging" playwrights...
Seriously, though, I think this book is an incredibly important thing for all the playwright members of PDC to be talking about, and especially for the leadership of PDC to be talking about.
The problems that are talked about in this book aren't just going to magically go away on their own. It's going to take serious thought and dedicated action to circumvent these problems or to find solutions.
We need to be a part of that. And we need to be devious and creative in our thinking to do it.