This series is a worthy start to building theatre and theatrical criticism in LA. Fundamentally, if theatre is to thrive here–or anywhere–there needs to be greater demand from the populace. So how is that created? Well, that’s what these conversations are about. Creating demand for theatre can’t be about it being “good for you.”
We live in the Internet age and have to deal with that. Not only are multiple content platforms creating fractured attention spans and competing interests, artists have been forced into becoming salespeople in addition to doing their art. Just ask the self-published author and self-produced songwriter. Critics are artists too, though, the good ones. And in the Internet age, they need to hawk their art–their reviews– just like the rest of the theatre community.
The reality is most people don’t go to theatre, and the reasons why people don’t aren’t going away. Instead they need to be surmounted, including the daunting drives and parking challenges that keep people away. Those of us in theatre think: you don’t know what you’re missing. And that’s the point that needs to be addressed. The public must be made to feel they are missing something by not going to see plays and want, not need, to see them. Good literary criticism, widely dispersed, can play a role in that endeavor. For more on critics see my recent post on the LA Female Playwrights Initiative website. https://lafpi.com/?s=critics
This series is a worthy start to building theatre and theatrical criticism in LA. Fundamentally, if theatre is to thrive here–or anywhere–there needs to be greater demand from the populace. So how is that created? Well, that’s what these conversations are about. Creating demand for theatre can’t be about it being “good for you.”
We live in the Internet age and have to deal with that. Not only are multiple content platforms creating fractured attention spans and competing interests, artists have been forced into becoming salespeople in addition to doing their art. Just ask the self-published author and self-produced songwriter. Critics are artists too, though, the good ones. And in the Internet age, they need to hawk their art–their reviews– just like the rest of the theatre community.
The reality is most people don’t go to theatre, and the reasons why people don’t aren’t going away. Instead they need to be surmounted, including the daunting drives and parking challenges that keep people away. Those of us in theatre think: you don’t know what you’re missing. And that’s the point that needs to be addressed. The public must be made to feel they are missing something by not going to see plays and want, not need, to see them. Good literary criticism, widely dispersed, can play a role in that endeavor. For more on critics see my recent post on the LA Female Playwrights Initiative website. https://lafpi.com/?s=critics