I work in theater where I can be as badass as I like and don't have to appease anyone really. But it feels sometimes a little like exile from the larger culture. There was a meeting last Saturday called by the wondrous and magical Martin Denton about a newly formed advocacy group called the League of Independent Theaters to be spearheaded by Mr. John Clancy. It's a was a very hopeful and inspiring thing to see The Barrow Street Theater full of theater people, most of whom I don't know, which was weirdly exciting.
I hate to sound hopelessly corporate in my speech, but the most important thing (once we can fucking videotape our shows thank you AEA) is rebranding. To make going to cheap theater something that people do, you know, for fun. I rented out my brain (AKA freelanced) to pharmaceutical PR for a while and I saw whoever owned the language, set the agenda. Name what something is, and you have control over it. Instead of fighting with Isherwood or whatever, we theater folk need to learn to use the incredible array of media we have at our disposal. And having an organization whose agenda includes putting what we do on the map is truly, truly wonderful. From where I stand it almost seems to be picking up a dropped torch that seemed to sputter out around the time the larger public really started going to FringeNYC. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20, and I feel there was a missed opportunity there for bringing our downtown affordable live entertainment to the masses. I don't know if we got cocky, or if we were too insular (i.e. EVERYONE loves what we do, meaning actually, everyone I know), but it's a big, big world and most of them have no idea who any of us are.
People like movies. People like TV. People like music. People like art. People like the internet. Why can't people like affordable theater? Affordable is a good thing, and so is theater, and maybe we all have to do what the indie bands did before us and tour, or maybe think about touring in a different way. Not just on the Canadian circuit, and not just like Les Miz. If Les Miz is the Rolling Stones, maybe we could be Minor Threat or The Replacements or The Pixies or (oh my god I'm dating myself) Pussy Galore? I'm sure this is all unspeakably difficult, and I'm just throwing out ideas here.
Thank you Martin and Rochelle and John and everyone else. More to follow I'm sure
PS I have no idea why I never once referred to what is being done as "Indie Theater" which was sort of like decided upon, rather than the sad sack "affordable theater" I used above. And after all that Naming It/Owning It jazz. Ye Gads!
And here:
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