The Art of Staying Informed

There are certainly some exciting happenings in the arts, humanities, and sciences this week, so today I'd like to share some current events and great sources of arts news:

1) Did you know this is Banned Books Week? The annual event began 30 years ago this week in 1982. You can read more about its history and oft-challenged books online at the American Library Association and at the Banned Books Week site. I think the most recent selections that I've read on this year's list are the three books that make up The Hunger Games Trilogy. What was your most recent or favorite banned or challenged book?

What's the Buzz?

Hello again to all of my lovely readers and followers. It's been a very busy first month of the fall semester for me, and I'm happy to have found a few moments to sit down and write a new post!

I've been bouncing around ideas and post titles in my head over the past several weeks, and I thought I'd begin here. I want to take a moment to discuss "buzzwords" with you this evening.

I come across a LOT of buzzwords on a daily basis as a graduate student. Some of the top buzzwords on the campus of Texas Tech University are (in no particular order): honor, respect, tradition, civility, ethics, and diversity. We hear buzzwords in politics, advertising, social media, our workplaces, etc, etc, etc.

But... have we ever thought of our own personal "buzzwords"? I've decided to co-opt this term and apply it to my own life. So, my "buzzwords" are terms that get me excited, ideas about which I'm passionate, items to add to my "bucket list" even.

So, please indulge me and allow me to share just a few of them with you.

So, You're Broke but Love the Arts?

Photo in Public Domain: http://tinyurl.com/9kb

Well, it's a new semester for me, and that means more time in class, less time to work, and no money to spend. Yup, that's right. So, how can someone who blogs about the arts have anything to say when she's broke? Well, I refuse to believe that just because one has no disposable income, that s/he can't take in the arts.

Here is a list of ways to take in the arts on a budget (or no budget, in my case). Opportunities like these are plentiful in my community and are likely to exist locally for you, as well. So, don't be detached from arts and culture, do as the artists do, and get creative!

Cordell Green Festival is the CATS Meow

I know I've written quite a bit about community theatre lately, but it's an area of the not-for-profit theatre realm that really moves and inspires me. This past weekend, I had the good fortune to be invited to participate as the director of a local new play festival produced by a small community theatre in the city where I live.

Photos courtesy of Zachery Kocurek, Lisa Hernandez, and CATS Theater

The Cordell Green Festival is a multi-step process which leads up to a day of performances. After a call for submissions, several plays are chosen by a committee of the theatre's board members to be presented in festival format. Also, a board member is chosen as producer to make the festival a reality. This year, a very hard-working and energetic young man named Zachery Kocurek brilliantly organized and orchestrated the event. Only the first act of each play is staged, and the playwright or the director (if the playwright isn't present) describes what happens in the remaining acts of the play. A group of board members is present to fill out a ballot for each play. The ballots have a rubric and space for notes. At the end of the day, the ballots are tallied, and a play is chosen to be fully-produced in the theatre's regular season.

Challenging Mediocrity

I saw a production of Into the Woods last week that reminded me why I love theatre so much.

It can be powerful. It can be transformative. It can be moving.

Photo courtesy of Lindsey Jensen Espinosa and Paris Community Theatre

But, quite often, it can be mediocre. What leads to mediocre theatre, and why do we settle for it?

I suppose some people lean to one extreme approach or another, creating a breeding ground for mediocrity.

One extreme is participating in theatre to have "fun." Now, I firmly believe making theatre should be fun. It should be joyous! But, that doesn't mean there isn't real, honest, hard work involved in the process. But, if it should only be fun, then process and eventually product are thrown out the window, so to speak. If anyone can act, and anyone can direct, and anyone can design and build, then there is no guidance, and a haphazard, ill-prepared production is the result.

"Children Will See and Learn..."

I was surprised and disappointed this afternoon when I read an article in Playbill titled "Into the Woods Will Offer First-Act Only Family Matinee Performance Aug. 22," by Adam Hetrick. The point is to offer a 75 minute "family friendly" version of Sondheim and Lapine's musical Into the Woods.

Now, I understand that in this fairytale-themed musical there are many moments which could be deemed "adult-themed." Also, the show runs between 2 1/2-3 hours, and the end of Act II is less than "happily ever after." But... that's the point. Life isn't tied up with happily ever after ribbons at the speed of a sitcom.
As the much-loved song from Act II states, "Careful the things you say, children will listen. Careful the things you do, children will see and learn..." What are we teaching children by only allowing them to see Act I?

United Celebration

Every four years, a night comes along that never fails to make me laugh, cry, feel a bit of pride, perhaps confuses me a bit, and above all, makes me feel included as a global citizen. This magical night happens to fall this evening. It is the night of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

The "Parade of Nations" is still being shown in my time zone as I write. Over 200 nations will be represented during the 2012 Games. As someone involved in the arts, the Opening Ceremonies are more meaningful to me than the weeks of intense athletic competition which will follow. I am not writing this evening to critique the aesthetics, narrative, performances, or direction of the opening ceremonies. I am simply writing to explain why they mean so much to me.

"Community" Theatre

After reading a few interesting posts lately voicing people's strong feelings about community theatre, I'd like to add my two cents to the conversation.

I believe the important word in the phrase “community theatre” is community.

This is twofold.

All I Need to Know About Social Networking... I Learned from My Dog

I'm not sure how many of you are pet owners, but I'm pretty sure after observing my own dog for a considerable amount of time, that dogs can teach us a LOT about social networking. Here's a list of a few things I've noticed...

 

1. "Sniff out" new experiences. Have you ever seen a dog that isn't completely excited about each new item/animal/person/place he or she encounters on a walk? What if we approached social media with that kind of gusto?

The Best Online "You" and "Me"

OK, I'm beginning to understand the difference between being the proverbial "stick in the mud" and just being professional. I can't vouch for anyone else, but I am amazed on a daily basis at what people are willing to post on their Facebook pages. I don't think anyone should feel the need to appear to have no opinions or come across as humorless in their online posts, but I do think we should all consider what our posts say about us.

"They're Your Tools."

This evening I begin with a quote and title borrowed from The Guys, by Anne Nelson:

JOAN: "(...) I want to do something. But this is all I know how to do. Words. I can't think of anything else."

NICK: "That's OK. They're your tools."

These lines are a bit out of context, taken from a poignant and beautiful play set in the days following the attacks on September 11, 2001. I think of them as important reminders to theatre practitioners. Words are our tools.

I'm beginning this way in an attempt to bring it back to my own current set of tools, and hopefully, a set that belongs to many of you, as well. Not only do I have the opportunity to build with my tools onstage, I also have a blog and several social media pages which I can build with words off stage, too.

Bigger than Myself

I feel very lucky to have been chosen as a guest blogger for the lovely blog NeverSeconds by young foodie and philanthropist Martha Payne (aka VEG). When I approached Veg and her dad about being a guest blogger, I thought it would be a fun way to share a bit about the food served at Texas Tech University with fellow NeverSeconds readers. Then I realized... her page has had over 6,000,000 (yes, all those zeros are correct...) views! I have actually been given the opportunity to be an ambassador for my school, my state, and even my country, as I represent the only U.S. school chosen so far. What a privilege and a responsibility!

#Hashtag That

OK... Short and simple tonight. I'm very new to Twitter and am teaching myself- through articles, blog posts, etc- about how to use it well. So, some of you may say, I've got the Twittter thing covered, thanks. But, if you are new to the site like me, or if you haven't yet unleashed the power of the hashtag, that's what I'd like to, well, ahem... hash out, this evening.

We've seen them everywhere. Many of our favorite TV shows have hashtags associated with them. Jimmy Fallon is somewhat of a master "hashtag-er." We've also seen hashtags for our favorite LORT theatres and shows. But, have you or has your organization ever started one?

How "Social" Is Your Social Media?

I spent some time this evening reading through an article on the Public Relations Tactics website. The title is Cultural snapshots: 4 PR pros who are curating vibrant arts communities by Amy Jacques. The article is comprised of a redux of interviews with PR professionals from several arts and culture organizations. when asked, the people interviewed talked about how social media impacted their work and created dialogue with their audiences. I did note that none of the professionals worked for a theatre company.

My area of interest lies in not-for-profit regional theatre. There are many companies throughout the U.S. who are using social media effectively to create the kind of dialogue with loyal patrons and reach new audiences in the ways this article mentions.

The Influence of Friends

So... I went to see the new movie Rock of Ages tonight. As much as I love theatre and particularly musical theatre, I really had no intention of seeing this film. Perhaps I'll discuss my issues with "jukebox musicals" and "moviecals" in a future post. For tonight, I'd like to briefly talk about why I did go see it after all.

Like many of you, I have been over-exposed to ads and other marketing, which have been endlessly plugging this film for weeks. I've tuned it all out, for the most part. I still had no intention of seeing the film even after endless TV commercials and interviews. However, a friend of mine is writing his dissertation on "jukebox musicals," and quietly invited a few friends to see Rock of Ages with him via a private message on Facebook. This one personal and highly influential move made me decide to see this (raucously funny) movie after all.

What Makes You Theatre?

Today, as I was surveying what various LORT (League of Resident Theatres) theatres were communicating through their websites, I began reading posts in the Actors Theatre of Louisville blog. A post from May 8th contained a discussion of and a link to the Theatre Communications Group I AM THEATRE YouTube channel. Although I have seen a few of these videos over the past year, as the project is part of the TCG 50th Anniversary, I had not taken the time to really take in the relevance of the project.

It began with a group of 50 theatre practitioners selected by TCG to tell their individual stories of how and why they are theatre. Actors, directors, music directors, playwrights, educators, administrators, and more are represented. After visiting the TCG I AM THEATRE page, I realized the project is much more than just the stories of top professionals hand-selected by TCG. Those first fifty videos were created to encourage everyone involved in theatre to tell their stories. What a great idea!

To Tweet Seat Or Not To Tweet Seat

As I sit here late on a Saturday night after a very long day of work when I probably should be thinking about sleep, I'm thinking about "Tweet Seats." You may ask yourselves, "What is a 'Tweet Seat'?" I've wondered quite a bit lately about the kind of publicity or general PR that can be generated for a theatrical production through this fairly recent development.

A "Tweet Seat" or "Tweet Seat Performance" is an area of a theatre or perhaps an entire performance dedicated to allowing patrons to get out those smartphones- yes, during the show, gasp...- to Tweet about the goings on during a performance. Perhaps a patron wants to give a "shout out" to a particularly strong number, scene, or performer. Perhaps they want to tell everyone they know to #comeseethisshow.