tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post5377729019665157197..comments2024-02-22T01:36:48.427-08:00Comments on On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman: What I've seen recentlyFreemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01183078884824734105noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-16124717239457001052008-01-27T10:35:00.000-08:002008-01-27T10:35:00.000-08:00Bravo. What a wonderful post and inspirational wa...Bravo. What a wonderful post and inspirational way to challenge oneself to try to be more open to performance. Because it is only through openness to it that, the form will be truly allowed to evolve.Zack Calhoonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02149127656270202596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-24154074598938767602008-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:002008-01-25T13:10:00.000-08:00Folks -Thanks for the thoughts. August, I certainl...Folks -<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the thoughts. August, I certainly think you make an excellent point. I would say that interacting with the work, discussing it and thinking about it, is important. What I'm after, to refine a bit, is precisely what you're saying... stop thinking in terms of a final verdict (good movie, bad movie, good play, bad play, liked it, didn't like it) and start allowing myself to have a reaction that excludes that sort of language. Just, if for no other reason, than to flex some new muscles.Freemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01183078884824734105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-23827410270978891782008-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:002008-01-25T13:04:00.000-08:00This is all true if you view criticism as an act o...This is all true if you view criticism as an act of giving feedback to artists; or as consumer advocacy; or as a reduction of your emotional experience in order to make it communicable. I am more inclined look at that critical impulse as part of our growth as artists in a community of other artists. It is a less a question of good vs bad, and more a question of how and why something works. It is thrilling to me when a critic, blogger, or friend reveals something about our shared experience of a play that I'd felt but not articulated. Being able to articulate parts of that experience doesn't diminish the experience of the whole, and when I share that with others, I do so assuming I am the authority only of my experience of the play, and not the play itself. While no one should feel an obligation to 'review' everything they see in the traditional format of a review, the act of critically engaging with a play you're passionate about is as much an act of love as simply declaring you love it; and attempting to articulate how a good play works, and communicating those thoughts to others, seem to me an essential part of growing as an artist. But maybe you're talking about the need to find things wrong with a play you've seen, and that I can agree with. Wrong or right are boring. How and why are interesting.August Schulenburghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16707611220473062833noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-72741598593354460322008-01-25T10:24:00.000-08:002008-01-25T10:24:00.000-08:00I like this post a lot. There's a lot of theatre ...I like this post a lot. There's a lot of theatre I come out of with a "That was good" or "That was bad." But the best theatre is the stuff I can't, and don't want to, reduce to explanation.Jaimehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08963931779920699803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-83530810939588790032008-01-25T10:20:00.000-08:002008-01-25T10:20:00.000-08:00i just wanted to say this is one of my favorite po...i just wanted to say this is one of my favorite posts you've ever done.isaac butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815094790605298884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-75847284810617190962008-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:002008-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00But other than that, what did you think of the pla...But other than that, what did you think of the play, Mrs. Lincoln?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com