tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post2313435856016286166..comments2024-02-22T01:36:48.427-08:00Comments on On Theatre and Politics - Matthew Freeman: "Why bother?" Why ask?Freemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01183078884824734105noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-22837933486115955032011-12-29T01:52:15.558-08:002011-12-29T01:52:15.558-08:00"Just because photographs exist, does that me..."Just because photographs exist, does that mean painters need to explain why they still paint?"<br />That is the single best thing I've read in a week. Thanks, man.B McEntirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07476556583986979584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-37059257231679765502011-10-04T18:50:45.700-07:002011-10-04T18:50:45.700-07:00AMEN! Thank you, thank you!AMEN! Thank you, thank you!A.Trocinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12715799861081215811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-2222202250413669932011-10-04T08:46:18.476-07:002011-10-04T08:46:18.476-07:00Thank you for posting this, Matthew, your timing i...Thank you for posting this, Matthew, your timing is impeccable. I raised this question, "Why bother?", to myself last month as I was walking down the streets of New York, trying to convince myself that I've chosen an absolutely ludicrous passion. I could very easily (an exaggeration)continue selling real estate, make money, travel, raise my sons and have a happy life without the head and heartache having playwright in the mix. <br />Then it dawned on me that perhaps these doubts of purpose and social relevance might be symptomatic of an underlying anxiety caused by the fact that I was having a staged reading at The Abingdon Theatre later in the week. If I rejected the art first, it would be easy to dismiss it as frivolous should the NY audience reject my play. <br />I caught my schoolgirl fears early and chose to make that decision at the end of the week should I still feel this way about my profession. I've been in theatre for more than 30 years, 15 of that as a writer, so leaving it behind would be a complex exorcism, but the question itself does help to clarify one's purpose and the writing itself. <br />I write plays because they are difficult to do well and can be very rewarding; much like the Sunday NY Times crossword. <br />Nice or needy, those people exist everywhere, Mary, and they're just as likely to be sitting next to you in a cubicle or standing beside you at a nurse's station. I balk at the idea that artists are acting from some deep character flaw, we're just the segment of the population who is unafraid to expose our vulnerabilities. <br />I write plays because I have a voice to do so and because I meet interesting people who are not afraid of being challenged or challenging me. <br />Write on, Matthew!TraceTimehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18081092384579988219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9902716.post-82967258304254276792011-10-04T07:28:15.473-07:002011-10-04T07:28:15.473-07:00Amen ! And double ouch. And quite frankly, I think...Amen ! And double ouch. And quite frankly, I think that the longer a playwright or director is in theatre , she/he might find that the jealousies that exist in theatre do not make for the nicest people. I have met some nice people but many are often very needy. One continues writing plays and directing them in the theatre , I believe, because it is a purer form of communication-not because it's fun to make up characters.Mary Full of Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08959325991392321585noreply@blogger.com