Much more on ATC

Following up on my last post on the American Theater Company dustup, let me point you to Kerry Reid's take at PerformInk. I have to agree with the anonymous commenters on the TOC story who've snarked that Kerry's version is much more thorough, though I'll point out that Kerry had about 2,000 more words with which to tell the story than our ~750. Not to mention that as a trade paper, PerformInk (to which I've happily contributed year-end essays for the last two years) gets to assume its readers have insider interest, whereas we at TOC have to make a story accessible for general-interest readers in a much smaller number of words.

That said, Kerry's story jibes with my understanding of the issues based on the nearly two dozen interviews we conducted; I wish we'd had the space to tell it as thoroughly as she does. (And, for those who bring up Steppenwolf, Martha Lavey politely declined my request to weigh in on how to successfully run an ensemble.)

Elsewhere, scheduling quirks resulted in an unusually small three reviews in this week's TOC. My takes on Steppenwolf's Tempest and Chicago Shakespeare's Twelfth Night will run in next week's issue, but I might try to get them online later this week.

Comments

[Dianna]

One thing is for sure in this whole ATC/ABT story - I don't think we'll ever really know the whole story. None of us were there. Plus - let's face it - we theatre folk are ARTISTS, and we are supremely emotionally attached to the work we do - no matter if we are on the stage or in the booth. So, how one person recalls a situation (no matter which side they're on),will be different from how another recalls the situation, especially if they are emotionally involved (as all these people are). I really feel that beyond the reporting of the siuation, we all need to take everyone's comments with a HUGE grain of salt.
Not at all saying anyone is lying/fabricating/stretching truths. Perception is always different when you are emotionally involved.

[Ed]

Despite being one of the initial commenters, I'll admit to being distressed by the increasingly acrimonious tone of the comments about the ATC situation over at the Trib. There's a difference between being firm or severe, and just plain being nasty. In stepping away from civil discourse, both sides are weakening their arguments.

[Kerry Reid]

Thanks, Kris. Deanna Isaacs' story on this for the Reader is here: http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/thebusiness/090409/