Storefront Rebellion

Oh hi. Remember this place?

What's up, Rebels? I know things have been slow around here, but I'm chalking that up to summer. Like many of you, I've taken a bit of vacation in the last couple of months, while juggling friends in town and still taking in some of the reduced number of theatrical offerings in July and August (though things have stayed fairly busy at TOC). Haven't had much to say here, but the season's about to hit hard, as Rob Kozlowski noted earlier today. (Speaking of Mr. K, *ahem*.)

Couple of things today worth pointing out. My friends at The New Colony (standard disclosure: I do count several TNC members as friends, and as a rule I don't review their shows) respond on their blog to my Time Out New York counterpart David Cote's recent wishlist for NYC theater. Their rejoinder is a new blog series about goals for Chicago theater, the first of which is: "Make Chicago the home of NEW theater."

This city can be an epicenter of new art if we choose to make it that. The only way for that to happen is for our theater community to collectively end the habit of remounting and reproducing the same shows over and over again (sometimes within the same season!).

Storefront theaters: we make up the majority of that scene. So rather than letting the 10% at the top control the direction of Chicago theater – let’s take that responsibility and herald in a new era of World Premieres and New Works!

Emphasis theirs, but as I said when I retweeted the link earlier, "YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!"

Secondly, I found some interesting comments in regard to TOC's revamped star rating system on my Spring Awakening review. Suffice to say, this is far from the most emphatic feedback I've gotten about star ratings recently. I'm interested to hear what you guys think. Feel free to leave comments below, or email me if you'd prefer to keep your thoughts private.

The gender bias thing

I want to point quickly (and probably futilely, heading into a long holiday weekend) to my latest post at the Time Out blog. Amid the hubbub over Emily Glassberg Sands's report last week on bias against female playwrights, and especially given the sensationalized reporting on her finding that women in power as artistic directors and literary managers were more biased against women playwrights than male leaders were, I wanted some feedback. I asked about a dozen of Chicago's female ADs and LMs (and one key dude) for their reactions to the study. To my delight, nine of them replied.

As for my own opinion, I haven't had time to check out the full 170-page doc yet, but based on the published reporting I think I find some of Sands's methodology suspect—Isaac has noted the discussion raging on one of the theater-related listservs, which I've been following as well. I'd also note that doolee.com, while sometimes useful, is far from what I'd consider a reliable primary source; neither Emily Schwartz nor Tanya Saracho is represented, which strike me as fatal omissions if you're interested in who's getting buzz and commissions and productions in Chicago. But even a potentially flawed study keeps the conversation going; as others have said: This isn't a final judgment, it's a starting point.

Are journalists the new actors?

Last weekend I attended the Chicago Media Future Conference, or rather what will be the first of many events under that umbrella title. I went in part to support my friend Scott Smith, one of the organizers, but also because I have an interest in this stuff, both vested and non. As one of the (conventional wisdom would have it) few who've made the upstream swim from online to print, I've got a stake in the discussions about how print media will survive and/or (emphasis on the or) evolve.

The two panels last Saturday were, I thought, refreshingly less doom-y and backwards-facing than some other recent assemblies on the topic here in Chicago. But as an arts journalist, I did feel—more in hindsight than in the moment—a bit excluded. My impression is that these conversations as a whole are being dominated by hard-news journos. Investigative and civic-affairs reporting is obviously vital and should be emphasized in any discussions about the future of journalism. But for all the hand-wringing in the arts communities about how to deal with shrinking media coverage—the last time I'd been in the space where the CMFC was held, Columbia College's Film Row Cinema, it was as a panelist for arts orgs on that very topic—I'm starting to wonder how seriously we're being considered in the larger whither journalism discussion.

The observation that's really stuck with me over the last ten days was made after the conference, at the informal afterparty down the street at the Wabash Tap. My friend Andrew Huff, the proprietor of Gapers Block, told me that two or three people had separately suggested to him in recent weeks that the future career model for journalists might be a lot like that of actors. That is to say, only a fraction of a percent of those who go into the profession will get steady jobs (staff positions/TV gigs) or achieve high incomes (columnists/celebrities); the majority will go from gig to gig or project to project, and guaranteed employment for journalists will become the exception, not the norm. Those stumping for full-time staff writers at publications will come to sound like evangelist outliers, much as those who campaign for resident repertory ensembles do now. The majority of people who try to make a go of it as working journalists will do so, like those who go into acting, because they're driven by a passion for the work. Many will likely work for little or no pay in hopes of establishing a career (Non-Equity/bloggers? And if we're talking bloggers, isn't this already the case, cough cough?) [Please note none of this is necessarily my opinion, but me relaying and expanding upon what was laid out by others.]

It's a compelling parallel that, oddly, had never occurred to me before. Your thoughts?

Sound, mind and body mikes

Just finally got around to listening to Anne Nicholson Weber's Talk Theatre in Chicago interview with sound designers Nick Keenan, Ray Nardelli and Joshua Horvath. There's a lot of thought-provoking stuff (especially in the second half of the interview, when they get a little more free-form) about American theatergoers' relationship with sound design; as Anne admits, many regular theatergoers (including critics) don't know a lot about what goes into the sound designer's job. I was particularly compelled by their opinions on body miking, which I often find in the big touring houses (or even in relatively smaller proscenium spaces like the Goodman's Albert theater) makes me feel like there's a sheet of Plexiglass between the audience and the stage. The specific productions they discuss (Goodman's Rock 'N' Roll and Court's The Piano Lesson) have both, unfortunately, already closed, but it's still worth a listen.

Ministers, mechanics and merits

In this week's issue of TOC I review two world premieres (an appellation that makes me uncomfortable for reasons that may or may not be warranted). A Minister's Wife, the musicalization of Shaw's Candida by Josh Schmidt, Jan Tranen and Austin Pendleton, is charming if a bit meandering. Schmidt's score strikes me as lush, romantic and altogether different from his angular, intentionally mechanical work on Adding Machine (which I'm sad to say I've heard only via the New York cast recording—missing the original production at Next is high on my list of Great Theatrical Regrets).

Pavement Group's debut of Mallery Avidon's fracture/mechanics had me working hard to like a script I just couldn't. As much as there is to admire in David Perez's production, I just couldn't get down with Avidon's facile, ultra-slight play.

Meanwhile, I'll have a full report later today at the TOC Blog on last night's Non-Equity Jeff Awards ceremony.

Wow.

"I am offended that Phylicia Rashad is playing a white woman’s role in “August: Osage County.” … Let’s keep white actresses playing white roles and blacks playing black roles."

Case Studies in Criticism in the Interactive Age

As you know if you follow my thoughts here, at Time Out Chicago or in my various extracurricular ventures with any regularity, one of my favorite hobby horses is the opportunities that the online world provides for interaction among critics, artists and audiences, and how the internet does and doesn't change the game. A few recent incidents on the East Coast offer good examples and bad examples of critical conversation.

More transition stuff

In case you haven't seen the news at The Theater Loop, where Chris Jones was kind enough to let us make our announcement yesterday, TOC has hired John Beer as our new theater writer. John will be taking over my number-two position as I become theater editor next week. He's a terrific, savvy writer who's been reviewing for the section since late 2005, apart from a couple-year stint in New York where he wrote theater reviews for The Village Voice and all sorts of things for the Brooklyn Rail. His tastes complement my own without mimicking them, and I think he'll be a fantastic addition to the staff.

I would like to take the opportunity to address a couple of comments that came up on the Loop:

Oh good. Heaven knows we need more middle-aged white male critics in Chicago.

I was anticipating this one, for the most part—I think John and I both would object to "middle-aged," but I'll grant you the white male part. I've tried to make it known, in my writing at TOC, panel appearances, the Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast a few weeks back, and here at Storefront, that diversity among critics is something of a pet issue of mine; I hope to expand TOC's stable of freelancers over the next several months, and the folks I've already been in contact with are not all white males.

That said, in order to fill this position relatively quickly and smoothly, we needed someone who didn't need an extended trial run, who already knew the TOC voice, and who was willing to work part time. Which brings us to our next comment:

For anyone paying attention, it seems clear that Time Out's theatre section is in serious trouble in its print form. When announcing Piatt's resignation, the Tribune reported that TOC "assured that new position would be full-time." With this announcement, it is clear the position is part-time. Also, a key reason for Vire's promotion was his interest in the TOC online brand. Something tells me that two years from now, TOC's theatre coverage will be online only, if at all.

The actual quote from the Trib's original reporting, which is still accessible because, news flash, this is the internet, read: "Frank Sennett, editor of Time Out Chicago, said that he plans to hire a replacement for Vire, offering a rare job opportunity for a theater critic." (For purposes of full disclosure, my TOC boss Frank Sennett and Chris Jones are pals going back to their shared tenure at NewCity in the ’90s.)

Note that nobody said at the time the replacement hiring would be full-time. That's because a month ago, when Piatt had just given his notice, we didn't know what the plan was going to be. I was just happy that Frank was committing to hiring a replacement at all. I wasn't surprised when we decided that, given current economic realities, it would be shifted to part-time. I'm delighted that part-time status is actually amenable to John.

What this means is that I'm basically restructuring everything about the way our section is run week-to-week, which is a great segue to the next point of this comment: "For anyone paying attention, it seems clear that Time Out's theatre section is in serious trouble in its print form."

Allow me to put on my new editor's hat here. "For anyone paying attention, it seems clear that print media worldwide is in serious trouble in its print form." FIXED.

Christopher Piatt and I have both strived to be transparent in our processes, which is what a lot of Storefront Rebellion has ended up being about. That's why Christopher has made no bones about the fact that he's less comfortable in the online world than I am, and I made a point of telling Chris Jones that the new writer position would be part-time.

Print space is a decreasing commodity everywhere. Our print listings may not be as fully comprehensive every week as I'd like them to be, but every listing will always be on the site. I'm also looking at the possibility of running some reviews as Web-exclusive, as well as increasing our emphasis on blog content and finding new ways to work with online content that the print mag can't provide. That doesn't mean the theater section will disappear in print—we are still primarily a print product, and my first focus will always be on what subscribers get in their mailboxes—but, given that the theater section gets much of the highest traffic on timeoutchicago.com, I don't think it's the end of the world, either.

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I can't finish this post without acknowledging that it's the first post here at Storefront in two weeks, and the last was pretty much filler. And the theater section at the TOC blog has been pretty active in that time. So I guess I don't know yet if Storefront can continue in its current form—maybe after I've cleared the transition hurdle, I'll be back with enough energy for both. I hope so. This blog has deepened my relationship to the scene I've been blessed to write about for the last four-plus years, and I hope it can remain. What I'm saying is, keep me in your feed reader, 'cause I hope there's more to come.

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Also-also? The third of the three comments on the Loop blog as of this posting reads only:

Three cheers for Kris Vire!!!

Um, okay! I don't know what I did to deserve that, but consider yourself deeply thanked, "Thrbuff." I really appreciate it.

May I recommend...

Kind of a lackluster week of reviews at TOC—we wrote up six shows, and none of them scored above three stars (though I should note that John Beer was "on the cusp" of recommending Raven's Hedda Gabler).

Luckily, though, there are lots of good shows already running, and I have a backlog of shows I'm hoping to catch up with in the next few weeks, including Theo Ubique's Evita, Theatre Seven's Diversey Harbor, ATC's Hedwig and The Overwhelming at Next, to name a few, and more opening shortly about which I hear good things (like The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which I'm catching tomorrow night at Northlight, and the Goodman's Rock ’n’ Roll, opening next week).

Since I'm too swamped to write much of substance here at the moment, I thought I'd offer up a list of the current shows I have seen and can personally recommend. Links to full info at TOC so I don't have to duplicate it here.

The Flu Season (thru May 31)
The History Boys (thru June 21; may extend)
Mary Poppins (thru July 12)
Million Dollar Quartet (open run)
Pumpgirl (thru May 24)
Red Noses (thru May 23)
Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens (thru May 9)
The Tempest (thru May 31)
The Wonderful World of Dissocia (thru May 10)

What do you recommend?

More on the Jeff noms

For those who were wondering about The Christmas Schooner's eligibility, I followed up on the TOC blog. Nothing against Mary Beidler Gearen, Laura McClain, Jim Sherman, Jeremy Ramey or anyone else involved with this year's production, but it is a good question—and I didn't get a very satisfactory answer.