Friday, November 20, 2009
Theater Our Lil' Old Theater Scene
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 12:05 PM
Is the subject of a profile in the NYT... travel section? The article doesn't say much about Seattle theater except that it exists, it includes/ed people like Bart Sher, Kurt Beattie, et al.
Also: "Offbeat delights abound."
In the "offbeat" category:
Teatro ZinZanni, for instance, offers a five-course meal and a European-style cirque act, sometimes with aerial performing in the relatively small space. Another entertaining staple is “The Twilight Zone: Live!,” a long-running stage re-enactment of episodes from the Rod Serling series, at Theater Schmeater.
Is it an insult to have a city's theater scene profiled in a travel section, by a writer who doesn't show much curiosity about it? Or is it a compliment? Does it signal that the scene is of interest to the generalist, not just the specialist?
More fundamentally: Does it even fucking matter?
UPDATE!
I'm taking the "fucking" out of the last sentence because it made the question sound more petulant than I feel. And now commenters (and several email correspondents) are all: "You're a sneering dumb irresponsible jerk who's all threatened by the NYT travel writer." And I don't feel threatened or sneering or jerky about it.
I'm guessing the "fucking" caused the confusion. (As the fucking sometimes does.)
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1
Is it important to you for the Seattle theatre scene to be accessible only to specialists? If so, then yes, this is an insult. Otherwise, this spells "increased revenue", and unless you're the sort of hipster who's so douche as to consider "operating in the black" as equivalent to "selling out", this is a Good Thing.
2
@1 "hipster who's so douche" -- please try not writing like the Stranger hackles, otherwise, carry on BREKLOR!
ques 1a (before comma) - no
ques 1b (after comm) - yes
ques 3 complementary colors - difficult
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co…
ques 4 - losing interest, it's not about winning either
ques 5 more fundamental - need this question on loud audio,
ques 1a (before comma) - no
ques 1b (after comm) - yes
ques 3 complementary colors - difficult
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co…
ques 4 - losing interest, it's not about winning either
ques 5 more fundamental - need this question on loud audio,
3
If you refrain from reading the Travel Section, you won't be disturbed by these sorts of reports, which are what the Travel Section is for.
4
@1 I don't know if it actually means increased revenue. My little town in Southeast Alaska got written up in the NYT Travel section last spring and even the businesses mentioned in the article didn't get extra interest.
5
Hey at least they're saying something positive about the theatre scene. Best press it's gotten in a while. Thanks for cross-posting Brendan.
6
Brendan, I guess now that the election is over we can all forget about that "Culture Constituency" stuff, huh? We'll just settle in and read as you try to find the insult in a Seattle arts scene being written up in the NYT.
8
Brendan--I'm a little confused...why the 'tude, dude? Even the title of your entry "Our Lil' Old Theater Scene" incapsulates your obvious growing resentment towards a group of genuinely talented and hardworking artists. Then, you went so far as to project this resentment all over the NYT article like some pornstar coming on someone's face. What gives? What's your frustration? Do you feel challenged by Mr. Healy, who can obviously write without the implied snark present in all YOUR pieces? Do you feel your turf infringed upon by someone else championing the Seattle Theater scene, quite thoughtfully I might add? Or do you just feel patronized by some NYC attention? Whatever the reason, I say take it to your therapist and leave it out of the SLOG. While you're at it, maybe you could deal with your "More fundamentally: Does it even fucking matter?" existential crisis. I'm interested in the theater not your drama.
Brendan--I'm a little confused...why the 'tude, dude? Even the title of your entry "Our Lil' Old Theater Scene" incapsulates your obvious growing resentment towards a group of genuinely talented and hardworking artists. Then, you went so far as to project this resentment all over the NYT article like some pornstar coming on someone's face. What gives? What's your frustration? Do you feel challenged by Mr. Healy, who can obviously write without the implied snark present in all YOUR pieces? Do you feel your turf infringed upon by someone else championing the Seattle Theater scene, quite thoughtfully I might add? Or do you just feel patronized by some NYC attention? Whatever the reason, I say take it to your therapist and leave it out of the SLOG. While you're at it, maybe you could deal with your "More fundamentally: Does it even fucking matter?" existential crisis. I'm interested in the theater not your drama.
9
This article promotes Seattle as a cultural destination. That's a good thing. And if these theaters sell more tickets as a result, then that's an even better thing.
10
I read up to where the writer described the vitality of our '90s arts scene in terms of the movie "Singles", then flipped the paper away and went to breakfast.
11
I think Brendan's point is that the article didn't actually mention any good, fringe theater companies in Seattle. And there are so many! Teatro Zinzanni is fine, but it's not exactly theater, more just gimmiky fun. It seems that the author did a haphazard google search rather than actually researching popular local theaters.
12
Brendan, you can't possibly think that it was just the word "fucking" that was an issue.
Let's forget the content - the last sentence in your piece, the one that contained "fucking"? What was the purpose of that sentence, logically? Forget what or who this post was about - and simply consider it as a point of debate.
From -my- reading, it's pretty clear that the function of that last sentence is to cast as irrelevant any passions or issues that might be aroused. Your asking if this is insulting, where you, insult the other writing as not "show(ing) much curiosity"- dismissing that a travel piece mentions August Wilson, venues and festivals come and gone, and quotes from some of those involved. All this seeming contempt directed against a piece titled "A Theater Scene Sparkles in Seattle" and "A Permanent Theater Festival on Puget Sound."
I have no idea what you mean by "fundamentally" - but here's a stab at it: I'm trying to have a few laughs before I die. How about you?
Let's forget the content - the last sentence in your piece, the one that contained "fucking"? What was the purpose of that sentence, logically? Forget what or who this post was about - and simply consider it as a point of debate.
From -my- reading, it's pretty clear that the function of that last sentence is to cast as irrelevant any passions or issues that might be aroused. Your asking if this is insulting, where you, insult the other writing as not "show(ing) much curiosity"- dismissing that a travel piece mentions August Wilson, venues and festivals come and gone, and quotes from some of those involved. All this seeming contempt directed against a piece titled "A Theater Scene Sparkles in Seattle" and "A Permanent Theater Festival on Puget Sound."
I have no idea what you mean by "fundamentally" - but here's a stab at it: I'm trying to have a few laughs before I die. How about you?
13
Some of us travel a lot on business. So we read the travel section because we might wind up somewhere and wonder what kinds of stuff there is to do in that town in between meetings, client dinners, and watching movies on demand in the hotel room. Offbeat theater--for some--might be an interesting event to take in. For others, a botanical garden, a museum, a NASCAR race. Lighten up!
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