Just To Make Something Really Clear...

I thought that post I wrote on the British funding cuts had enough qualifiers about it being ugly/silly/spiteful etc. to make it clear that it's not like I walk around all day rejoicing int he downfall of British arts funding. Furthermore, I thought the clarifying comment I left responding to David Cote made it clear that I know the difference between empty trendy British theatre and empty trendy Continental theatre.  I also was pretty sure I made it clear that I don't actually support the funding cuts, but rather was confessing to a petty thing that I've felt occasionally as a result of the steady stream of imperious assholes the UK and the continent sends to theatre conferences here in the states.

Apparently, I was wrong.  To which all I can say is ::sigh::. It's stupid to get in an argument about things you don't actually disagree about, so I won't. Chris Wilkinson is right, but I'm surprised it wasn't clear I wasn't making an argument about anything, I was venting about something I was feeling, based on experience I've had. And I'm frankly mystified by the assertion that someone who writes about theatre has never heard a British theatre artist or critic be a snot about American theatre. But I mean, if he hasn't had that experience, that's cool.  I wasn't-- to say it for the nth time-- making an argument about anything. I was just venting.

Now obviously, I think everyone over there is rightfully tetchy about the upcoming cuts; I would be too. So I understand that everything that's not vocally opposing the cuts is hard to take even when it comes wrapped in so many grains of salt you could make a crust and cook it in an oven.  So just to reiterate: I would much rather the States funded like England, instead of the other way around.  I'm a big fan of government subsidy for the arts, and I agree with an earlier Guardian poster that post-War Britain has lived through a multi-decade long golden age of theatre (along with Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, Elton John and other schlockmeisters). I'd like that to continue.

It's very hard not to be deeply frustrated by a blog post that misrepresents what I wrote in such a way that a former collaborator and ex-friend can then attack me in the comments. I mean, I understand that's how the internet rolls, it's just not pleasant when it rolls over you.

Comments

[Wendell]

Your blog's sub-title brought me a good chuckle, Isaac! :)

I hope the roll-over rolls away with limited effect. I can't say I know much about theater, but I remember digging your and Alex's productions back at the VC.

And to brag, some Edward Gorey "Entertainments" which only contributed further to this demented mind of mine. :devil grin:

[Chris Wilkinson]

Hello Isaac

I am sorry if you felt I misrepresented you in my blog – let me try and explain my position.

Firstly – as I hope you know, I am, generally speaking, a big fan of both you and Parabasis – I have probably linked to your blog more frequently than any other in the time that I have been writing Noises Off. I never intend to wilfully misrepresent people in what I write, but inevitably, word limits mean that I can rarely provide a complete portrait of someone’s position – though given that what I am quoting is only a click away I work on the assumption that most people can read the original if they want to.

The reason why I picked up on that particular post was, firstly, because I was surprised by how scathing you were of British theatre practitioners in general (I spend most of my time working as a director, not a journalist, and so your criticism felt quite personal!), and secondly because (as you say) there is a great deal of sensitivity over here at the moment about the upcoming cuts and so it seemed relevant. I did mention in what I wrote that you had described your own comment as “ugly” and therefore were not necessarily completely endorsing your own words, but it is fair to say that I could have been clearer that you were not actually endorsing the cuts themselves.

However, I do take issue with your characterisation of the attitude of British directors to American theatre. (And that was the main thing I picked up on in your post.) Have I heard people say that American theatre is more conservative that British theatre? Yes (not least from lots of the American directors I met when I took part in the LCT Directors Lab some time ago) but not for the reasons you suggest.

You argue that the Brits criticize: “American directors [for] actually caring about telling a vaguely similar story to that laid out in the script, or caring about narrative at all, or being worried about boring their audience,” and the implication of this, surely, is that directors in the UK or Europe don’t care about any of these things - that we want to bore our audiences or mess up plays and so on – and I think this is absolutely untrue. Firstly, I don’t know any serious theatre maker, here or anywhere, that wants to bore their audience. Secondly, In the UK at least, fidelity to the text is as highly valued as it is in the US. Sure, things are different in parts of Europe and that can be both a good thing and a bad thing, but I really don’t know anyone in Britain who would use that fact as a stick to beat American theatre with.

When I have heard people criticize American theatre for being conservative the argument usually runs: “a lack of public subsidy means that ticket prices are higher and there is a much heavier reliance on corporate cash – so therefore theatre makers are forced to make more conventional choices in order to appeal to a wealthier (and probably more conservative) audience.” So the criticism is not of US theatre makers themselves, but of the context within which they are working.

For what its worth, personally, I do (In very general terms) think that Off Broadway work can tend to be a bit more conservative than the stuff you might see in the subsidized sector in London. But equally, I think the stuff you find Off Off Broadway (at least what I have seen) tends to be significantly more exciting and radical than that which appears on the London fringe. There are probably all sorts of reasons for this, but that is for a separate blog.

I am sorry that you have experienced lots of snotty Brits coming over to the US and criticizing what you do. It surprises me because of the degree to which the UK embraces American work over here – those writers and companies I mentioned on my blog are amongst many Americans who enjoy a great deal of success over here precisely because there is a real appetite for their work.

I hope that all makes sense! As I say, I am generally a big fan of yours, so I am sorry if you felt I was unfair to you in my original post.

Chris.