At the end of the day, we all know the truth. We know what it feels like and sounds like. It isn’t something that can be faked. If you didn’t like my play, I’ll know it. And you’ll know I know it. So why not just be a pal? At the end of the show, wrap your arms around me and congratulate me. I’ll know what you really felt. And I’ll be thankful that my friends like and respect me even when they don’t like my work.It's precisely this type of naked emotional neediness that makes non-theater people hate theater people. It makes me hate them, too. Oversensitive playwrights need to get over themselves, or go into therapy, or something other than asking people to hand over their money and then demand validation on top of it. If you're not confident enough to defend your work, don't put it out there. Put it in your journal -- not your PUBLIC BLOG, but your super-secret-in-the-bedside-table-diary -- and leave your friends and everyone else alone. Because in the real world, you have to give and take, not just take.
(Unless Shinn is kidding, in which case this article is HILARIOUS.)
[The Awl]
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I dunno. I understand that part of presenting your work in the public is that the public has access to it, which may very well lead to some people *gasp!* not liking it. Yet, I also believe that just because something is public doesn't mean that there are no boundaries for what's appropriate.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, while I'm riding on the subway, I might bump into someone, but that doesn't give a random person the right to grope me.
That's not to say that everyone who offers feedback is doing the verbal equivalent of groping someone on the subway, but I think a case can be made for exercising a little restraint.
However, when you invite reviewers or have previews for the press *cough*Spiderman*cough* all bets are off because you got what you asked for.
Heh. Spiderman...
ReplyDeleteMy issue is that, if Shinn is in earnest, he's just laying out a how-to guide on sycophancy ... *for his friends*. The conclusion isn't that he wants comments couched respectfully, it's that he wants a pat on the head, _regardless_ of what the audience member really thought.
I think to demand grinning dishonesty is a cop-out. Live theater embodies a dialog -- it's why you're in the same room at that moment, and if you really want immunity from an audience's reaction, (a) don't go to your own show, or (b) write screenplays [and then don't go to screenings].
The conclusion isn't that he wants comments couched respectfully, it's that he wants a pat on the head, _regardless_ of what the audience member really thought.
ReplyDeleteI think there are some entertaining possibilities with that.