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Stories that deserve your attention

To Produce or Not to Produce: Neil LaBute

“Producing Neil LaBute’s work is oppressive to womxn, people of size, people of color, people with disabilities, and many other groups, while simultaneously putting money into the hands of someone known to be problematic and hurtful. Keep your theatre life safe and healthy, and truly consider your choice before producing, or working on, a Neil LaBute piece.”

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Observations Christopher Peterson Observations Christopher Peterson

Can Nostalgia Propel Theater Forward?

Those who love theater will find a way to continue to make it.  They’ll convince someone who has never seen a play to come see it and they will fall in love with the art form. The next time a show gets put up in the local community theater, they’ll spend their money to come and see it, even if they don’t know anyone involved. The important thing is that they show up.  We need them to show up.

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Observations Christopher Peterson Observations Christopher Peterson

End Post Play Preaching

You’ve probably seen it: at the end of a play about some kind of tragedy, every character in the play starts interlocking monologues that individually paint their own pictures but which add up to a bigger picture, and the audience is often forced to move their heads around like their watching the worst game of tennis ever. I can see why playwrights would do this, but I think it is hurting plays.

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Observations Christopher Peterson Observations Christopher Peterson

A Case for Critics

Critiquing art isn’t about tearing it down or throwing blanket support, it’s about holding art to a higher standard. Good, honest criticism comes from a place of desire for understanding and pushing the piece of art forward.

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Observations Christopher Peterson Observations Christopher Peterson

The 2019 State of the Theater Address

Yes, unfortunately the state of the theater has become a disaster and it does not look like there is a rescue team on the way to clean up and revert back to a civilized manner. What happened to the days you could actually sit in the dark, sometimes with over a thousand people and enjoy seeing and hearing exactly what was happening on stage, without an inkling of it becoming a miserable experience.

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