Open letter to Arts Editors
In response to today’s article in the Ottawa XPress about getting people into the theatre. I’m really glad the XPress is including critical articles like this one, provoking discussion and all the rest. I only wish they had more space to continue because I think the writer was only on the cusp of an interesting idea. I, for one, would have loved to have kept on reading. Also, I would like to point out that if theatre companies received proper arts funding, it is likely that their ticket prices wouldn’t be so high.
Dear Arts Editors,
Have we done something wrong?
We’ve been sending you press releases full of witticisms and high definition photos, and then following up with bubbly phone calls letting you know why our productions are important and why your readers would enjoy them. We work hard to formulate selling points for every production within the season. Sometimes we even risk artistic integrity by marketing our productions in a way that would appeal to a wide variety of people because we know how important that is.
We try really, really hard – and yet we feel you are completely ignoring us. You keep cutting back on local arts coverage in favour of productions from out-of-town, or celebrity gossip, or Hollywood movies. Some of you even decided that personal interest stories are pretty much the same as arts stories and therefore meshed the two sections together. Why would you do that?
Doesn’t local theatre deserve to be recognized? Haven’t we accomplished enough for you to take some notice? Is there anything else we can do to appeal to your interests?
We’re getting a little desperate these days because the City of Ottawa wants to cut our arts funding (not only from theatre, but from festivals and museums). I love this city and I know – because I’ve done my research – that we have a vibrant arts scene. But our mayor doesn’t know this. Why? Perhaps because you’re not telling him so.
If you keep refusing to hear our ideas, to celebrate our achievements, to share our stories with the rest of our community, then you are saying that our local arts scene has no importance. And you’re the media: so if you say so, then it must be true.
You have the power to change minds, to alter perspectives. Please reveal the truth about our arts scene. Please show people that there is much to be proud of. Please fight for discussion, enlightenment, imagination, and innovation. We are willing to fight, but we need your help.
Yours respectfully,
Jessica Ruano
Performing Arts Enthusiast
November 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm
Open letter to Arts Editors…
You keep cutting back on local arts coverage in favour of productions from out-of-town, or celebrity gossip, or Hollywood movies. Some of you even decided that personal interest stories are pretty much the same as arts stories and ……
November 13, 2008 at 8:51 pm
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November 14, 2008 at 12:57 am
Referring to the XPress article, I agree with arts funding for these types of things. $24 is too high for an amateur theatre production (what do the university arts programs charge for their plays?). Assuming that there isn’t a lot of fat to be trimmed in their budgets.
But, also, what about the desirability of their programs? Even something like Shaw will have a bad year if their plays aren’t attractive to theatre-goers. In the local “little theatre”, there’s one play that interests me this year. Some years, there are three or more. Obviously, I’m just one person… but there must be a general concept of a desirable/undesirable play?
And, what about the concept of young people attending the theatre at all? The article refers to it, but maybe theatre isn’t popular with younger people regardless of the program. It’s not at all popular with younger people in my area, but I live in a regularly old-aged town.
I think there must be a problem getting young people out to even professional theatre, because both the Shaw and Stratford have deep-discount programs for under-30s.
November 16, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Ottawa theatre companies are also trying really hard to give discounts to “young people” (or at least students) by offering last-minute tickets at $10-11 each. That’s about the same as a movie, right?
But the thing is, I think a lot of students have major preconceptions about going to the theatre. They feel intimidated. I was marking papers for this theatre course of students, some of whom had never seen a play before, and they feel like they have to act a certain way or dress a certain way – as if they’re going to a wedding or a funeral for someone they don’t know. It can be stressful! That’s why I think the Fringe Festival is such a good thing: the tickets are cheap; it’s a really chill atmosphere; and they can drink beer between shows.
I also feel so much pressure bringing a non-theatre friend to a show with me. I think, gawd, if they don’t like it, then that’s ruined their idea of theatre for life! It’s like sushi. Strange huh? I mean, just because you see a rotten movie, doesn’t mean that you’re going to despise the art form for all eternity. What’s going on here?
November 16, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Well, isn’t that called etiquette, and haven’t people always found it stressful? I still dress at least in business casual for the theatre and I don’t like it that much, but it’s part of the whole package! The difference is that now there’s this idea going around that you shouldn’t have to be stressed if you don’t want to be and that your concerns should be pandered to as a consumer.
I went to the Junca show closing the Toronto flamenco festival yesterday, wearing jeans and shirt and a fuzzy kind of overshirt. I was quite under-dressed. It’s odd to me that flamenco of all things has been turned into a high-brow thing… it’s a gypsy thing! Then again, the tickets were $80! Still, next time I would dress a bit better :)
November 24, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Just a little something, I thought I should clear up. My fault, entirely. If you noticed this comment [ http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/stage/stage.aspx?iIDArticle=16030 ] on the XPress website, here is my response…
Hi Cormac,
I think there was some confusion about my response to John’s article a couple of weeks ago. It was not directed at you in the slightest, but rather at some of the larger media who have cut down significantly on local content. I have been reading your theatre section lately, and I have been impressed by the amount of coverage. I was actually really happy that you had decided to include a critical article about why people aren’t seeing theatre. I agree — ticket prices are too high sometimes, and people just aren’t interested. But there are other reasons as well.
That comment about meshing personal interest stories and arts stories was actually directed at the Ottawa Citizen. Recently they combined their “Arts” section and “Life” section, which means fewer stories for both sections. And there’s still this focus on Hollywood gossip — shouldn’t that be the responsibility of teen magazines?
I actually wrote that brief diatribe for my website, and prefaced it by congratulating your publication on taking a critical stance on Ottawa’s arts community. Perhaps I should have done that when I submitted the piece for the online XPress: anyway, you can read it here — http://jessicaruano.wordpress.com/2008/11/13/open-letter-to-arts-editors/
I wanted to write a similar response to your comment online, but the website only allows for one comment per contributor. But feel free to include publicly anything I’ve written here, if you can find a way.
No hard feelings, I hope.
Jessica