Some modest proposals for better theater criticism in 2014

Dig deeper. A synopsis does not a review make. Pay more attention to design. How is it helping/hindering the storytelling? Get some more women up in here. An artistic community thrives on diversity. The community of criticism might also profit if white male world views took a back seat. Stick to your job. Certainly, yes please, rake that artistic director over the coals if you think they've chosen boring or irrelevant plays. Or if you find the director's casting lacks imagination. But suggesting certain plays or playwrights be produced is not really your job. Suggesting specific combinations of actors to be in a play together is definitely not your job. Don't encourage the Guthrie to hire more Hollywood talent just to sell more tickets. If you encourage that evolutionary branch of American theater (celebrity = profitability) I can only assume you hate the art form and wish it dead. I'm sick of your favorites. Do your best in 2014 to introduce us to some new blood in your publication (and not just actors). While you're at it, why not take a step back and call out one of your "favorites" who might be phoning it in? You are not a dialect expert. Period. Think before you write. How do you KNOW when to give credit/criticism to the actor and when to give credit/criticism to the director? If you don't know for sure, should it be included in your review? Do you like your job? Where does your criticism come from? What got you writing or caring about theater in the first place? Most of the artists you are hired to criticize cling to their theater jobs out of love, not profitability. Don't misconstrue this as a plea to go easy on them. No. But allow their passion to inform how you approach criticism. Everyone can tell the difference between criticism rooted in snarky self-importance and criticism rooted in a passion for great storytelling. We need more of the latter.