Good job, Twin Cities
Some updates are in order
The internet is a lovely paradox. It provides us with instant access to a nearly permanent archive of literally everything anyone has ever done, said or even thought about since its inception (and, conveniently, porn parodies of everything anyone has ever done, said or even thought about). However, the internet also has the attention span of a drunk goldfish, so it's virtually guaranteed that anything and everything that we were totally enraptured with last week is completely forgotten this week. It's the grist that keeps the Buzzfeed mill pumping.
Despite our sudden lack of object permanence, that doesn't stop things from continuing to exist. So, let's get this week started off right by reminding you of some things we talked about previously and checking in on where that story went when we stopped paying attention. I know, it's the adult equivalent of playing peek-a-boo with an infant, but, in the Buzzfeed tradition, "What They Do Next Will Shock You!"
A few weeks ago, I talked extensively about a controversy in Chicago, which you, as good Minnesotans, entirely ignored, because the only thing you're supposed to hate more than Green Bay is Chicago. If you still feel like ignoring this story because it happened in the third largest city in the country and not here, let me sum it up by saying it was a controversy that exposed the waning role that traditional theater criticism has. This week, I have for you not just one, but two different articles from critics reflecting on whether or not their craft matters anymore. (Trigger warning for some sensitive members of my reading audience: one of the articles is from HowlRound. However, I'm not going to tell you which one. Choose wisely.)
Early in this year, I gave you a vocabulary list to study, which none of you actually studied, because Americans don't need no book learnin'. However, there was an article in there from the Guardian about the charming British term "cripping up", which my spellcheck refuses to recognize, because why on earth would I want to write a phrase that sounds so offensive? This was following on the heels of an Atlantic article from last year about the casting of able-bodied actors as disabled characters. Now there is a new article out about the hit Broadway play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, questioning the decision to cast a "neurotypical" actor as a character on the autism spectrum. (Again, fair warning, I'm sending you to an article on HowlRound.)
Finally, if you've been reading News and Notes for a while, you'll know that I have a curious fascination with the art world's curious fascination with big, expensive, damn confusing buildings. If you agree with me that arts organizations spend too much time and money trying to build expensive shells for themselves, you should rejoice. One show in New York has chosen to house itself in a temporary building that is scheduled to come down when the show is done running. Sure, it still cost $12 million, but, hey, at least they won't be coming to the state looking for more money for their for-profit enterprise.
Fight for your right to appropriate
As an artist, the law is not usually on your side (especially when it comes to taxes). Even when the law in question is supposed to be explicitly on your side, it's still damn confusing.
Take copyright law, for example, which seems to be selectively enforced primarily on the basis of who has more money. Earlier this year, Tom Petty was awarded songwriting credit on Sam Smith's "Stay With Me", even though everyone involved admits that (a) Tom Petty wasn't actually one of the songwriters of "Stay With Me"; and (b) none of the songwriters of "Stay With Me" intentionally ripped off Tom Petty. But, even though there was no intentional plagiarism, and even though Tom Petty's music is so basic that just about every songwriter will "rip off" Petty at some point by stringing three chords together, copyright law is such that Sam Smith's label gave Petty his credit and 12.5% royalty just to avoid a lawsuit they knew they'd lose.
But you should know that copyright law is really, really, really weird, and sometimes things that you would easily assume would violate it actually don't. Which is why I feel I have to talk to you about Three's Company now. Listen, I don't want to talk about a seventies-era sitcom about a man pretending to be gay so that his weirdly specifically bigoted landlord will let him room with two women any more than you do, but copyright law has forced me to.
In 2012, playwright David Adjmi's 3C appeared off Broadway. It was set in the '70s, featured a man pretending to be gay so that he could room with two women, and it looked an awful lot like Three's Company, which is why the copyright owners of the sitcom put their lawyers on the case immediately. At issue was whether 3C was a parody that rose to the level of fair use, or whether this was just another copyright infringement that needed squashing.
The sad fact is that most copyright cases are settled out of court because the accused infringer doesn't feel they have the time or money to fight the accusation in court, but Adjmi took up the fight for three years, and, lo and behold, he actually won!. The best part is that the decision cited precedent in the case of Warner Bros., Inc. v. Amer. Broadcasting Cos., Inc, 720 F.2d 231(2d Cir. 1983), which is better known as Superman v. The Greatest American Hero, and that is just readymade for the internet.
Now, I'm no lawyer, so I don't know what this says about the state of copyright law or the state of Three's Company fandom, but if I had to guess, I would say that it means you're free to steal whatever you want! Uncreativity for everyone!*
*Note: this is absolutely not what this means.
Let's hear it for the Twin Cities
As a transplant to Minnesota, there are still many things about your culture that confuse and disturb me. However, I chose to live here, and I'm usually proud to live here. Hell, there's only one shameful thing on City Pages' list of "Shameful Things to Admit in the Twin Cities" that I have to admit. It's that damn "duck, duck, gray duck" thing. It's a goose, damn you! It's always been a goose! It will always be a goose! I am not ashamed!
But this week, there's been an inordinate amount of good news coming from the Twin Cities theater world, and I'm glad I get to share it with you, in no particular order:
The Bush Foundation handed out some big $100,000 grants for its Community Creative Cohort. That gloriously unrestricted money went to a few of our beloved local theaters Children's Theatre Company and Pillsbury House.
On the for-profit side of things, Chanhassen Dinner Theatre has actually started to make a profit again. That's no small accomplishment, considering that Equity dinner theater has almost completely disappeared.
You might remember last year when Ballet of the Dolls, longtime residents of the Ritz Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, was put on indefinite hiatus following the hospitalization of founder Myron Johnson. You should know that even though the Dolls are still in limbo, Johnson is moving his way back into the dance world.
Speaking of the Ritz, the Minnesota Fringe Festival just announced its venue lineup for this summer, and the Ritz (along with its adjoining studio space) is back in the mix, along with first-timer Nimbus Theater. This means that, for the first time, Northeast has a Fringe hub, and, for the first time, there's a chance I won't have to go very far from my house to see a Fringe show.
And, finally, the changing of the guard continues. We found out earlier this year that Bain Boehlke would be retiring from the Jungle Theater. Just like Mu Performing Arts, Penumbra Theatre and the Guthrie, another one of our long-running local institutions would be getting a newer, younger and hopefully hipper artistic director. Unfortunately, the Jungle's announcement went out to the world mere hours after my column ran last week, so you probably already know this, but they've chosen Sarah Rasmussen. Rasmussen is coming to us from heading up the MFA directing program at University of Texas - Austin and she's directed just about everywhere, so it will be interesting to see what she brings to the Lyn-Lake theater.
A desperate cry for help
So, that was overwhelmingly upbeat and local (which should make my editor happy for once). Now, let me dash all that by saying, "Why are you so focused on the Twin Cities?! There's a whole state out there that you never write about! What the hell, me?!"
That's where I need your help, readers from the rest of the state. I write a lot about local Twin Cities theater, because that's where I'm at. I write a lot about national and international theater, because it's easy to find news about that sort of thing. However, I have a harder time finding news from the rest of the state. It's unfair, and I know it is, so help a guy out. If you know of any theater news going on anywhere else in Minnesota, let me know. Leave a comment on any article I write with a link to something I should know about. I will read it. Seriously, I'm that lonely.
