A new fringe director, audience rudeness, and sustainability

My niece and brother were in town on Saturday, and we went to the Minnesota History Center and the Twins vs. Tigers game, but I wish we'd had the time to fit in Tucker's Robot at Open Eye Figure Theatre. Could it be that I'm jealous of Ira Brooker's rocking experience with his three-and-a-half year old son's first public performance? Just a little. Local I wasn't expecting any announcement on the successor to Robin Gillette's position as Minnesota Fringe Executive Director until after the 2013 fringe Bacchanalia. That made Monday's news that Jeff Larson would be the next Executive Director quite the surprise. A very fine, welcome surprise. Jeff has worked at the Minnesota Fringe for fourteen years--as Technical Director, Director of Production and Sponsorship, and currently as Associate Director (wherein he handles the production management, social media, and the corporate partnerships), so he's an ideal candidate who knows the organization already. I found myself relieved that the new director isn't a new face from out of town, and is instead someone who has a track record and continuity with the organization, and I'm excited to hear about the new ideas he'll bring to the 2014 fringe. National Are you an audience member, a consumer, or a tweeter? As Margot Adler explores the question "if audiences are becoming ruder", these are the divisions that emerge, split largely between those 50 and older, those of approximately 42, and then the younger generation, all of whom are looking for different experiences at the theatre. The audience rudeness question is being explored in the wake of Kevin Williamson's epic cell-phone toss and other incidents of audience bad behavior. If you recall, a woman seated next to Williamson persisted in using her cell phone during a performance for web-browsing, and he grabbed it out of her hand and tossed it across the theatre. I haven't run into many problems regarding the cell phone use, or downright rudeness or distractions, from other theatregoers. Anecdotally, it seems that Minnesotans are generally well-versed in theatre etiquette, or at least know when it's permissible and when it isn't. Perhaps because of that training, I still felt a little weird during last week's Wits episode with David Koechner as I tweeted throughout the show. Even though audience members are encouraged to tweet, I still worried I was being too much of a distraction to my neighbors. It seems the theatre realm has indeed taught me well. But it's also at times like Wits I wonder if it's worth it--as I concentrate on what I'm tweeting, I'm missing the setup to a joke, a punchline, a lyric, a moment of improvisation that I might not have if I were fully paying attention. I'm essentially missing the performance to do a mini-performance of my own. In summation, if you're not in Tweet Seats or encouraged to be on your phone during a performance, be courteous, cognizant of others, and willing to focus on the show. International Over the course of writing 19 of these blog entries, the International section is where I talk about what's happening abroad, often centered on the UK and examining how they're shaping production and business models, or exploring interesting issues in their community that aren't present in the US. But one problem that's present on both sides of the Atlantic is limited roles for actors of Color. Speaking in terms of the Minneapolis/St. Paul theatre community, I think we value diversity, and as time goes on and more pressure is exerted on the powers that be, we're seeing the positive outcomes of more casting opportunities for African-Americans. I'm taking the recent Tony Awards as a positive indicator that this is happening more at the national level, and that even if there's more work to be done, we're making in-roads as a community and nation to make our stages more inclusive and that actors of all colors, sexes, and orientations have opportunities available. And though often I think it seems like there's been no progress, or that it's inching along at imperceptible speed, there is movement. My inner heteronormative white dude was just knocked flat on his back. Get down and stay down, you! Sustainable Theatre As I mentioned, I was at the History Center this past weekend with my niece, and while there we got a lesson on rationing during wartime. A staff member mentioned that many of these rationing techniques are now being used by the sustainability crowd. Jeremy Pickard, an actor and eco-playwright with ties with local theatre company Upright Egg and member of said crowd, writes for TCG Circle on sustainability in theatre. Jeremy's Planet Play series focuses on ecology topics--Uranus for waste, Venus for energy--and each are reflections of his green theatre sensibilities: "I choose to value sustainability," Pickard writes, "not only because I want to use my art to ignite environmental conversations, but also because every definition of the word 'sustainable' implies endurance, discipline and creativity." The theatre community is not unfamiliar with art on a shoestring, but sustainability isn't just about minimalism--it's about working creatively to "build epic and magical worlds" from what you have and what you can find. Sustainability also means different things to different people, and the thrust of the article--which I do suggest that you read in its entirety--is encapsulating all the different approaches one can take, and asking questions on how to proceed. Unsustainable Film Last week at the University of Southern California, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas spoke on how the film industry might change in the coming years, possibly becoming more akin to a Broadway model. This change hinges on a cinema doomsday scenario: "There's going to be an implosion where three or four or maybe even a half-dozen megabudget movies are going to go crashing into the ground, and that's going to change the paradigm." That seems like a real possibility that could happen at any given time, especially considering on the propensity of pop culture hounds (i.e., me) to titter over box office receipts from weekend to weekend. But, as Drew McWeeny points out, though the film industry is in transition, no one knows what new model it will snap into next. I agree too with his position that film transitioning to a Broadway model is laughable, and training consumers to value big spectacles over smaller, independent films when currently you can see any film for equal price, is a step that no should take. It does make me wonder if I value a $99 War Horse ticket over a $21 Psst! one. There's a theatre science experiment waiting to happen: take a show and use the same design, actors, and direction, and put it in front of one audience that pays $5 and another audience that pays $50, and see which is valued more despite being of the same quality. I'm imagining myself being very depressed after reading the findings. This Week in NPH I began last week with glee as I talked about Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Tony Awards, so let's end this week's blog post on the news that he's coming to Broadway next spring in the title role of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." Looks like I need to start planning New York trip for next May. --- If you have feedback or comments on any of the articles above, or suggestions for future blog and news items, please leave them in the comments or e-mail me at [email protected].