Turn and face the strange

You’ve doubtless heard the oft-quoted statistic that the Twin Cities boast more theater seats per capita than any metro region outside of New York City. You’ve probably also heard skepticism about the veracity of that claim, possibly even from a Playlist writer. Whether or not the numbers add up, it speaks to one thing I’ve learned for certain in the past couple of years: there’s a lot of theater going on around these parts. When I interviewed for the Playlist editor’s position back in 2012, my chief concern was that I didn’t know local theater nearly well enough to take the reins of maybe the most visible local theater-specific publication in town. I mean, I liked going to see theater from time to time, and I was aware of many of the major players on the local scene, but theater ranked well behind music, film and books on my scale of artistic interests. As it turned out, that was to my advantage. Playlist owners Alan Berks and Leah Cooper were specifically looking for an outsider who could offer an alternate perspective to the site’s sometimes insular tone. As intimidating as it was to put my theatrical baptism on display, I’m not one to turn down a challenge or an arts writing gig. And here we stand, a year and a half later, and I’m preparing to take my retirement from the legitimate stage (or at least a keyboard pointed in the general direction of said stage). In that time I’ve been to shows in more than two dozen performance spaces, most of which I’d never set foot in before. I’ve seen comedy, drama, musicals, unnameable experiments, dance, puppetry, improv, new work, local work, unfinished work, large venues, small venues, non-venues, re-imaginings, adaptations, contentious Q&As and at least one multimedia disaster that brought me to the verge of vomiting out of embarrassed discomfort. And I’ve loved it all, even when I’ve hated it. The older I get, the more I think local art is the art that matters most. From that perspective, being part of the Twin Cities scene is an unparalleled honor. Beyond my personal theater intake, the real honor has been getting to work with an incredible array of theatrical minds and voices from all over the state. I won’t claim that everything published on my watch was award-worthy or even especially readable – heck, there are a few of my own bylines I’d gladly go back and erase were I not saddled with this accursed integrity – but by and large I’ve been incredibly fortunate to attract the talents of writers who I believe have elevated the level of discourse on Minnesota theater and the arts in general. I'll resist the temptation to turn this into a "greatest hits" column, but I believe Playlist in my tenure has been one of Minnesota's finest forums for intelligent arts criticism, explorations of process, discussions of theater's role in the community, advice for up-and-comers and glimpses at arts scenes beyond the Twin Cities. We've run work by internationally renowned authors, legends of the local stage and first-time writers with something to say. Some of it has struck a chord and sparked important conversations. Much of it has faded into the digital archives barely noticed. But it's all out there and I'd like to think it's an impressive assemblage of work. I don't know how much credit or blame I can take for the current state of Minnesota Playlist. I'd say my biggest contribution has been developing an eye for who'd be good at writing what and following up with enough nudges to make sure it actually gets written. That maybe doesn't sound like much, but it's a necessary piece of any functional publication, particularly one whose contributors are largely mercurial – and very busy – artists who don't do this kind of writing on the regular. Self-congratulation aside, I'm sad to take my leave of Playlist but also looking forward to having some more space for that novel that's been burning a hole in my brain for the past year. Come July, the editor's mantel will be back on the capable shoulders of Alan Berks. Do us all a favor and send Alan your finest ideas and articles to help make this transition as seamless as possible. I reckon that just about does it for me, although I'll wrap up the coming week's publication calendar and check back with periodic reviews and articles in the future. It's been a sincere pleasure helming Playlist these past 18 months. My deepest thanks to Alan and Leah and all of the writers and artists who have made me look good – Derek Lee Miller, Joshua Humphrey, Laura Holway, Dawn Brodey, Charles Campbell, Dominic Orlando, Marya Hornbacher, Paul DeCordova, Lisa Hu, Mo Perry and many more who I'm doubtless forgetting. And special thanks to the Twin Cities theater community for inviting me in and making an outsider feel like a real part of something beautiful. Break some legs, folks.