By Megan Mooney
I think that the best way to be introduced to theatre is through a subscription series. It sounds intimidating, I mean, that’s a big commitment, right?
But there are lots of benefits.
by Megan Mooney
So, a lot of you have come here because of Fringe, which means you may not know the background and philosophy. And, this is actually kind of a weird time to bring it up, except that I will soon be posting a ‘2nd Opinion Review’ and I figure it might help to have some context.
One of the core tenets of Mooney on Theatre (MoT) is that everyone’s opinion is just that. Opinion. There is no authoritative source on what is good and what is bad, what is quality and what is schlock. There is only ‘what I liked’ and ‘what I didn’t like’ – which, clearly, is going to vary from person to person.
By Megan Mooney
This article by Kris Joseph makes my heart sing. It says all the things I have been trying to say for ages, but in such a great clear way, with excellent examples.
Thank you to Kris Joseph (@krisjoseph)for this, and thank you to Simon Ogden (@thenextstagemag) for pointing me to the article.
So, to reiterate…
Here are some excerpts:
by Megan Mooney
This is a re-post of an article I wrote after the 2008 Fringe, but it seemed worth repeating, *before* Fringe this time. I’ve done some editing and additions in this version, but it is still based on the post from last year.
After going to many many many Fringe shows at the Toronto Fringe Festival I’ve noticed some challenges that seem common among Fringe productions. I thought I’d share some observations and hopefully impart some useful advice. Or, you know, annoy people. Whichever…
This isn’t going to be about how to cast, or rehearse for a space you don’t know, or anything like that. It’s going to cover length, show descriptions and promotion, all from the perspective of an audience member.
By Megan Mooney
I know as well as anyone how hard it is to pull stuff together. And to pull something together on the scale of the Toronto Fringe Festival, well, I can’t even imagine the amount of work that would take.
I appreciate that, I do.
*UPDATE and clarification* Apparently what I was saying here was misinterpreted. My apologies for that. Fringe folks thought I was implying that they were working on things other than Fringe. I just want to clarify, that’s not the case at all. I know they’re all working their asses off, one individual doing the work 10 and so on. My issue was only with the wording on one page of the website. I just didn’t like feeling like I was being chastised for looking at their website.
By Megan Mooney
So, by now you’ve likely all heard about the SNAFU on Q yesterday with Billy Bob Thornton.
Albert Schultz had to follow Billy Bob, which was both good and bad. Good because he was the perfect person to provide a bit of comic relief afterwards, providing the knife needed to cut the tension. Bad because it was hard to focus on his interview because my mind was still reeling from the interview before. Since I happened to be with someone when I heard it, we kept randomly speaking over Mr. Schultz talking about just how terrible Billy Bob was.
So, before I go on about Billy Bob and Jian, let me point out to you that Albert Schultz is the Soulpepper production Glengarry Glen Ross that is running until May 9, 2009. If you go on a Tuesday maybe he’ll be at the talkback and you can ask him about the interview. Oh, and a quick note about the show – it starts at 7:30, so you’ll be disappointed if you show up to go in for 8.
Now, on to Billy Bob and Jian:
By Megan Mooney
J Kelly Nestruck has a piece up today about the question ”Should theatre critics moonlight in the theatre?”
It’s a curious question. I actually never really thought about it. I know that I recuse myself from reviewing a show if a friend is involved in it. I guess I kind of just assume that people govern themselves with these kind of things. But it’s a good question.
By Megan Mooney
So, apparently the hot topic of the day (um, in the theatre blogging community, which is, admittedly, a pretty small percentage of the population) seems to be musing about what topics should be covered by theatre blogs.
My foray into the discussion came from Theatre is Territory, with the piece Content conundrum. Basically it gives an overview of the discussions that have been happening and asks "Is there not enough content about the actual content of theatre online?"
J. Kelly Nestruck wrote today about conflicting opening nights, pointing out how common they are in Toronto, and how unnecessary they are.
by Megan Mooney
Okay, so, this isn’t really about theatre, although, for me this comes about as a result of my university theatre education.
So, last week we had an ultra sound. As I was watching the screen I noticed a heading that said ‘gender’. What went through my head was:
“You can’t tell gender, you can only tell sex, gender is a societal construct”
By the way, you can all thank Ric Knowles for me having that thought. *grin*
