Comments on: Fringe theatre sucks http://karlsimposter.com/2009/12/the-problem-with-new-writing Wrecking ignorant bliss, everyday. No apologies. Fri, 15 Jul 2011 11:36:21 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Rufus T. Firefly http://karlsimposter.com/2009/12/the-problem-with-new-writing/comment-page-1#comment-120 Rufus T. Firefly Sun, 10 Jul 2011 16:36:05 +0000 http://karlsimposter.com/?p=86#comment-120 I Googled "fringe theatre sucks" and I was delighted to see your website top the hit list. I live in a major city that jumped on the fringe festival bandwagon a few years ago and every time I hear my fellow actors ask "Are you doing The Fringe this year?" or even mention "The Fringe," I cringe. I am in the extreme minority of my peers who finds most of it to be an opportunity for well-financed self-indulgence, devoid of medium- to high-level quality. Normally, when one tells me they are directing or acting in an avant-garde show, I have a visceral response that I try to mask lest I hurt their feelings. I am immediately suspicious of such productions because there seems to be a prevailing attitude that one doesn't have to work very hard at it because hey: if the audience doesn't like it, it's because they just don't get it. Too often, the attitude is "just to have fun." Well fun is an important element but to me, they just sound like they are proffering an excuse to avoid refining a script or production. I'll give you an example. Several years ago, I was in a very avant-garde production that had strong appeal and decent houses. It was a play by Peter Handke. But the dedication of the director, the actors and the designers made the show so exciting and accessible to the audience that people couldn't stop talking about it. Even people I knew who didn't like avant-garde thoroughly enjoyed or were delightfully horrified by the presentation. (I asked them if they understood or related to it and the response was almost always "Hell yes!") I've seen very few avant-garde shows that were done well, both in my city and others. The common theme between these rare types of shows, as with mainstream, conventional plays, was that dirty little four-letter word, the word that causes so many geniuses so much angst: work. I'm convinced that good, solid rehearsals, rehearsals grounded in an understanding of roles, agreement of style and, of course, good casting, will make virtually any audience appreciate that performance. Professional attitudes don't have to be sacrificed for fringe shows. In fact, such performances probably need more professionalism than a conventional show because of the material and the level of talent needed to play it. I Googled “fringe theatre sucks” and I was delighted to see your website top the hit list. I live in a major city that jumped on the fringe festival bandwagon a few years ago and every time I hear my fellow actors ask “Are you doing The Fringe this year?” or even mention “The Fringe,” I cringe. I am in the extreme minority of my peers who finds most of it to be an opportunity for well-financed self-indulgence, devoid of medium- to high-level quality. Normally, when one tells me they are directing or acting in an avant-garde show, I have a visceral response that I try to mask lest I hurt their feelings. I am immediately suspicious of such productions because there seems to be a prevailing attitude that one doesn’t have to work very hard at it because hey: if the audience doesn’t like it, it’s because they just don’t get it. Too often, the attitude is “just to have fun.” Well fun is an important element but to me, they just sound like they are proffering an excuse to avoid refining a script or production. I’ll give you an example.

Several years ago, I was in a very avant-garde production that had strong appeal and decent houses. It was a play by Peter Handke. But the dedication of the director, the actors and the designers made the show so exciting and accessible to the audience that people couldn’t stop talking about it. Even people I knew who didn’t like avant-garde thoroughly enjoyed or were delightfully horrified by the presentation. (I asked them if they understood or related to it and the response was almost always “Hell yes!”) I’ve seen very few avant-garde shows that were done well, both in my city and others. The common theme between these rare types of shows, as with mainstream, conventional plays, was that dirty little four-letter word, the word that causes so many geniuses so much angst: work. I’m convinced that good, solid rehearsals, rehearsals grounded in an understanding of roles, agreement of style and, of course, good casting, will make virtually any audience appreciate that performance. Professional attitudes don’t have to be sacrificed for fringe shows. In fact, such performances probably need more professionalism than a conventional show because of the material and the level of talent needed to play it.

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