DIRECTOR'S NOTE
In my work as a theatre maker, I have learned an unfortunate metric to assess a production’s success, “butts in seats.” It’s simple enough from a commercial standpoint, the more individuals who pay to watch a piece of live performance, the more successful it is (consider Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as a blaring example). From this perspective, theatre makers should strive to create shows that appeal to the masses by putting entertainment at the forefront; more current music, more celebrities, more special effects, and more palatable subject matter for multiple generations to engage with.
But what about artistry? After all, theatre is art, which tends to be more specific, more niche, and less palatable to the masses. More importantly, theatre is a mimetic art form, mimicking real life in its aliveness. Therefore, the theatre has a responsibility to mimic all that the human experience has to offer, its triumphs as well as its failures. Because of this, theatre can make us wildly uncomfortable, asking us to sit and engage with subjects that do not have mass appeal i.e. our lack of resources, corrupt politics, oppressive uprisings, and climate change. From an artistic standpoint then, “successful” theatre creates a valuable discourse about necessary subjects within a community.
And yet, we all still deserve to be entertained. Don’t we? Just a little bit?
What about a balance between the two? Could it be possible? As Exhibit A in this case for a balanced, “successful” theatre may I present Urinetown. A wacky musical about peeing that asks us to question the “Malthusian Trap” in our modern society. Entertaining and stimulating! With a firm grip, this 2001 musical holds a mirror up to our society both as a means to explore our unfortunate ways of life and as a disco ball to coerce us into dancing, singing, laughing, and romping into the wee hours of the morning (well, at least until 10:30 pm tonight).
As you watch this production, I hope that you engage with the dark as well as the light. I hope you see that the dystopian reality of the stage is a future entirely possible for the current state of humanity and more, I hope that you escape into that wacky world to relieve yourself from some of the tensions that have faced you this week. What more could we ask the theatre to do?
In my work as a theatre maker, I have learned an unfortunate metric to assess a production’s success, “butts in seats.” It’s simple enough from a commercial standpoint, the more individuals who pay to watch a piece of live performance, the more successful it is (consider Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour as a blaring example). From this perspective, theatre makers should strive to create shows that appeal to the masses by putting entertainment at the forefront; more current music, more celebrities, more special effects, and more palatable subject matter for multiple generations to engage with.
But what about artistry? After all, theatre is art, which tends to be more specific, more niche, and less palatable to the masses. More importantly, theatre is a mimetic art form, mimicking real life in its aliveness. Therefore, the theatre has a responsibility to mimic all that the human experience has to offer, its triumphs as well as its failures. Because of this, theatre can make us wildly uncomfortable, asking us to sit and engage with subjects that do not have mass appeal i.e. our lack of resources, corrupt politics, oppressive uprisings, and climate change. From an artistic standpoint then, “successful” theatre creates a valuable discourse about necessary subjects within a community.
And yet, we all still deserve to be entertained. Don’t we? Just a little bit?
What about a balance between the two? Could it be possible? As Exhibit A in this case for a balanced, “successful” theatre may I present Urinetown. A wacky musical about peeing that asks us to question the “Malthusian Trap” in our modern society. Entertaining and stimulating! With a firm grip, this 2001 musical holds a mirror up to our society both as a means to explore our unfortunate ways of life and as a disco ball to coerce us into dancing, singing, laughing, and romping into the wee hours of the morning (well, at least until 10:30 pm tonight).
As you watch this production, I hope that you engage with the dark as well as the light. I hope you see that the dystopian reality of the stage is a future entirely possible for the current state of humanity and more, I hope that you escape into that wacky world to relieve yourself from some of the tensions that have faced you this week. What more could we ask the theatre to do?
