Monday, October 13, 2008
As election nears, theater plays politics
chicagotribune.com: "We're in the homestretch now. With just a few weeks to go until the Nov. 4 finish line, many Americans remain transfixed by the upcoming presidential election. The hunger for reflection about politics is evidenced in a number of political plays this autumn, offered up by theater companies of all stripes."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
Its great that theater is dealing with the major issues of the country today head on. It is dealing with them unlike any other medium, the play is not afraid to be scandulous, truthful or shocking. Its what we need now when elections are all about image and less about standing and fact.
This is what theater is all about. Theater is meant to comment on society and allow for reflection on the important philosophies that surround us at this "time of change". In our era of 30 second media spots, theater allows us to experience the events and form our own opinions about what is going on without being told what to think. In a lot of the big name shows, this has been lost and shows are meant more for simple entertainment, not intellectual enjoyment.
Election season, which seems to bring out the worst in politicians brings out the best in the theater in its role as a commentary and open debate of the issues.
One of the many reasons I love theatre is because theatre can comment on today's society while still entertaining the audience. Today's politics have gotten so out of hand that it is nice to see the theatre using it as fuel for a show. These plays seem very interesting to watch and hopefully they continue performing for a long while.
"Political theater is often wacky. It's often one-sided. And most of the time it's not really asking people to learn much."
That's damn good.
I think we turn to this mode because in reality, it's what we want to see in everyday politics. How entertaining would it be to see a "Talent Section" of the presidential debates, or a candidate that completely agreed with everything the candidate YOU WERE ROOTING FOR said. American politics are the worst for this. Dodging the truth and saying nothing.
i actually haven't heard of that many productions going on nationally about the elections or today's politics. With exception to the few mentioned and the less then mediocre television commentary, it seems to all be moving too fast in circles for anyone to get anything of worth into production. i bet a lot more comes out after the elections and into the first months of the next term.
Post a Comment