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Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Find Out Why Everyone Was Talking About Broadway's 1776 This Weekend
Playbill: If you spent any time on social media over the weekend as a theatre fan (and if you're not a theatre fan, you're not reading this) you probably saw that 1776 became quite the hot topic, specifically company member Sara Porkalob.
3 comments:
Hadley
said...
I am exceedingly excited about this production and the impact it will undoubtedly have on the theatre world and its popularity in the greater pop culture world. However a show that is bound to be as impactful as this from the very jump is not going to occur without its own problems. I agree with the statement that when working with other people you are bound to disagree about process and procedure but that doesn't mean that you dislike the person you are working with or disrespect their work. criticism can be constructive. But it needs to be said to have an effect. Also the comment about giving 75% of oneself to the show is I think a totally reasonable approach. There are a ton of people who make a job in the theatre world into their entire personality and then end up the Mose burnt out by the end of the show. There is definite something to be said about keeping work life balance. And the comment about a good actors 75% looking like 100% is a really good point. Any way you slice it this production is going to be incredibly successful and impactful and I cannot wait to see it and the effect it has on the theatre world and the world at large.
I found this article really interesting because it brought up some points about how diversity should be incorporated into entertainment. I am of the opinion that in order to define something as “a new take” with more diversity should be more than just having people with diverse backgrounds play non-diverse characters that do not reflect their identities. I don’t think that it’s always wrong to do colorblind or gender blind casting, but I think that there needs to be more connection between character and identity in order to characterize it as a wholly new take on the show that flips its meaning. I’ve always had problems with this revitalization of 1776 for that reason: besides changing out the actors, they didn’t present a new take on the story that at all reflected these new actors. I think it’s a really cool idea, and I really want to see the show, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love that it’s advertised as a completely different show, when the production didn’t factor in the change of actor’s identities into how they produced the show. I also think that it is important to criticize the flaws in your job, even if you love it, if they are problems that need to be fixed. I think that when you aren’t able to respectfully protest against something you found to be an issue, it can create so many more issues and lead to a lot more hurt.
Over recent days, I have seen so many differing takes on the controversy at hand here. I think that it is very important that actors feel comfortable speaking their mind about their work and I love that the theater industry is becoming one with much less secrecy and much more transparency about what is going on. I like that actors no longer feel that they can't speak about their productions. I also am very appreciative of how, like this article mentioned, the industry as a whole is shifting to one where our work is no longer our life and considered a job. I like the idea that one should not be giving all of themself to a show. However, I do believe that when speaking one's mind, one should try to avoid causing even more harm. I can see how the manner in which Porkalob called out this show was harmful to not just the production but also their fellow artists.
3 comments:
I am exceedingly excited about this production and the impact it will undoubtedly have on the theatre world and its popularity in the greater pop culture world. However a show that is bound to be as impactful as this from the very jump is not going to occur without its own problems. I agree with the statement that when working with other people you are bound to disagree about process and procedure but that doesn't mean that you dislike the person you are working with or disrespect their work. criticism can be constructive. But it needs to be said to have an effect. Also the comment about giving 75% of oneself to the show is I think a totally reasonable approach. There are a ton of people who make a job in the theatre world into their entire personality and then end up the Mose burnt out by the end of the show. There is definite something to be said about keeping work life balance. And the comment about a good actors 75% looking like 100% is a really good point. Any way you slice it this production is going to be incredibly successful and impactful and I cannot wait to see it and the effect it has on the theatre world and the world at large.
I found this article really interesting because it brought up some points about how diversity should be incorporated into entertainment. I am of the opinion that in order to define something as “a new take” with more diversity should be more than just having people with diverse backgrounds play non-diverse characters that do not reflect their identities. I don’t think that it’s always wrong to do colorblind or gender blind casting, but I think that there needs to be more connection between character and identity in order to characterize it as a wholly new take on the show that flips its meaning. I’ve always had problems with this revitalization of 1776 for that reason: besides changing out the actors, they didn’t present a new take on the story that at all reflected these new actors. I think it’s a really cool idea, and I really want to see the show, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love that it’s advertised as a completely different show, when the production didn’t factor in the change of actor’s identities into how they produced the show. I also think that it is important to criticize the flaws in your job, even if you love it, if they are problems that need to be fixed. I think that when you aren’t able to respectfully protest against something you found to be an issue, it can create so many more issues and lead to a lot more hurt.
Over recent days, I have seen so many differing takes on the controversy at hand here. I think that it is very important that actors feel comfortable speaking their mind about their work and I love that the theater industry is becoming one with much less secrecy and much more transparency about what is going on. I like that actors no longer feel that they can't speak about their productions. I also am very appreciative of how, like this article mentioned, the industry as a whole is shifting to one where our work is no longer our life and considered a job. I like the idea that one should not be giving all of themself to a show. However, I do believe that when speaking one's mind, one should try to avoid causing even more harm. I can see how the manner in which Porkalob called out this show was harmful to not just the production but also their fellow artists.
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