Extra Criticum

In response to Licata's post "On Rejection"

David. Great post. You reminded me of this amazing letter that Robert Ross Parker, former Editor of The Dramatist magazine found in the Dramatists Guild archives. Click on the image to enlarge and read. It's priceless.

Point Counterpoint: Kelly & Teco on Trapnell

E.C.author Duane Kelly recently hosted a public conversation for the Dramatists Guild with arts consultant Susan Trapnell and members of the Seattle theatre community. Rolando Teco posed a few follow-up questions. Here's their cyber conversation:

How Jean Stapleton saved "All in the Family" for the ages

Cross-posted at the Robert David Sullivan blog.

Roland posted a good comment to my post about the durability of comedies like The Simpsons:

Recently, Drew has introduced me to Friends, a show I never watched when it was on the air. I have to say, one of the things that most impresses me about the show as we work our way through full-season DVDs is the universality of it. It's basically about relationships. And the way they got to that, of course, (big surprise!) is by creating very specific characters and sticking to their truth. The show gets its laughs from the specificity of what we know about these six individuals and the jokes are not riffing on pop culture. I have a feeling its shelf life will be very long indeed.

I agree, though I'm not sure that I'd pick Friends as the best example.

Q&A with Linda Mussmann of TSL in Hudson, NY

Some of you may recall the cyber-firestorm that followed my post on Hudson, New York. To date, this post has probably received more intense flame and support than anything we've done here on E.C. Because Time Space Limited is one of the venues mentioned in my post, and because I know Linda Mussmann, its co-Founder and co-Executive Director, (and a three-time mayoral candidate in Hudson) to be a very clever, enterprising and imaginative gal, I invited her to participate in a Q&A with me about living and working as an artist and an entrepreneur in Hudson, NY.

Here's what Linda had to say in response to my questions:

Whatcha thinkin', Linkin'? v.3

Every once in a blue moon, Andrew and Roland will post a 3 min. informal podcast consisting of random thoughts, questions and debates on issues of both great and not-so-great significance. We hope you enjoy listening from time to time and welcome your comments, suggestions or requests. Here's installment 3:
[TOPICS COVERED: Why is it so hard to find a place to sit, eat, and listen to good live music in NYC?]

Whatcha thinkin' Linkin'? v.1

Every once in a blue moon, Andrew and Roland will post a 3 min. informal podcast consisting of random thoughts, questions and debates on issues of both great and not-so-great significance. We hope you enjoy listening from time to time and welcome your comments, suggestions or requests. Here goes nothin':
[TOPICS COVERED: Why is drag funny? and Which is more powerful: cylons or the smoke monster?]

One Artistic Director Responds to Rolando's Shot Across the Bow

Dear Rolando:

I recently read your post "Playing it Safe: Art's Most Formidable Enemy" with interest. I have a selfish curiosity I suppose, since I am the Artistic Director of a mid-sized opera company that's not in New York City. Given those facts, I have to say, I don't think I'm motivated by fear. At all.

Playing it Safe: Art's Most Formidable Enemy

Just finished Todd London and Ben Pesner's eye-opening study of the landscape for new American plays. Outrageous Fortune is a tough read, not because it's not well-written and meticulously researched but because the content is so damned hard to swallow. It's a bitter pill. But the truth hurts. So much interesting commentary has already erupted over this important book, I won't bore you by adding my own two cents. (If you haven't caught any of the flurry of on-topic pontificating in the blogosphere, simply Google the title and much of it will appear.)

I want to focus on one of the threads that emerged for me in reading the book and that is: Fear. In quote after quote from Artistic Directors all across the U.S., the subtext was the same. I read it as follows:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.7 (THE END)

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part seven, the final installment of their exchange:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.6

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part six of their exchange:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.5

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part five of their exchange:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.4

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part four of their exchange:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.3

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part three of their exchange:

Point Counterpoint: Licata and Teco on Fame v.2

E.C. Authors David Licata and Rolando Teco recently embarked on an extended conversation on the subject of fame. Here's part two of their exchange: