After having a brief Facebook discourse about the first preview of "Spiderman, Turn Off the Dark" on Broadway, I have a question, "If we critique our profession, is it treason?" Perhaps we have had these moments personally when we have discussed a show or an actor with another actor and have been made to feel as though by sharing our opinion, we have betrayed the art, or better still, we are bitter because we are not in the piece. Thinking about this, and being the vocal being I have come to be, I find this to be a silencing mechanism and speaks directly to the sometimes pervasive feelings of helplessness that actors encounter.
As an artist community, one of the ways that we grow is through discussion. One of the ways that we create is through conversation, and the wonderful thing about talking with artists is that no one opinion reigns supreme. I want to encourage us to have more open discourses about our art community. I know I am not the only one who feels that mediocrity reigns supreme or that we have dumbed down our art until it is almost unrecognizable. Can we go back to the coffee houses and lounges and discuss our art, fight about it and in the midst of the brawl, reclaim it?
