I am investing a lot of time organizing the South Jersey Theatre Group online on Facebook and in monthly face-to-face meetings. The goal I expressed for the group was to fill every seat in every house of every production on every stage of every company in South Jersey. Some were inspired by the goal. Others amused. Others tolerant. And others in disagreement. I'd been wanting to write a response for a week or so now. Last night I encountered news of more grumbling, so I wrote this. So far, nobody's left the group.
Please Leave This Group
"If he thinks we're going to cooperate on marketing, he's nuts."
There are a million reasons why taking a different direction is idiotic.
"This is never going to work. I'm not wasting my time. If it works, I'll jump on it."
There are 2 million reasons not to get involved.
"What's his angle? Does anyone know him?"
There are 3 million reasons not to trust.
Are you satisfied with the way things are? Are there enough people seeing your shows? Are your production values so high that nothing needs hep or improvement? Then please leave this group. In this group we need malcontents trying to make things better for every theatre talent and company.
Are you scared of success? Are you addicted to the struggle? If hopelessness is a comfortably tepid bath you'd rather not get out of, please leave this group. In this group we need people who can charge past the common hopelessness and break new, growthful ground.
"This flies in the face of every expert opinion. It's preposterous."
Of course it's stupid to think of filling every seat in every house of every theatre. It's childish. It's naive. It's self-destructive. All the experts say it can't be done. Except for this:
Do you expect experts to give you advice that's going to overturn the hill upon which their expertise is built? That sounds a little naive to me. Somewhat childish. Listen to the experts and you'll be back at the place the experts are expert in, which is exactly the place you were trying to get out of. A life soldered to the experts is a life written by Joseph Heller.
If you live and die by the experts, please leave this group. In this group we need hard-nosed dreamers willing to stand up to the impossible and do it anyway. Once it's done, it's no longer impossible. In this group we need people who can look a bit down the road and conceive of a better way.
With the price of public entertainments rising, our prices are now competitive. If we believe in ourselves, our talent and our product, there is an opportunity for live theatre to revive after a century of stagnation and defeat as a popular entertainment. If you can think clearly enough to recognize an opportunity and flexibly enough to realize the future does not have to be a dead mirror of the past, then please join and stay in this group. We need you.
Please Leave This Group
"If he thinks we're going to cooperate on marketing, he's nuts."
There are a million reasons why taking a different direction is idiotic.
"This is never going to work. I'm not wasting my time. If it works, I'll jump on it."
There are 2 million reasons not to get involved.
"What's his angle? Does anyone know him?"
There are 3 million reasons not to trust.
Are you satisfied with the way things are? Are there enough people seeing your shows? Are your production values so high that nothing needs hep or improvement? Then please leave this group. In this group we need malcontents trying to make things better for every theatre talent and company.
Are you scared of success? Are you addicted to the struggle? If hopelessness is a comfortably tepid bath you'd rather not get out of, please leave this group. In this group we need people who can charge past the common hopelessness and break new, growthful ground.
"This flies in the face of every expert opinion. It's preposterous."
Of course it's stupid to think of filling every seat in every house of every theatre. It's childish. It's naive. It's self-destructive. All the experts say it can't be done. Except for this:
Do you expect experts to give you advice that's going to overturn the hill upon which their expertise is built? That sounds a little naive to me. Somewhat childish. Listen to the experts and you'll be back at the place the experts are expert in, which is exactly the place you were trying to get out of. A life soldered to the experts is a life written by Joseph Heller.
If you live and die by the experts, please leave this group. In this group we need hard-nosed dreamers willing to stand up to the impossible and do it anyway. Once it's done, it's no longer impossible. In this group we need people who can look a bit down the road and conceive of a better way.
With the price of public entertainments rising, our prices are now competitive. If we believe in ourselves, our talent and our product, there is an opportunity for live theatre to revive after a century of stagnation and defeat as a popular entertainment. If you can think clearly enough to recognize an opportunity and flexibly enough to realize the future does not have to be a dead mirror of the past, then please join and stay in this group. We need you.
No comments:
Post a Comment