Witness if you will the reactions of two anonymous members of the community when The Stranger’s Slog recently publicized the casting call for Hoodies Up!: The Trayvon Martin Protest Plays:
1
I am skeptical there are any new insights on the Trayvon Martin affair left that theater can illuminate
Posted by Zebes on April 24, 2012 at 5:49 PM
2
It seems premature to go on about making theater about a tragic event that NOBODY in the theater group knows anything about (except for media reports – which are notoriously unreliable).
Only two people know what happened that night, and one is dead. It seems like they should wait for the outcome of the trial to begin a production on the story… After all, they don’t have the story yet, nobody does.
Posted by scratchmaster joe on April 24, 2012 at 5:54 PM
I find these reactions fascinating and telling beyond their surface trollishness. In fact, they exemplify attitudes shared by artistic administrators at big regional theatres here in Seattle and across the country. Boiled down, the core ideas shared by these trolls and Big House leaders are:
- No one has anything new to say in the theatre
(i.e. anything happening in any 21st century location can be easily addressed with a play from 16th Century England, 19th Century Norway, or 20th Century New York City. - If someone does have something new to say, we should wait to say it until it is old.
(i.e. keep working on that adorable play you’re developing about the culpability of key Seattle executives in the U.S. Mortgage Meltdown. Maybe we’ll take a look at it when enough time has passed to guarantee not upsetting anyone.)
Thank goodness that Tyrone Brown, Brownbox Theatre, and the artists working on Hoodies Up! have chosen to ignore this advice when it comes to greeting the Trayvon Martin tragedy with something nobler and stronger than empty-headed posturing and/or meaningless violence.
Here’s the press release with all the information you need on this amazing event. I hope to see you there.