Having begun to blog on behalf of the American Theatre Wing, it dawns upon me that I should say a few words about what I might be weighing in upon through this format. To do that, it bears mentioning the mission of ATW, since so many people think of us as being solely and inextricably about The Tony Awards.
In point of fact, The Tonys are but one (albeit the best known) aspect of our mission, which is to celebrate excellence in the theatre as we work to help students, aspiring and working professionals, and the public at large understand more about how theatre is made. This blog began as vehicle to support our programs “Working in the Theatre” and “Downstage Center,” both of which foster sustained conversation about the making of theatre. Interspersed with my entries (and eventually entries from others at ATW) will be the regular announcements of new programs – or the availability of classic programs in new formats, notably “Working in the Theatre” as mp4’s. It’ll be pretty clear which are which.
So the “personal” blog entries will hopefully be a means of either elaborating upon discussions that happen in those programs, or raising issues of interest independent of those conversations. What you will not find here is declarative opinion (i.e. criticism). Our role at ATW is to support and illuminate the making of theatre, not to pass judgment upon it. Consequently, this blog will be more thematic than specific, and even though I see every Broadway show that opens, as part of my job (as well as another 50 or 60 shows a year), I hope to keep my personal opinions on them veiled, even though you’ll likely get a sense of what I’m seeing. But as you may already have noticed from the first few entries, it is the field of theatre and the community of theatre that I hope we can highlight, as one more voice championing live theatre in an era of mass-produced, electronically distributed entertainment.
Posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 9:51 am
by
Howard Sherman
Filed under:
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