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local theatre /aesthetic costs

updated sun 30 jan 11

 

Birgit Wright on tue 25 jan 11


Hi Phil=3D3B I would hope that you would not dismiss all theatre. There ar=
e =3D
I am sure=3D2C hundreds of thousands of Local theatre production companies =
al=3D
l across The US and Canada. They are filled with Actors and Producers and =
=3D
such carrying on the tradition of live theatre=3D2C often as volunteers or =
no=3D
minally reimbursed for their dedicated hours to their community. We persona=
=3D
lly hold seasons tickets to our own local theatre enterprise (THAT we can =
=3D
afford)=3D2C There is such a mix of abilities=3D2C seasoned veterans and in=
g=3DE9=3D
nueous newbies all working together to bring a work of Integrity to their P=
=3D
eers. There is no pretense in their fervor and love of their craft=3D2C the=
ir=3D
art. It is a pure delight to watch a production and observe your friends =
=3D
and familiar faces giving their all to present to you a Story. It is OK to=
=3D
critique it=3D2C tear it apart or laud it. They are taking their chances=
=3D2C =3D
but they do it anyway because=3D2C Thankfully it their passion to do so.=3D=
20
=3D20
I think it is the stories that hold our attention=3D2C Isn't that why we=
r=3D
ead books and watch Movies=3D2C ( I can't speak to television=3D2C I never =
seem=3D
to have time for It). =3D20
=3D20
Oh Well=3D2C that is my rant=3D2C I love Live theatre=3D2C and I love live =
music =3D
=3D2C and I enjoy it where and when I can.=3D20
On a clay note=3D2C Theatre is probably as old as pottery=3D2C Can't you ju=
st s=3D
ee that cave guy telling his cave buddies how he got a mastadon this 'BIG'!=
=3D
:>)
=3D20
Cheers=3D2C Birgit Wright =3D20
=3D20
> Date: Mon=3D2C 24 Jan 2011 23:47:29 -0800
> From: pdp1@EARTHLINK.NET
> Subject: Re: aesthetic costs
> To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
>=3D20
> I have never been able to relate well or positively=3D2C to an enjoyment =
of=3D
the
> Theatre.
>=3D20
>=3D20
> To me=3D2C it is watching a bunch of people pretending.
>=3D20
> It is bad enough to have to see this so much in ordinary daily life=3D2C =
fo=3D
r
> free=3D2C and in occasions where I would rather they were not ( pretendin=
g)=3D
=3D2C
> that
> it seems entirely absurd or disquieting=3D2C or both=3D2C to have to pay =
for =3D
it=3D2C
> when=3D2C set on an even more artificial Stage or Dias of sorts=3D2C it c=
an n=3D
ever be
> so subtle or involved as otherwise=3D2C anyway.
>=3D20
>=3D20
> I understand one is supposed to 'suspend disbelief'...and=3D2C maybe that=
i=3D
s
> some of what disturbs me=3D3B it seems to come all too easily to so
> many...actors=3D2C particularly...which includes those actors who compris=
e =3D
an
> Audience.
>=3D20
>=3D20
> ...sigh...
>=3D20
>=3D20
> So=3D2C if Tickets were ten Grand=3D2C or Two Cents=3D2C it would not bot=
her me=3D
one bit.
>=3D20
> It would only people pretending they cost too much=3D2C or=3D2C pretendin=
g th=3D
ey
> don't...either way=3D2C more of the same.
>=3D20
>=3D20
> Lol...
>=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
>=3D20
> > On Jan 23=3D2C 2011=3D2C at 2:05 PM=3D2C mel jacobson wrote:
> >
> >> just got off the phone with a friend that is off
> >> to ny for a short tour.
> >> hold your hat on.
> >> they checked on several plays:
> >> $150 + a $50 surcharge for one ticket.
> >> i may be uninformed=3D2C but man...i have seen
> >> prices of $90=3D2C but not $200. by the time you get
> >> a cab=3D2C something to eat=3D2C it is $500 bucks a couple.
> >> mel
> >
> > Lynn Goodman Porcelain
> > Cell 347-526-9805
> > www.lynngoodmanporcelain.com
=3D

Philip Poburka on wed 26 jan 11


Hi Birgit,



Below...amid...


> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Birgit Wright"
>
> Hi Phil; I would hope that you would not dismiss all theatre.


I have not dismissed any Theatre.



> There are I am sure, hundreds of thousands of Local theatre production
> companies all across The US and Canada.



Yes...



> They are filled with Actors and Producers and such carrying on the
> tradition of live theatre, often as volunteers or nominally reimbursed fo=
r
> their dedicated hours to their community.



Quite so...


> We personally hold seasons tickets to our own local theatre enterprise
> (THAT we can afford), There is such a mix of abilities, seasoned veterans
> and ing=E9nueous newbies all working together to bring a work of Integrit=
y
> to their Peers. There is no pretense in their fervor and love of their
> craft, their art. It is a pure delight to watch a production and observe
> your friends and familiar faces giving their all to present to you a
> Story. It is OK to critique it, tear it apart or laud it. They are takin=
g
> their chances, but they do it anyway because, Thankfully it their passion
> to do so.


Understood...



> I think it is the stories that hold our attention, Isn't that why we
> read books and watch Movies, ( I can't speak to television, I never seem
> to have time for It).



Well, yes...or emotion, as it may be invested, does ( hold or channel our
attention)...the 'Stories' are a sort of 'Stone Soup' that way.



> Oh Well, that is my rant, I love Live theatre, and I love live music , an=
d
> I enjoy it where and when I can.


What was central to my little foray, is that the 'suspension of disbelief'
never spontaneously occurred for me, for either Theatre, Television or
Motion Pictures.


With effort, I was able to manage Motion Pictures fairly well, usually, but=
,
often enough, for going to a Movie, or punching a VHS into the VHS player, =
I
found myself sitting, watching a bunch
of people-images on-a-screen, pretending to be someone they were not,
pretending
to be somewhere they were not, doing things in a pretend setting with
pretend items or scenery, pretending to be in a time they were not, and,
pretending to care about whatever the
pretending was, which they were doing.

I understand this is a tacit invitation for others, as audiuence, to join
them in the pretending - to pretend what one is watching is somehow 'real'.

That I was also often enough making the same observation in what others
regard as daily life, was the other aspect of the mention.


I am concerned with how a capacity or talent for 'suspending disbelief' is
actualized not only for live Theatre, Television, Motion Pictures...but, fo=
r
a great deal of everything else, also, particularly, when it comes to not
noticing how everyone else is suspending disbelief, as an example of how
one, one's self, has suspended theirs.


Like that...



> On a clay note, Theatre is probably as old as pottery, Can't you just see
> that cave guy telling his cave buddies how he got a mastadon this 'BIG'!
> :>)




'Shadow Puppets' I imagine, also, (once suitable Night Fires with suitable
close-enough vertical backgrounds, were arranged) were probably a source of
amusement and entertainment in very ancient times...as I imagine, were
various kinds of Hand-tricks like this ( demonstrates the 'floating'
disembodied last joint of the index finger )...

Making fart sounds, burp sounds, reproducing Animal or Bird calls or noises=
,
phonetically parodying the different language of other known groups,
likewise, I am sure, were sources of amusement and so on.

Ever heard foreign kids pretending to speak 'English'?

Ever heard American kids, pretending to speak Japanese, Chinese, German,
Italian, Mexican, Russian, or whatever?


These things I am sure have gone on for many tens of thousands of years...



> Cheers, Birgit Wright


Best wishes!



Phil
Lv

David Martin Hershey on fri 28 jan 11


Hi Phil and All,

That willful suspension of disbelief
is an interesting thing.

Not always necessarily good.

I used to have the ability-
until about 9 years ago, when I killed my TV.

At first I could still relate for a while.
But then it all started to morph away from me.

Now it's like an alien creature,
but with some minimal fleeting novelty value.

I can actually laugh at a funny commercial,
because I've never seen it.
But I don't know what people are talking about
when they discuss "their" shows.

Now when I inadvertently
catch some TV at a friends house,
all the characters look completely fake to me-
unbelievable, even when I try to suspend my disbelief.

No matter who they are
or how good the writing or production
all the actors look plastic or something.
Almost all look too young and unmarked for their parts.
The backgrounds/sets/costumes look too new, too clean.

HD really exacerbates the effect.
And all the CGI looks completely laughably fake.

It's very hard for me to watch for even an hour,
except for maybe "reality" shows like a sporting event.

But on the plus side, I've become re-sensitized to murder...

I was actually slightly shocked the other day when in passing,
I saw someone gratuitously murdered at my sister's house on TV.
Realized then, that it had been well over a year
since I'd seen anyone murdered.

How many murders do you think the Average American
witnesses on TV/News/Film every year...
Do we call that Willful Disbelief?

Another side-effect is loss of interest in films.

I thought at first I would have to be watching vids every night
just to satisfy my Insatiable TV Jones.

But lo and behold; very quickly I discovered that I'd much rather
do something real, with real people, make something, write something,
or read something- rather than passively watch almost anything...

Tweet:
Suspend your Disbelief, Kill your TV, Do something Real, Be Happy.
;^)

Best, DMH

David Martin Hershey
DMH Studio + Design
2629 Manhattan Ave #137
Hermosa Beach CA USA
90254-2447 424.241.3809
http://www.dmhstudio.com/
http://www.obamacardgold.com
http://www.winetastingtrolley.com/


On 1/26/2011 1:45 AM, Philip Poburka wrote:
> I am concerned with how a capacity or talent for 'suspending
> disbelief' is
> actualized not only for live Theatre, Television, Motion
> Pictures...but, for
> a great deal of everything else, also, particularly, when it comes to not
> noticing how everyone else is suspending disbelief, as an example of how
> one, one's self, has suspended theirs.