[NEOPAL]Re: Mike and Ike

[Pommy]

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In response to David Lewis's response to Mike and Ike's opinion piece, I 
have the following to add:

 >I'd bet that Mike and Ike, whoever they are, (probably actors)

And a very good one, too.

 >if given the opportunity, would never turn down a great role in a Simon 
or Shakespeare production,

I think he probably might, but I wouldn't want to make assumptions.

 >whether it was being produced by "Great Lakes" or "Bang and 
Jitter"...whatever their name is.

That's "The Bang and the Clatter," an excellent new theater company in the 
area, presenting completely different fare than most theaters.

 >And while we're at it , lets put on bane on Mozart, the Beatles

Mike and Ike were not talking about a ban; more like a moratorium.  I'm 
sure he/they and I are not the only ones who are fed up to the teeth with 
seeing You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and The Sound of Music.  While The 
Sound of Music is a fabulous show, it's been done so much in the area that 
I wouldn't even want to see it if the tickets were free!

 > (skip)
 >Come on, we are all in a tough racket, made even more difficult by very 
over-crowded conditions. There are so many people in this small city of 
Cleveland who are involved in theatre and theatre companies.....

Quite right.  Which is why it would be a good idea for theaters in the area 
to be more competitive in their choices of plays.

 >and be honest....we all have good intentions but we all have egos; we are 
all competitive. We all want to be the next great actor, director, 
instructor, producer. We all want to win that award or receive a great 
review. Its like Walgreen's! How many stores can a community support?

Unfortunately, not as many as there are.  Which is why theaters are folding 
through lack of interest.  When you have to go begging people to be in a 
play because not enough people show up to cast it, there's something wrong.

 >How many theatre camps do we need?

I would think theater camps would be a terrific idea!  Teach 'em young.  I 
believe we need more quality in our actors and directors. Too many times 
people are cast because there was no one else willing to commit that much 
time to a project.

Which leads me to another problem I see with community theater:  It seems 
that every play you try out for wants to rehearse Sunday through Thursday 
every week (and sometimes Fridays).  I believe that's one of the reasons 
not as many people show up to auditions these days.  Many people are not 
willing (or able) to give up that much time every week for five, six, or 
eight weeks. If everyone does their homework, and doesn't use rehearsal 
time to learn their lines, but to polish them, it's possible to do fewer 
rehearsals and a better quality show.

 >(next part skipped)

 >So, what can we do? Nothing.

I don't agree with this.  There is plenty we can do.  We can do as Mike and 
Ike suggest and choose different plays (I'm not saying better, because some 
of the plays we're talking about are wonderful....just overdone).  I have 
always felt it was crazy for the local theaters not to get together before 
choosing their seasons to make sure they are not either overlapping or 
doing something someone did last year.  In this technological age it's 
possible for one contact person within each group to communicate via email 
regarding plays they are considering presenting, thereby avoiding some of 
the problems we're discussing here.

 >Do your work as best as you can. Work when you can.

All well and good.  You can do the best you can all you want, but if 
there's no audience there to see you, are you still a great actor?

 >Stop complaining.

It's because of people complaining that we have a lot of the things we 
enjoy today.

 >Use the neopal list as it was intended to be used; news about auditions, 
shows and general theatre information (stop selling cars, furniture and 
fish tanks).

I completely disagree on this.  I like to read about what people are 
selling.  Just because you don't want any of the items doesn't mean someone 
else doesn't.  As others have mentioned, there's always that "delete" key 
if you see something that doesn't interest you.

 >(skip)

 >Okay, I'm finished. Anyone want to talk about the war or Global Warming 
or the Bush Administration?

LOL!  Glad to see you still have a sense of humor.

--Linda Ryan


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<html>
In response to David Lewis's response to Mike and Ike's opinion piece, I
have the following to add:<br>
<br>
<font size=3>>I'd bet that Mike and Ike, whoever they are, (probably
actors)<br>
<br>
And a very good one, too.<br>
<br>
>if given the opportunity, would never turn down a great role in a
Simon or Shakespeare production,<br>
<br>
I think he probably might, but I wouldn't want to make assumptions.<br>
<br>
>whether it was being produced by "Great Lakes" or
"Bang and Jitter"...whatever their name is.<br>
<br>
That's "The Bang and the Clatter," an excellent new theater
company in the area, presenting completely different fare than most
theaters.<br>
<br>
>And while we're at it , lets put on bane on Mozart, the Beatles<br>
<br>
Mike and Ike were not talking about a ban; more like a moratorium. 
I'm sure he/they and I are not the only ones who are fed up to the teeth
with seeing <i>You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown</i> and <i>The Sound of
Music</i>.  While <i>The Sound of Music</i> is a fabulous show, it's
been done so much in the area that I wouldn't even want to see it if the
tickets were free!<br>
<br>
> (skip)<br>
>Come on, we are all in a tough racket, made even more difficult by
very over-crowded conditions. There are so many people in this small city
of Cleveland who are involved in theatre and theatre companies.....<br>
<br>
Quite right.  Which is why it would be a good idea for theaters in
the area to be more competitive in their choices of plays.  <br>
<br>
>and be honest....we all have good intentions but we all have egos; we
are all competitive. We all want to be the next great actor, director,
instructor, producer. We all want to win that award or receive a great
review. Its like Walgreen's! How many stores can a community support?
<br>
<br>
Unfortunately, not as many as there are.  Which is why theaters are
folding through lack of interest.  When you have to go begging
people to be in a play because not enough people show up to cast it,
there's something wrong.<br>
<br>
>How many theatre camps do we need? <br>
<br>
I would think theater camps would be a terrific idea!  Teach 'em
young.  I believe we need more quality in our actors and directors.
Too many times people are cast because there was no one else willing to
commit that much time to a project.<br>
<br>
Which leads me to another problem I see with community theater:  It
seems that every play you try out for wants to rehearse Sunday through
Thursday every week (and sometimes Fridays).  I believe that's one
of the reasons not as many people show up to auditions these days. 
Many people are not willing (or able) to give up that much time every
week for five, six, or eight weeks. If everyone does their homework, and
doesn't use rehearsal time to learn their lines, but to polish them, it's
possible to do fewer rehearsals and a better quality show.<br>
<br>
>(next part skipped)<br>
<br>
>So, what can we do? Nothing.<br>
<br>
I don't agree with this.  There is plenty we can do.  We can do
as Mike and Ike suggest and choose different plays (I'm not saying
better, because some of the plays we're talking about are
wonderful....just overdone).  I have always felt it was crazy for
the local theaters not to get together before choosing their seasons to
make sure they are not either overlapping or doing something someone did
last year.  In this technological age it's possible for one contact
person within each group to communicate via email regarding plays they
are considering presenting, thereby avoiding some of the problems we're
discussing here.<br>
<br>
>Do your work as best as you can. Work when you can. <br>
<br>
All well and good.  You can do the best you can all you want, but if
there's no audience there to see you, are you still a great actor?<br>
<br>
>Stop complaining. <br>
<br>
It's because of people complaining that we have a lot of the things we
enjoy today.<br>
<br>
>Use the neopal list as it was intended to be used; news about
auditions, shows and general theatre information (stop selling cars,
furniture and fish tanks).<br>
<br>
I completely disagree on this.  I <i>like</i> to read about what
people are selling.  Just because you don't want any of the items
doesn't mean someone else doesn't.  As others have mentioned,
there's always that "delete" key if you see something that
doesn't interest you.<br>
<br>
>(skip)<br>
<br>
>Okay, I'm finished. Anyone want to talk about the war or Global
Warming or the Bush Administration?<br>
<br>
LOL!  Glad to see you still have a sense of humor.<br>
<br>
--Linda Ryan<br>
<br>
</font></html>

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