[NEohioPAL] CWRU: Their S*** Don't Stink?- and if so, big deal. suck it up...

[michael goulis]

I think it's a clever and useful advertising mechanism to differentiate...what if, instead of an apology, the possible subtext offendees just kept up/competed (provided it was indeed a jab at their competitors).  

 

Also, since when is a little competition a bad thing?  

 

Mike Goulis (local smart-ass and guy who thinks the theatre community could use a bit more alpha-male/female energy for the sake of being at its best).  

 






 





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From: jkosmatka at gmail.com
To: neohiopal at listserve.com
Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 11:20:13 -0400
Subject: [NEohioPAL] CWRU: Their S*** Don't Stink?





I hate to jump to conclusions and make inferences without any facts to back me up…
 
BUT
 
Take a look at this, CWRU’s MFA Acting Program postcard for their production of All’s Well:  
http://www.twitpic.com/b02ri
“No insipid takes on the script.
No mosquitoes.
Just well trained actors and a great director.”
 
I find it impossible  to believe that this isn’t a slight directed at the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, and perhaps the Ohio Shakespeare Festival.  They are very clearly comparing themselves to outdoor Shakespeare performances (“mosquitoes”), of which there are only two in the region and only one in Cleveland.  The postcard then links “insipid takes on the script” and a lack of “well trained actors and a great director” to the aforementioned outdoor Shakespeare company.
 
This may be one of the most brazen, shameless pieces of advertising I’ve seen in Cleveland theatre.  It displays a total lack of class on the part of department chair Ron Wilson, director Geoff Bullen, and whomever else at Case signed off on this.
 
There are certainly valid criticisms to be made of Cleve Shakes, but let’s face it: a $35,000/year university beating up on free Shakespeare in the park is pretty crass, and amounts to nothing more than bullying.
 
I like to operate under the naïve impression that Cleveland’s theatre community IS a community.  It’s a pretty rich and diverse community, too, considering the problems Cleveland faces.  We have a lot of great theatres to fill all kinds of niches, from CSF to Theatre Ninjas to the Play House to CSU Summer Stages to Cleveland Public Theatre.  And to see an organization say “We’re above all of that.  We are separate, we are better, and we don’t want you philistines dirtying up our Shakespeare” just gets my blood boiling.  At this point, my rant’s starting to lose focus, so I’ll close with this:
 
I think Ron Wilson and Geoff Bullen owe CSF a big public apology.
 
Sincerely,
James Kosmatka, never affiliated in any official capacity with CSF, but thinks they’re good people and good artists.
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