[NEohioPAL] New theater reviewer in town CORRECTION

[Robert Hawkes]

I managed to chop the end off my message at last sending. This is my full
reply to Honest-T:

Dear "Honest-T":

Welcome home. I hope you find some pleasure and enlightenment in the many
theatres around town.

The anonymity of your enterprise is unusual. Regular reviewers for the
printed press, or for the on-line reviews with which I, at least, am
familiar, always reveal their names. Those of us in the community who
sometimes feel moved to encourage support of others' endeavors with
unsolicited reviews on this e-mail list, for example, do the same. The
business of some Zorro-like reviewer who may swoop out of the night to zap
us with "brutal honesty", while doubtless intended as a bit of fun, strikes
me as somewhat suspect.

With regard to "brutal honesty", by the way, just let me say that when I was
briefly a reviewer myself, for *Northern Ohio LIVE*, I had constantly to be
on guard against getting carried away with the cleverness of my own rhetoric
- a temptation to which I'm afraid I succumbed more than once. In this, as
in all things, it behooves me to check my motives, and to make sure that my
aim is to be thoughtful, constructive, and helpful, and not just to present
myself as "honest" or "truthful". It is surely better, for example, for me
to present an alternate point of view than it is for me to tell you that I
think what you've said is the stupidest thing I've ever heard (which could
be "true".) Truthfulness is often brutal; real honesty is not.

And I need to remember that my opinion (informed judgment) and my tastes
(likes and dislikes) are not the same thing at all. A review that begins "X
is my favorite show" loses critical credibility with me immediately.

I say any of this only in response to your caveat that we in the biz, and
other readers, should "be forewarned".  ("Whoa! Look out! Better not screw
up! Honest-T might be in the house.") We all do the best we've got for the
day. Sometimes our best isn't good enough, and that's life. If we've put
ourselves out there, and charged money besides, we can expect to be called
to account, and encouraged to do better or otherwise next time if we fall
short. Mostly that judgment comes directly from our audience's wallets. If
we and they can get some honest help from critics, so much the better.

Cheers. Have fun.

Robert Hawkes

On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 11:09 PM, Honest T <honestt100 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello all,
> I am a former Cleveland native (and avid theater goer) who has recently
> returned home after 2 decades on the west-coast.  As a theater fan, I have
> noticed that many reviewers are often "off the mark" in what they say about
> shows.  So, I am continuing something that I have been doing for the last
> few years -- writing an independent blog which will express MY OPINIONS on
> shows that I see.  Again, I stress that that these are merely opinions and I
> do not claim to be infallible.  I am honest.  Brutally honest.  Please be
> forewarned.  I am thrilled to be back on my native soil, and I look forward
> to sharing my views on the local theater scene.  CHECK OUT THE REVIEWS AT:
> http://honestt100.blogspot.com
>
> Honest-T
>
> ______________________________________
> CLEVELAND THEATER COLLECTIVE: The 4th annual Free Night of Theater will be
> October 15, 2009.  Tickets will be available via www.clevelandtheater.comat 12:01pm on October 3. In anticipation of this event, CTC has redesigned
> the look and functionality of www.clevelandtheater.com.   To see the new
> CTC website, go to http://ctc.thunderapps.com
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