Learning and Thinking with Discussion...

I have just finished the first week of my new class Drama 103 (Play Analysis). It is off to a great start and already has started me thinking about what kind of theatre I want to be doing and putting out there. The course is definitely aimed at the newly adult, but the instructor knows that I am in there. I think my perspective might add something new to the mix. We have spent most of the first 2 classes talking about what our role as spectator is and it makes you think about how theatres must sell seats and how that need conflicts with the need for 'art' to bring change and push forward instead of stagnating. Not all audience members want to be jarred or challenged. I don't always want to be. However, if you are only playing to the masses(and/or the lowest common denominator), then what contribution are you really making? I often get so annoyed by the amount of money poured into slop like Don't Mess With the Zohan or Deuce Bigalo, Male Gigolo (1 and 2), or Saw (2-4). Any one of those movies could fund hundreds of theatre productions or at least 5 good indie films (and maybe a few bad indie films that at least tried something new). It is one thing to say money is the problem, but there is a lot of money out there. I think the problem is where the money gets spent and what oatmeal people choose to go to rather than going to see something of real quality.