When You Fail/Die/Bomb Onstage, What Can You Do to Recover?

 

Have you ever had to perform a show without one of your cast or band members when no understudy was available? I have, and though I never want to do it again, I’ve never forgotten what happened.

I was in a punk-pop-rock band, working with a manager who found us college gigs. It was a Friday night, and I think we’d been advertised as more of a dance band than a concert. We’d have been better off with a seated audience, but a lot of colleges preferred dance bands at the time.

As it happened, our lead singer/songwriter/guitarist was really sick, and could hardly stand. He was willing to go with us anyway, but we couldn’t bear the thought of him falling over onstage and told him we could perform without him. I think we also wanted to show him we could function without him, if we had to — though in fact, it wasn’t true.

Once we arrived and started setting up the stage, I was feeling less and less confident. All we had was a bass player, a drummer, and a vocalist (me), whose signature songs consisted of harmonizing with the lead singer/founder. We tried playing the songs we were used to doing, but they sounded weird without either acoustic or electric guitar.

After a few songs, people in the audience began booing us and telling us we sucked.I hated to hear it, and at the same time, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand. In fact, I didn’t like how we sounded, either. After a few more tries, we ended up leaving and telling the staffer at the door that one of our members was sick and we should have canceled.  As you can probably guess, we didn’t get paid.

Of course, people bomb out for all kinds of reasons, but when it happens to you, it can feel like a monster squeezing his hands around your throat. Was there something we could have done? In hindsight, nearly everything.

Read more on Medium.

Does Art Really Matter? Talking Back to Those Who Ask

 

I grew up working my voice because family and friends encouraged me as a singer. I wanted to sing, yes, but I also wanted to dance. That didn’t happen, though I still think about what it would have meant to me. Long hours of dance practice, added to singing practice, and perhaps a more painful body at the end of the day.

What I knew, what I always knew, is no matter what I did, I would be some kind of artist. People’s eyes light up when you say that in certain circles; in other circles, such as work venues, the reaction is often polite, but suspicious. I think that’s because artists overall are regarded with suspicion. The world sees us as spoiled, impractical, unrealistic, unaware of the very serious issues life throws at us.

I know what they are thinking. Does art really matter?

I want to answer them with a question. I will ask it of you.

Read more on Medium.

Theater, Religion and Sacred Space: The Similarities May Surprise You

 

“This is my church,” they say, but you’re not standing in one.

“This is synagogue/mosque/Buddhist/Hindu Temple,” they say, but it doesn’t look anything like one.

They are standing on a stage when they say these things, or behind stage, or near it. They may be marking up a script with highlighter or they may be in the audience, watching a friend perform.

If you spent any time in a theater community — and by that, I mean actors, writers, directors, and everyone who makes a show run — then you know what I am talking about.

You may be on a rehearsal break outside. You may be in a corner with your dramaturge (if you’re a playwright), discussing an especially tricky moment in your play. Or you may have just finished a performance and then hear the audience call you out onstage one more time, with the sound of applause so loud you can hear it in your dressing room.

Is that a church? Is that a mosque or synagogue? Buddhist or Hindu Temple?

You can only answer truthfully if you’ve been in one — but if you have, I think you would agree that yes, theater and religion have a lot in common— starting with sacred space.

Read more on Medium.

Photo by Vitaliy Lyubezhanin on Unsplash

Censoring is Not Protecting: a Meandering Case for Letting Your Kids Read What They Want

I have a friend who talks about her affection for a woman known as "the Culture Lady" in her community. This is someone who knows what theater, operas, and concerts are the ones to see and why, and brings kids or friends to these events.

I tend to wince when someone says "Culture lady" because to me, art isn't "culture." It's breath and air and oxygen, respite and escape, and the word "culture" almost diminishes it.

But I get what my friend is talking about. She wants art to matter more than it does, and she hopes people will take it seriously. Or at least get engaged with it.

That's turning out to be a tall order in our phone-obsessed, technology-driven world. But if we are going to respect art, we need to respect people's right to view it, interpret it, and become moved or angered or excited, as the case may be.

My mother was strict in many ways, but liberal in what she allowed me to read or see, so films or books considered "adult" were not forbidden to me. I remember my sister was reading a book about a prostitute and no one hid the book when I was around.

Naturally I tried reading my sister's book, though I was only 8 and a lot of it was over my head. I don't think I finished the book or even read most of it. But just skimming through made me feel like the world was a bit wider and more open to me. And I liked that feeling.

That's probably why I tried to be liberal with what I let my son read as well. I say this because again, art isn't "culture" to me. It's everything. And I want my son to be able to live and breathe in artistic waters as freely as possible.

Plus, my son had (has) lots of other things vying for his attention, such as TV and video games. So I felt if I censored his book choices, I'd be cutting out a lot of his reading time.

I know there are people who don't agree and who are very committed to sharing only "age appropriate" books or films with their kids. I tried to stay away from violent films (but good luck if you're a parent of a ten-year-old.) If I have to choose, I'd say it's better if your kid reads adult books instead of adult films. 

Regardless of what my son was reading or seeing, what I always tried to do was explain the artist's intent and talk about it. I guess I did that because I think it's important to support reading. And I'm happy to see that today, my son is reading a lot of what might be called "difficult" or "classical" books that I never would have thought he'd like.

Your thoughts on this are welcome, of course! And here's some other viewpoints on this subject.

Do you Censor Your Kids' Reading Material?

Kids Should Read Whatever They Want, Whenever They Want

Should You Censor What Your Kids Read?