Chicago-based playwright and theatre blogger Don Hall weighs in on the theatrical discourse debate, laying down his case for a rougher, more honest approach:
“All of this boils down to two important yet diametrically opposed notions:
- most theater people just want affirmation and aren’t really interested in criticism, constructive or otherwise;
- we all claim to want honest evaluation from our peers (‘So what’d you think? Be straight with me…’).
“The result is often a call for ‘more civility’ amongst artists and less brawling and how that translates is that if you don’t have anything nice to say, it’s better to keep it to yourself.”
Some good insight here, even if you haven’t been following the various theatre blog scuffles he recounts. Full post here: Is Being “Civil” Just Another Way to Shut People Up?