The Shakespeare Conference: SHK 11.0688  Tuesday, 4 April 2000.

From:           Mike Jensen <
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Date:           Monday, 03 Apr 2000 08:51:56 -0700
Subject: Re: Titus Warning
Comment:        SHK 11.0642 Re: Titus Warning

With respect, Nicolas Pullin seems to have confused my comments about
community theater with regional theater.  They are not the same thing.
I have, on rare occasion, seen world-class quality regional theater.
Usually I see good or very good regional theater, with occasional
disappointments.  My comments emphatically did not apply to regional
theater.

On the other hand, I have never seen community theater without walking
out at intermission or earlier.  I did apologize to Dale Lyles for my
comments, who was commendably gracious off list.  As I told him, though
100% of my experience with community theater has been bad, that does not
count for all community theater.  I don't actually know it is all bad.
I made an assumption, and Dale's comments made me realize it was an
assumption warranted by my experience, but not warranted by all possible
evidence.

I did find one subsequent comment (by another who took me over his knee)
absurd, the one that said the main difference between community theater
and Broadway (if I remember correctly) was money.  The talent was just
as good.

I don't walk out on bad sets and costumes.  I walk out on bad acting and
direction.  The best community theater I have seen pales when compared
to the worst regional theater I have seen, and, again in my experience,
the quality of theater is usually greater on Broadway and the West End
than in the regions.  Having said that, I want to give credit to those
who work so hard to put on a show, even a bad show.  I actually feel
guilty for walking out lest I hurt their feelings.  On the other hand, I
consider it a great sin to allow yourself to be bored, and my greater
responsibility is to myself.

Best,
Mike Jensen