I like press kits. Holding one makes me feel special and valuable and important, and of course creating those feelings among the ladies and gentlemen of the media is a, if not the, primary function of Chicago theater. (I learned this on my very first reviewing assignment, when saying “I’m Kelly Kleiman of the Reader” caused the box-office lady to exclaim, “What a beautiful dress you’re wearing!”)
Having said that, I rise today to urge the abolition of the press kit. Every kit represents a pointless act of deforestation, now that photos and press releases and sound clips and background material can all be posted on-line or sent electronically. Put everything on your site, and print the URL on my press ticket. This will save me hours of field-stripping kits, using what paper I can for scratch and saving the folders to pass along to smaller and poorer companies. More important, it will save money for every theater, and trees and energy for the whole planet.
Will Chicago theater companies do away with press kits?
Dec. 1, 2010Off-Loop theater: Endangered species list
Nov. 30, 2010
The chickens that flew the coop in 2008 are coming home to roost as 2010 winds down. We're talking about funding for non-profit theaters, of course. The economic collapse two years ago seemed to have little effect on non-profit institutions, the reason being that major foundation and corporate funding commitments are made a year or more in advance. The money for 2009 and even 2010 already was in the pipeline. But now the pipelines are running dry.
In terms of theaters (or dance troupes or musical organizations for that matter), it's often difficult to know if a company is in trouble or not. Putting on a season is the name of the game, not transparency. It's easy to announce plans for a season, and then cancel them later or quickly fold the tent as the sorely-missed Apple Tree Theatre did last year, and as About Face Theatre nearly did (a crash fund-raising effort saved them).
Why won't media review your play? Not enough critics
Nov. 26, 2010
Y'see, the problem is there just aren't enough theater critics. Sure, Chicago has several dozen credible men and women who write, blog or broadcast about theater on a daily or weekly basis, but it simply doesn't work when you have 14 shows opening in three days, as was the case last Friday-Sunday. In fact, 40 shows will open in local theaters between Nov. 12 and Nov. 30, or better than two-a-day. And our little Off-Loop theater troupes wonder why they can't get reviewers to come see them. Hey, even a critic has to see the new Harry Potter or spend the night sharpening knives. Some critics even have kids.
We understand that every theater company wants to open a show before Thanksgiving so it can run four weeks or six weeks and still close before Christmas, but the result is a total scheduling mess. Social networking now provides a mechanism for promoting shows to potential ticket buyers without benefit of press or the risk of negative write-ups. Still, there's nothing as immediately effective in creating a hit as newspaper, broadcast and/or blog coverage by the pros. But, pilgrim, they jest ain't enough pros--or media outlets--to go around, especially not 40 times in 18 days.
Our advice to Off-Loop theater companies: next year, skip November.
CHRP's Thanks 4 Giving makes a joyful noise
Nov. 24, 2010Have a favorite charity? Or want to make a one-off donation?
You can give painlessly AND watch/hear people banging on things, including the floor and themselves, by attending Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s annual “Global Rhythms” show, featuring tap and percussive ensembles local, national, and international.
CHRP head Lane Alexander (photo by Eric Futran)
“I sometimes call this the people’s benefit,” says CHRP head Lane Alexander, who came up with the Thanks 4 Giving program in 2005 in hopes of sharing the wealth, building community, and increasing audiences. “Prices are low, so everybody can afford to attend, not just people who can purchase $500 gala tickets. Our goal is to extend the run to eight shows and raise $500,000 for charity $7.50 at a time!”
That’s half the lowest ticket price. Because fully half the proceeds go to charity, or can go.
Here’s how it works.
Prominent Chicago actors hit the road for plum roles
Nov. 23, 2010Chicago actor Ernest Perry, Jr. will spend the winter on the road in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," the August Wilson play set in a 1920s Chicago recording studio. As directed by another local artist, Ron OJ Parson, the show is a co-production between the Actors Theatre of Louisville (where it will play in January and February) and the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (where it will play in March).
Also on the move is Steppenwolf Ensemble member Yasen Peyankov returns in December to his native Bulgaria to direct a play at Bulgaria's National Academy of Theatre and Film Arts in Sofia, where he trained as an actor before coming to the USA 20 years ago. He'll be back in time to perform at Steppenwolf in "The Hot L Baltimore" (March 24-May 29). Peyankov also is Director of Theatre Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Department of Cultural Affairs #2 to retire
Nov. 23, 2010
Chicago arts will lose one of its best friends Dec. 30 with retirement of Janet Carl Smith, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA). Smith is stepping down after 32-years in city government, initially working with the Chicago Public Library before the DCA came into existence under Mayor Harold Washington.
With her signature salt-and-pepper hair, Ms. Smith for years has been the highly-visible eyes and ears of Cultural Affairs at theaters, galleries, museums and concert halls as well as at various meetings, forums and seminars. Smith reports to DCA Commissioner Lois Weisberg, who is expected to tender her resignation to Chicago's new mayor next spring, as will all department chieftans.
The new Hizzoner may keep some veterans in place, or make new choices for the top administrative posts. Thus, in six months the Department of Cultural Affairs could be without its two most senior and most dedicated leaders. Smith says she won't disappear, but will continue to work with DCA as an advisor.
There’s no place like ‘Home’ for the holidays
Nov. 22, 2010
What my fellow Duelist Jonathan Abarbanel calls "Sugarplum and Treacle season" seems to have arrived early this year, just like other manifestations of Christmas: Black Friday sales, angst concerning holiday travel. The good news is, holiday fare this time around includes some unconventional choices. In this category count Court Theatre’s pitch-perfect revival of Samm-Art Williams’ 1979 drama "Home."
This play isn’t about Christmas in any obvious sense. Only the penultimate scene takes place around Christmastime, and any sentimentality is quickly washed away by the setting—a crowded Greyhound bus, described as “the National Negro Transportation Network”—and the companionship, including a man who won’t put his shoes back on. But as our hero Cephus makes his way from farm to prison to city and back to farm, he keeps asking, “Where is God? When is he coming back?”—the very questions the Christmas story is designed to answer.
Cephus is a contented farmer in rural North Carolina whose life collapses around him when his sweetheart Patti Mae moves away and marries someone else while Uncle Sam comes calling with a draft notice.
Dueling Critics: 'The Piano Teacher'
Nov. 19, 2010
"The Piano Teacher" makes its Midwest premiere at Evanston's Next Theatre Company. Julia Cho's chilling play revolves around Mrs. K, a former piano teacher, and the events that unravel when she reaches out to two former students. Dueling Critics Kelly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel give their reviews.
Kelly's pick of the week:
"Echoes of the War" at the Lincoln Park Cultural Center Theater through Dec 4.