In the midst of the Fourth Avenue Street Fair bustle in the neighborhood (and its concomitant “no place to park” madness), a gathering of mostly like-minded souls at the Rogue Theatre on University Blvd. Sunday afternoon proved that when given a chance to talk about the arts, about criticism and the media, about building audiences and even what the value of art is, those intrepid folks will not let obstacles deter them from a lively discussion. Facing a panel made up of Kathleen Allen and Cathalena Burch of the Daily Star, Lyn Tornabene, journalist and theater critic, Jessica Andrews of Arizona Theater Company, Joel Revzen of Arizona Opera, Joseph McGrath of the Rogue Theatre, Harry Clark of Chamber Music Plus Southwest and professor Joseph Thomas Tolliver from the University of Arizona Philosophy Department, moderated by Bruce Brockman, the head of the University’s Media and Theater School, the audience of 100 or so not only paid attention to what was being said but enthusiastically participated as well.
Although perhaps only a modicum of substantive agreement among all the parties was reached, the panelists and most of the onlookers were in accord as to the fact that arts criticism is valuable to both potential attendees and arts organizations alike, that building new audiences and attracting the young is vital, that newspapers, although seeming to be on the wane, are at least still a viable source of information and opinion, that social networking can be a useful tool for all kinds of artistic endeavors and that “it’s not the job of the critic to sell tickets.” The latter statement might have created a bit of a stir among certain producers, actors or artistic directors present, but the case was made logically and without apology by both Allen and Burch. “It’s up to the marketing department,” declared Revzen, who obviously agreed.
When it came time for the audience to question the panelists, a number of salient points were raised about the critic’s place and value, about the ability of arts organizations to survive in tough times, about how criticism affects ticket sales, about the criteria for evaluating the product. For instance, does a critic review the material or the way it’s presented? Would it be plausible to introduce online citizen reviewers (a la Yelp or other blogs) or interns (the newspapers do have apprentices, as it turns out)? Does a theater or opera company ever make changes due to what’s said in a review? And what about the glaring inequity between coverage of the arts versus coverage of sports in newspapers, several indignant questioners wanted to know.
Two hours was hardly enough time to even scratch the surface of all these fascinating lines of inquiry and topics of intense interest, so I would like to suggest to all involved, especially Joe McGrath and the Daily Star, that this become an on-going series, probably with a rotating group of panelists. On Sundays when the Rogue has no matinee? I think a lot more can be said, and who knows? Maybe someone might come up with a plan to further promote the arts in Tucson in a manner that really makes a difference. Talking about these subjects is wonderful and entertaining, but turning the talk into action would be even better. And it would also give a chance for all those voices that were not present due to conflicts and prior engagements a chance to add their two cents worth to the discussion.
