Our First Letter Of Complaint!
MESSAGE FROM SPEARSHAKER CONTACT FORM:
From: Joanne Halliday
I recently came to see your production of MSND - I am a Drama advisor for Wirral Educ' Auth' and I felt very angry that you considered the production to be worthy of presentation. At best it was similar to work expected of Year 7 and 8 students in High School, the direction was amateur and the acting very poor.
I recognise that the Fringe is an important venue for new acts however I do feel that there should be a recognition of standards required and your piece fell very short.
On the evening we left with a member of the press who held the same feelings as us and did say that you had produced a piece of ppor theatre and that audiences couldn't be expected to sit through it.
I would be very interested in your justification and your view on the piece.
posted by i2 at 4:15 pm
7 Comments:
Wow. Sad old bat or wot?
I've seen a lot of ‘ppor' acts at The Fringe, but this was certainly not one of them. Most of the worst ones seem to come from those comedy review boys from the posh universities - who’ve been turning out the same substandard, uninspiring rubbish for the past 20 years – most of which seems to end up on Radio 4! Notice that Teach isn’t complaining about any of them. Well, she wouldn’t would she? Hasn’t she heard any of the tosh they put out in the R4 drama slots or on the telly these days? How much of that is worthy of presentation? Nobody has to pay for a ticket for MSND if they don’t want to. At least you are paying your own way. But what about all the really sub-standard stuff that has been blocking up screens, stages and radio-speakers up-and-down the country for the past few years? We have to pay for that in our taxes and TV licences – whether we can bear to sit through it or not. With so many issues of much greater relevance and concern - you can’t help wondering what’s so special about your show to get so worked-up about?
‘Couldn’t be expected to sit through it’ - as someone who has walked out of an RSC production and paid at least five times more for the privilege I cannot understand why this production should be considered any less worthy of presentation.
In a world where we are increasingly told what we can and cannot do, are given advice and have standards set then thank god for the Fringe. How wonderful to see young people work hard and find the energy and enthusiasm to put a show together and take it all the way up to Edinburgh - no mean feat as anyone who has ever done it will tell you. All this knowing that they could end up performing to just a few people each night and will be very lucky indeed if they make any money out of it. They need to be encouraged, praised for their endeavours not asked to justify what they are doing and from where I was sitting they looked as if were doing pretty well.
Hey! Let's not get carried away here eh? She's a TEACHER for godsakes :)
If Elvis had waited for the approval of the local school's music advisor before he started strutting his stuff on stage then we'd all still be waiting for the world's first appearance of that sequined jump-suit in Vegas and nobody would have even heard of rock-n-roll.
Getting on the tits of the establishment is what The Fringe is supposed to be all about... Or at least it used to be before the establishment started trying to muscle in on the act! Drama Advisor indeed. What Phooee.
Hey fringemonster! Think you might have shot your argument in the foot with that sequined jump-suit analogy :) But you're right. Dark sarcasm is all she wrote. Pity she hadn't left it in the classroom.
Hey, TEACHER...
LEAVE THOSE KIDS ALONE
I thought a few comments from another teacher might be useful. As someone who has spent over 30 years encouraging young people to take risks, ask questions and fight for answers, challenge patronising comments from media and education mouths and become good story-tellers!...I was fascinated by the comments from the drama advisor on the MSND production. I wonder how the teachers in her area feel about having their work in schools with years 7 and 8 linked with 'amateur direction and poor acting'? Obviously she's got problems communicating or what??
And that word 'standards' makes me cringe. Whose? The whole fun and point of the Fringe is that you challenge 'standards'...take risks, experiment and learn. The job of the audience is to help that process and it's good to know what they have enjoyed and what they haven't...BUT I bet you anything the drama advisor didn't stay to the end and talk about the play...bet she walked out in a flurry of indignation and a splutter over 'standards'!!! Thank god all the greats of theatre took no notice of 'standards'..or we would never have had the joy of Shakespeare, Brecht etc. Come on drama adviser, start encouraging instead of discouraging. In a dark world of hard times a group of young actors have set out to tell a story...the least we can do is watch and listen with respect for the achievement.
So if the telly ads were right, and those that can, teach... What do the ones that can't do with themselves? Become advisors?
Saw eminem on the telly the other day. Couldn't help thinking how much better-off he would be if only he'd had WDA and her journo mate to tell him audiences couldn't be expected to sit through all those four-letter words.
So Shakespeare and Brecht got bad reviews from the drama advisors too did they? What's all that about then?
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