I am especially loving Whitman’s Specimen Days and the book The Better Angel: Walt Whitman in The Civil War by Roy Morris, Jr.

If anyone is in Brooklyn, come check out the play “Whitman’s Brooklyn” at The Old Stone House (a reconstruction of a Dutch Farm House from 1699) in Park Slope in August. http://www.artfulconspirators.org

I’d like to comment on Johee’s response to Xanthia’s gripe. I’m having a hard time with the sentiment that the setting was not appropriate for critical discussion. Personally, I can’t think of a better setting. Where are you ever going to find the ideal audience for a difficult discussion. That is to say, whenever a difficult subject is broached and you give the opportunity for personal expression, you are always going to have a multitude of opinions despite how well people may know each other. Whether they are kids bussed in from various places or whatever.

As a TYA artistic director in the States, we bus in students from all over the region and follow every performance with a critical discussion. Granted, it is guided heavily by a moderator in an effort to get under the surface of the play quickly (most school audiences don’t have a lot of time). We actually pose an inquiry question at the top of the show, asking the audience to keep something in the back of their mind as they watch. It is usually thematic in nature, allowing us a broad range of follow up questions (i.e. heroism, disguise, inheritance, survival, home). We bank on every audience being curious about the actors’ personal lives, the use of weapons or whether a staged kiss was “real” or not. And we make time for those questions, too. But we begin by guiding a conversation to get under the surface of the play.

I’ll confess that, as a producer, my objective is to build a community. And I want to make room in that community for everyone. But building a community means that there are going to be some challenges, not the least of which is balancing multiple perspectives. If I’m going to empower young people to become change agents for the future, I want to give them a space where they can reflect and be encouraged to share. Especially in front of strangers. I’m not suggesting taking on a confrontational attitude. But I am saying that young people need opportunities to stand up and say what they feel in a safe environment. It becomes an exercise in autonomy and identity. Self-determination. Something that I’d like to suggest is at the heart of what we, in the field internationally, are all about.

So what better place, then, for a critical discussion.

Anyway, thanks again for sharing and congratulations on your fabulous experience.

Best,
Tom Arvetis
Producing Artistic Director
Adventure Stage Chicago

so lovely to see photos and faces from what now seems like a long time ago. was most fun meeting you, and having a hotel soiree, and partying and artying. hopefully making my way over stateside soon, and then it’s theatre and amish theme parks til we drop.