I recently read words to the effect, “Submit your polished play. Must work as a reading”. The rational me asked myself, “How does a play get polished, if it’s never been read?” The irrational me got pissed. The rational me asked myself, “How does a play which is meant to be staged, “work” as a reading?” The irrational me decided not to submit… It seemed the best solution at the time.
I recently participated as an audience member at a staged reading of five short plays. The rational me asked myself, “Why did the director choose to direct this drama, as if it is a farce? The irrational me wrote an email to the playwright expressing my outrage on his/her behalf. The rational me regretted sending my unsolicited opinion. The irrational me worries that I never received a reply… It seemed the best decision at the time.
LOL. I have been known to give unsolicited opinions myself. I never regret them. Sometimes I don’t get replies but sometimes I do. I think about it this way, Art should evoke a response and maybe just maybe the artist does want to know what that response is or that their work compelled someone to comment, to care, to still be thinking about it. And, yes, I, too, have commented on bad/mediocre/strange representations of work; it rubs me the wrong way too…