Where Have All the Reviewers Gone?

What gives? As if it's not tough enough to produce community theater, now the local media is abandoning us. That's right. Don't know if you've heard, but the Princeton Packet and the Trenton Times will no longer be publishing reviews of local community theater productions.

I shouldn't act surprised. The Times has had one foot out the door for a while now. It felt like the planets needed to be aligned before their Features Editor would agree to run a review. And then you had to hope the damned thing ran before the show closed. There were occasions when they actually ran the review after the show closed. Now that was helpful. Anita Donovan would faithfully come to the shows at the Kelsey Theatre and write a review only to have the editor ignore it. In time, they just told her to not bother unless told to. Now they've killed reviews entirely.

The Princeton Packet's weekly entertainment publication, Time-Off, used to be our saving grace. They were there for us more often than not. (Okay, I still hold a grudge over our award-winning production of Driving Miss Daisy being overlook for a review, but we won't go there.) Actors, artisans and not to mention theater-goers used to look forward to the reviews. For a producer a good review meant stronger second weekend ticket sales. For the cast, crew and their families it meant some form of recognition for committing sometimes hundreds of hours to help keep an art form alive in our community. Now what do they get? Crickets. The Time-Off staff has been gutted and their regular reviewer, Stu Duncan, has been given a hardy farewell.

Look, I'm not saying anyone was looking for a hand out. This isn't about "why don't they give us 'good' reviews." This is about getting any reviews at all. We in community theater all know the score. You produce a poor show, you get ready for a bad review. It's that simple. But now there will be no reviews at all for theater productions staged in the heart of Central New Jersey.

The real question is this: how will community theater companies survive this blow. And don't kid yourself, it is a serious blow. Not just for the lost ink, not just for the lost recognition, but for what it really means. This is just the beginning. Print media, which has been a partner with the performing arts since before the Barrymore's walked the boards, is struggling. And that's putting it kindly. The Internet, the very tool with which I make my own living and the means by which you are reading this diatribe, is killing the newspaper business. The only way for community theater to not become collateral damage is to evolve ourselves. Producers need to get more creative. Theater companies need get better at communicating with their patrons. It's not as easy as "just use the Internet yourself". The fact is that many dedicated theater-goers come from an older "pre-digital" generation and don't use the Internet. How do we reach them?

If you're expecting me to layout the answers, you'll be disappointed. I don't have them. At least not yet. This is going to take some serious noodling and a lot of experimentation. Stay tuned for future postings as I and my colleagues try to figure this out. But in the meantime, you can do one thing for us. Keep talking. When you see a show you like or a theater company you admire, talk about them to your friends. Since Homer was telling stories, word of mouth has always been the greatest source of ticket sales and the best way to keep art alive. So do us fellow theater folk a favor and keep talking.

I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can...

It's been non-stop theatre for me the last few weeks. First there was Brighton Beach Memoirs - a big success, but a lot of work. I had press releases to write, a website to update, email announcements to send out, sound design to complete, a prop newspapers from the 1930's to design, a cast party to host and a set to help strike... all while serving as backstage manager, producing Backstage Pass podcasts with my brother John and holding down my full-time job. Phew!

And if that wasn't enough, La Mancha auditions were held last weekend. More than 60 people auditioned for the show, including a lot of phenomenally talented actors and actresses. It's going to be tough turning people away. If only we could rewrite the script so that the Knight of Mirrors is really an evil scientist intent on cloning prostitutes and taking over the world. Then we could use all the phenomenally talented actresses who came out for Aldonza. Guess not.

But that is just what I was doing with Maurer Productions OnStage. While all that was going on, my daughter Caroline was preparing to audition for Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Kelsey Theatre. That means I have to help her find a song and a monologue, and help her work each night to get ready.

I'm beginning to think I should have stayed retired...

2008 Perry Award Results

Maurer Productions OnStage would like to congratulate all of the 2008 Perry Award winners and nominees. A complete list of the 2008 Perry winners has been posted online at the following address...

http://www.mponstage.com

I Saw Moon Over Buffalo Last Night

I saw Yardley Players' production of Moon Over Buffalo last night.....

You're probably wondering what I thought of it. Or maybe not, but I'll tell you any way. After all, this is a blog. Let me first preface my comments with this simple statement: Mother always told me: "If you can't say any anything nice, don't say anything at all." So I'll say only this one thing....

I laughed.

I laughed so loud friends sitting on the other side of the house new it was me laughing. "That's Dan," they said to themselves (and to me later) as my guffaws echoed across the room (it was a healthy turn out for the opening night of a play, by the way. I was jealous.)

Not only did I laugh. I slapped my knee and laughed like a drunken Bozo the clown. The script for Moon Over Buffalo is a gem. It's one of those shows you've never heard of before, and when you finally see it, you ask..."why have I never heard of this before!" The playwright keeps the jokes coming hot and heavy, and the Yardley cast mostly does them justice. In some cases they even polish up a few for better effect. Kurt Penney nearly steals the show as George Hay, but Laurie Hardy (who you'll remember from MP OnStage's production of Lucky Stiff), stays right there with him as his wife Charlotte Hay. Laurie and Kurt make a great one-two punch.

Moon Over Buffalo is an old fashioned farce, which should say a lot for my reaction, by the way. You see I don't like farces, just ask my brother John. But this much is true...

I laughed.

Where Do "Theatre Kids" Come From?

A friend recently asked "Where the hell do 'theatre kids' come from?" He went on to say that theatre kids, (the young actors who perform in local community theatre) all seem so nice and well behaved.
While it's not true that all children who perform in community theatre mind their Ps and Qs (trust me I could tell you stories), but I do know what he means. On the whole, young performers tend to be a little more mature than most kids their age. There's a reason for that. In short, they have to be.

Performing in community theatre is a huge endeavor for everyone involved. There are a lot of long hours involved. It's rewarding, but it is hard work. No one has time for bullshit from a cast member. No one gets cut any slack, and no sticks around for very long if they don't pull their weight. It's not about talent, it's about maturity, commitment, and professionalism. This is the same for the children as well as the adults in the cast. Children are treated like hardworking professionals when they are in a show, and they are expected to behave that way.

Community theatre is not like rec league soccer. It is not the case that everyone who signs up gets in the show. There is an arduous audition process where children must prepare an audition monologue. For musicals they must also prepare an audition song and be ready for a dance audition. Some kids walk off the street without having prepared and it shows in the audition. Other kids work for weeks on their audition and that also shows. At the end only the most talented and the most appropriate for the show get cast. Then once they are cast in the show, they are expected to stay on their toes. They get no special treatment (beyond chaperons) just because they are children. They still need to know their lines, sing their songs, hit their marks and reach the high notes. And trust me, if they can't, if they screw around and cause a problem for cast and crew, they are less likely to be cast the next time around. So as a result, there's a weeding out process. The kids who are not mature enough to handle the demands of community theatre, or aren't committed enough to put the hours in to improve their skills so they can succeed in community theatre, eventually drop out or are left out during the audition process. That leaves mostly the kids who are serious, committed and mature.

I know, I make the whole thing sound tough, like a boot camp. But it's a great educational experience for the child who is serious about theatre. The lessons learned about commitment, hard work, setting goals, being professional, courteous, and supportive of their theatre colleagues is invaluable. They learn from both adults and other children. In my opinion, there are very few extracurricular activities that a young child can participate in that can teach them so much about life, and about being part of a team and about winning or losing in so short a time, than theatre. They just have to have the right level of maturity and commitment to consistently pass the audition, win a role, and to be a part of it.

So the answer to the question "Where the hell do 'theatre kids' come from?" is pretty simple. Theatre kids aren't born, they are cast to play the role.

Backstage Pass Becomes Something More

If you've been paying attention lately (or if you are on our mailing list), then you you've heard that we've launched a podcast called Backstage Pass. By we, I mean my brother John and I are doing it on behalf of Maurer Productions OnStage. Backstage Pass is a podcast about all things community theatre in Central New Jersey. It's an interview show that typically runs from 15 to 30 minutes on topics like upcoming productions, how to get into community theatre, profiles of people working in local theatre. Stuff like that.

Okay, yes, I have to admit that I originally thought of the idea of doing a single episode podcast as a promotional tool to drum up some attention for our production of Brighton Beach Memoirs. But after talking about it with John, he quickly made me realize that it was a lot more affective -- and a lot more fun -- if we made it into a real show and opened it up by doing episodes about all things community theatre and covered what the other theatre companies were doing in Central New Jersey. And thus, Backstage Pass was born.

I'm glad we took this direction. We already have four episodes online with a fifth scheduled and more on the drawing board. On the selfish note, they are a lot of fun to create and they help raise awareness for our theatre company. But when you look at the bigger picture, Backstage Pass is helping to promote community theatre in general . My favorite episode is one I hosted featuring Kyrus Westcott, Kitty Getlik, and John Maurer talking about the Perry Awards. John did another himself with the folks from Yardley Players' about Moon Over Buffalo.

Upcoming episodes will include one John is working about the production of Skin of Our Teeth, which Brian Bara is directing at the College of New Jersey, and an episode I'll be putting together talking about children in community theatre. I don't know if this podcast are any good. I only know that like them and they're fun to produce and fun for the people who participate in the interviews. If you've had a chance to listen to any of them, I hope you'll offer us your feedback through this blog. We're always looking for ways to make it better.

Also, if you have an idea for an episode of Backstage Pass, please email us at info@mponstage.com.

OnStage Receives 17 Perry Award Nominations in 2008

The votes are in and the nominees are.....

In what turned out to be a very laid back presentation the board of NJACT gathered at the Kelsey Theatre to announce the nominees for the 2008 Perry Awards. The afternoon began with a general meeting on whats happening at NJACT and It's plans for the future then after a short break for cake and sandwiches the announcements began in Earnest.

All told, MPOnStage received 17 nominations, 9 for Driving Miss Daisy and 8 for Singin' in the Rain.

Here are the highlights

Driving Miss Daisy

Eve Connolly
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

Allwyn L. Baskin
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play

M. Kitty Getlik
Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play

Diana Gilman Maurer
Outstanding Costume Design for a Play

Alycia Bauch-Cantor
Outstanding Properties

John Maurer and Amy Foris
Outstanding Scenic Design for a Play

Dan Maurer
Outstanding Sound Design

Dan Maurer
Outstanding Direction of a Play

John, Diana and Dan Maurer
Outstanding Production of a Play

Singin' in the Rain

John M. Maurer
Outstanding Scenic Design/Musical

Jane Coult
Outstanding Choreography

Jim Petro
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical

Nicole Farina-Machin
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Musical

Vicky Czarnik
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical

Ray Murphy
Outstanding Ensemble Actor in a Musical

John M. Maurer
Outstanding Direction of a Musical

John, Diana and Dan Maurer
Outstanding Production of a Musical

To see the Full list of Nominations Click Here.

Remember to mark your calendars - the 2008 Perry Awards Ceremony will be Sunday, September 21st.