February, 2009
Why is this Site now LocalTheatreNY.com?
“Community theatre” as an all encompassing definition of amateur theatre is often up for debate.
Some groups just don’t fit the bill and for reasons that vary by group, they prefer to be called local theatre, independent, off-off, or simply something else. Since there is so much out there that doesn’t get classified as any one thing, we felt the time had come to create a more inclusive site.
The debate really started with “If you are not Broadway, then what type of theatre are you?” Not everything can be the “great white way.” Let’s face it, you can put the word “off” in front of Broadway as many times as you like and it still doesn’t describe it effectively.
Then there’s the question of “amateur” as opposed to “professional.” If the performers are paid does that usually mean professional? What about Equity status?
Yet equity status aside, some groups appear consistently more “professional” than others and yet they are geographically nowhere near the bright lights of Broadway. Amazingly, some of these productions are almost as good as anything you’ll find around that famed Manhattan theatre district.
But it gets even more complicated.
We’ve seen shows just blocks away from Broadway that simply stink. And we've also seen groups in out of the way church basements consistently create some of the best productions you will ever see on stage year in and year out. Some of us can say that we’ve paid way too much for a lousy show, and surprisingly too little for brilliance! We've watched paid actors go on stage and be awful, and we've seen unpaid "amatuer" talent dazzle. There is no rule, really. What you see is what you get. Whether you end up liking it or not is simply up to you.
But in naming our new site LocalTheatreNY, we now take the approach that it includes anything that is out there that may not be necessarily considered Broadway or Off-Broadway. Does that mean we’ll never write about Broadway? Not really. But for the most part, this site is here to promote "everything else" out there.
This includes Children’s theatre, burlesque, cabaret, musical revues, experimental, variety, college level productions, high school productions, church basement (the good, the bad and the ugly), improvisational and even, yes, community theatre!
Don’t let any definition you see here on this site necessarily relate to quality. If you are one of those groups that get listed as community theatre, don’t immediately assume that you are somehow “less” or not as good as an off-off group. That’s nonsense.
Our goal is to promote your production, promote the art form and craft and inspire more people to get involved and have fun.
We’ve done away with reviews and you will not see any more reviews from us on this site anytime soon. What we want to do moving forward is promote the group, provide some insights into the production and motivate our readers to go see it for whatever reason might appeal to them. This seems fair and simple, no?
I hope you like this new strategy.
To producer Ron B. Hellman of the Outrageous Fortune Company at Queens Theatre in the Park, thanks for giving us the idea of renaming this site “LocalTheatreNY.com."
Enjoy!
Roger Gonzalez,
Editor & Publisher