Please Change Your Feeds

It has come to my attention that in the course of my change over to wordpress my feeds are no longer the same. If you have been subscribing to this blog and have not yet switched over, click on through to www.loisbackstage.com and hit the "subscribe" button so you don't miss out on any new posts!

New Blog Location

Hello Readers!

I've gone off the deep end and moved my blog over to my personal domain permanently. You may have to update your feeds. Please head on over to www.loisbackstage.com and see the new and improved site!

What am I reading?

Google reader has created a handy little thing called "bundling." It allows you to gather all the feeds you subscribe to on a specific subject and e-mail that list to others so that they can also subscribe.

This afternoon Travis Bedard and I shared our collective theatre blog (and related) feeds and now, for your reading pleasure, I post this link to the 258 theatre blogs that we have found to read between the two of us.

A little bonus material

Check out this interview I did with Simon from The Next Stage for a few of my thoughts on Vancouver's fantastic theatre scene!

Why Do I Have a Blog Anyways?

Lately I've been feeling like I need to remind myself why it is that I have this theatre blog, so forgive me - this post is as much to define this blog for myself as it is for anyone who reads it.

I scan & read an average of 45 blog posts per day from my 115 subscriptions, and most of those are Theatre related; yes, Theatre with a capital T. Economics. Manifestos. Theory. Marketing practice. Script Development. Current events analysis. Philosophy. Projections for the future.

I enjoy reading what people are saying and wrestling with the ideas that they are discussing, but that's not what I want to write about, because it isn't what I am passionate about.

Don't get me wrong. I love theatre. I wouldn't be continuing to try to find work doing theatre if I didn't love it. But my passion for theatre comes from creating theatre and seeing the theatre that is being created by my peers, not arguing about theory. And this may be naiive of me, and I'm okay with that. When it comes right down to it, I still have a lot of time to become jaded with the industry or to learn about just how hard it is to get the necessary funding. I'm still relatively new to all of this.

For me, this blog is an outlet for my writing - something I've missed sorely since finishing university. While in school I was churning out about 3000 words a week and when I graduated and had no assigned writing to do, I missed it. A self-imposed assignment is as good as something a professor assigns as long as it makes me keep writing and thinking. And sometimes it's better because I'd far rather be writing about something I'm passionate about (theatre) than something I'm not (pre-confederation Canada).

So, what do I want to write about?

I want to write about all the crazy things that happen behind the scenes in the course of making theatre. I want to share my experiences as I take part in creating this thing we call theatre. I can't share everything interesting - that ends up breaking confidences - but I'll share what I can.

I also want to write about the theatre I see, but I'm still trying to figure out how to do that. When I started the blog I thought I might include reviews (you can find some among my early posts), but the reality is that at this point in my career doing peer reviews of shows will burn bridges I can't afford to burn. I've written about some theatrical trends that bother me and about shows I am looking forward to, but I'm not yet convinced that these are the best approaches to discussing the vast amount of work that is happening in Vancouver. But I'll keep looking for those ways.

Ken Davenport of The Producer's Perspective Hosts Theatre Bloggers Meet Up

I've RSVPed for this, despite not being from New York - if they find a way to link in the rest of us through the wonders of online technology, I'm excited to be a part of the wider discussion about theatre & the role of theatre blogs.

Here's the info from Ken's blog: click on over there to RSVP yourselves.

1ST THEATER BLOGGERS SOCIAL
Thursday, April 23rd. 6 PM - 8 PMPlanet HollywoodBroadway at 45th St.
To RSVP, comment to this blog with your name and the URL of your blog. Confirmation and final details will be emailed to you. Oh, and to qualify as a "Theater Blogger", you should:
Have a blog devoted primarily to theater
Post regularly
Be an independent blogger (not sponsored/paid to blog by any organization)
If that's you, then come on down to Planet Hollywood on the 23rd and meet others who do what you do. Share some appetizers. Swap some links. Find guest columnists. Argue about whether discounts are eroding our sales or not.
Maybe we'll agree, maybe we won't. But at least we'll have the conversation. And when we're all in one room, the volume of that conversation will be loud enough that people will have to listen.
Who knows, maybe it will be the first meeting of this.
If you're an out-of-town theater blogger, RSVP as well. We're working on a way to e-hook you in.
And if you don't have a blog? Start one. And you can come to the next event.