Click here for Terry’s talk, delivered at the Chicago conference in June, 2012. For more about the Perspectives series, scroll down.
This series of talks was inaugurated in 1992, when Clive Barnes accepted this invitation of then ATCA chair Chris Rawson:
“At our twice-annual meetings, we have always heard a great deal from theater artists. But lately we have seen the need to speak more directly to our own concerns, too. These are difficult times for theater critics, with space for theater coverage shrinking, papers relying more and more on part-time or freelance critics and, in many cities, papers folding. Reminders of the importance and even the high honor of our calling are more necessary than ever.
“And we are changing. Representing the rank and file of American theater critics, ATCA finds itself now with more academics, more former theater artists and many more freelance critics. If there ever were any cohesion or commonly shared standards and assumptions in the profession, they are not much in evidence today. The training and competence of American theater critics remain issues of concern. In other words, sobering reminders of the obligations of the critic are also necessary.
“So we are looking for speakers in this new series to inform us, stir us up, challenge us and send us back to work determined to be better critics. Inspire, badger, praise, blame, educate, excoriate, entice, regenerate — any of those might be appropriate.”
That was 1992! Not much has changed today, except that the parlous state of the newspaper industry has made the “difficult times” for critics even worse, while the Internet has added problematic and exciting new dimensions.
By now we have heard a lot of wisdom (and inevtably some hot air) from a remarkable roster of speakers, as the following list makes clear. So our series continues.
So far we have only two of these talks transcribed: the June, 2012 address by Terry Teachout and the Feb., 2011 panel arranged by Sherry Eaker, complete with proposals ATCA will consider about training future critics.
1992, Feb, NYC: Clive Barnes
1992, May, Cleveland: William Henry.
1993, May, Seattle: Michael Feingold.
1994, July, O’Neill Theater Center: Ernie Schier.
1995, May, Dallas/Fort Worth: Jeremy Gerard.
1996, Miami: Margo Jefferson.
1997, July, Salt Lake City: Sylvie Drake.
1998, May, Denver: Dan Sullivan.
1999, Feb., NYC: Frank Rich.
1999, June, Philadelphia: Henry Hewes.
2000, Louisville: Richard Christiansen.
2001, Feb., NYC: Robert Brustein.
2001, July, Ashland: Robert Hurwitt.
2002, Feb., NYC: Linda Winer.
2002, June, Chicago: Albert Williams.
2003, March, NYC: Eric Bentley.
2003, June, St. Paul: Nancy Melich.
2004, June, San Francisco: Misha Berson.
2005, Feb., NYC: Julius Novick.
2005, June, Los Angeles: Norman Lear, keynote at first National Critics Conference.
2006, Feb, NYC: John Simon.
2006, June, Shaw Festival: Leonard Conolly on GBS as a critic;
Stratford Festival: Ian Herbert and Robert Cushman on “Critics and the Bard.”
2008, June, Washington, D.C.: Trey Graham, Peter Marks and Bob Mondello.
2009, April, Sarasota: theater columnist Michael Riedel.
2009, Oct., NYC: producer Ken Waissman.
2010, Feb., Denver: ATCA panel of Christine Dolen, Jeffrey Jenkins, Chris Jones and Chris Rawson, moderated by Jim Steinberg.
2010, July, O’Neill Theater Center: film critic (and former ATCA member and theater critic at a half-dozen papers) Michael Phillips.
2011, Feb., NYC: playwright-director-artistic director Emily Mann, playwrights Adam Rapp and Richard Nelson and artistic director Tim Sanford. Click for transcript.
2011, July, Ashland, Oregon: Jim O’Quinn, editor of American Theatre.
2012, June, Chicago: Terry Teachout, Wall Street Journal. Click for transcript.
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