Report on My Interviews

In this blog post, I will report back on what I have learned from my interviews.

GotCredit, "Report." 3/16/15. via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic.

Genres

• Plays
• Academic Journals
• Workshops

Plays

Plays are written for the purpose of entertaining the audience or communicating a certain message or theme to the audience. It is how the members of the theatre translate information and their creativity to the general public. It features characters, a plot, conflict, and is in the format in order to tell a story. Each play can vary on their purpose or overall meaning depending on the play, however this is where theatre artists are able to express themselves creatively for the rest of the world to see, and has the broadest audience due to this.

Academic Journals

The entries within academic journals however are mostly where those in theatre can communicate their research and ideas professionally and with other theatre professionals. It is where they commit to researching and explaining a piece of information that they find the most interesting. They then peer review this information and take it into consideration and incorporate the ideas learned here into their own work moving forward. It lists out facts and statistics and data gathered over a period of time, and relays this information to other professionals, and is usually meant solely for those academically interested in theatre.

Workshops

Workshops are intended to translate information to a broader audience that can not simply be understood through reading but by doing. For example, Dr. McKean frequently goes through Shakespeare workshops, as the language used in his plays are far easier to understand and work through as a performance rather than cold reading. Workshops are physical activities that can translate the information given in academic journals, but is for a much broader audience and allows for them to learn physically rather than through their use of facts or statistics given in journals. 

Challenging

The most challenging parts of writing a play:

• Trying to find the correct audience
• Going through revisions
• Dealing with criticism after publication 
• Loss of creativity or writers block 

The most challenging parts of writing in an academic journal

• Completing the research 
• Maintaining interest in topic
• Back and forth fights with those editing 

The most challenging parts of writing/conducting a workshop

• Reorganizing information into a workshop
• Correctly emphasizing the most important aspects of the work
• Time management throughout the entire process

Rewarding

The most rewarding parts of writing a play:

• The recognition of a successful play in areas all over the state/country/world
• The joy from seeing the work performed on stage
• Steady cash flow from performers purchasing the rights to work

The most rewarding parts of writing in an academic journal

• The process of learning about the topic that interests you
• Recognition from those working professionally in the field
• Opinion respected and sought after by peers 

The most rewarding parts of writing/conducting a workshop

• Taking the joy from the research in the academic journal and completing it physically, especially ideas that need physicality
• Watching those in attendance learn more as the workshop goes on
• The amount of entertainment and joy that comes from learning is experienced fully in the workshop outside of the academic journal

Mass Media

Plays are the most popular forms of theatre, and can be found in almost any city in performance throughout the country. The most popular being shows, especially musicals, that perform in areas like Broadway in New York City, and are honored by awards such as the Pulitzer Prize, the Drama Desk Award, or the Tony Award. 

Plays and musicals tour all over the country, and are performed by local theatre companies after purchasing the rights. For example, the musical Rent will be performed by students in the BFA program at the U of A, and can be consumed by those in the Tucson community. Recently the media has also taken to broadcasting musicals on television for the world to see, with infrequent success. 

Workshops specifically are used in an education setting, and usually take place at a school whether it be at a high school, university, or at a local theatre offering classes to the surrounding community. Also frequently teachers are taught in workshops, and it gives them better ideas in which to teach their students the material being covered in the workshop.

Academic journals are not covered by the mass media, but can be found in theatre journals and articles that are published monthly or yearly such as Theatre Journal or Theatre Research International. These publications are mostly consumed by those in the professional community, and is how the professionals in the field share information with one another.