CODY GREEN on Playing Riff in West Side Story

I really, REALLY hate question and answer interviews. What is the point of having a reporter put his her name to it?

Arrggh.


Does anyone happen to know what show Greene turned down?

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"what is your big number JET SONG about?

Huh?

1. My point about the name was not that it was YOUR name. How was I suppose to know the "writer" of an article was the original poster. MY POINT IS.....you didn't actually WRITE/CREATE anything. I personally HATE reading an "interview", which this obviously wasnt', and have someone call it an article. I didn't mean to ruffle YOUR feathers, since I didn't know they WERE yours. I was just commenting on the LACK OF AN ARTICLE. My high school students would have written (gasp) paragraphs. I am allowed to have an opinion about your chosen format.

2. Since it WAS your work....you cannot expect to post anything on a discussion board and NOT HAVE IT BE DISCUSSED.
That, sir, is the risk you take with presenting something.

3. THe only CRITICISM this thread has created is about the article itself: not Cody Greene, not b'way, NOT West Side Story. So what damage did our comments bring? None.

4. RESEARCH???? Are you kidding me? What research? You provided NOTHING new, or certainly nothing I wouldn't have found in my own google search. I READ the article to get insight and didn't receive any.

5. As for my "responsibility" to b'way. I see 2 to 5 shows each and every month. I bring my children to b'way shows. I bring my students to b'way shows. I teach others the art of stage acting, stagecraft, and directing. I inspire their love of theater. I do PLENTY, thank you very much.

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Updated On: 1/28/09 at 05:58 PM

This whole thing is dumb.

The interview, this thread, the writer of the "article" and etc.

I don't mean to start rumors, but perhaps it was "Cry-Baby"? That seems like a dance heavy show, but I'm totally pulling that out of my a$$.

Hockeynut
I apologize
For being snarkey
I just think there are maybe better questions
to address this production than what the Jet Song is about
You are a great champion of Theatre in the DC area and should be proud of that.
With the recent CHANGE going on in our country right now,
the question of how racism (whichever way it goes) compares to the time of WEST SIDE STORY now and the time it originated seems to me more interesting.
Gee, I might have just made a point about the JET SONG.

From SKYSCRAPER:
"EVERYBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG, AT LEAST ONCE"

I'm with bostonthespian, people around here could at least try not to be rude.

This is all so cute.

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Updated On: 1/29/09 at 02:57 AM

Ever thought the writer might not have the freedom/ability to put exactly what they wanted to put? Last time I did an interview that wasn't in Q&A format, my editor had a big go at me about how she had to put it all into Q&A style and why didn't I do that to start with?

sending them Interview Handbooks is uncalled for, and is just plan low and disrespectful

I beg to differ. Lawrence Grobel is one of the best celebrity interviewers out there. If you and hockeynut took my suggestion as "plan low" and disrespectful, you are both missing out on an opportunity to learn from a master and improve your skills.

You're welcome.

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Updated On: 1/29/09 at 11:04 AM

When you post something publicly, you invite responses. If you can't take positive and negative criticism, post to your friends only.

But there is a definite art to asking questions.

Part of the art of interviewing is drawing out your subjects. The goal is to make them seem even more interesting and intelligent and passionate and charming than they may actually be. That's what a good interviewer does. Dead-end questions elicit dead-end responses, which are what you got from both Karen Olivo and Cody Green.

If you don't know why your questions elicited such uninteresting responses, perhaps you will gain some insight from Lawrence Grobel's book.

Good luck!

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Updated On: 1/29/09 at 12:01 PM

PalJoey: I respectfully disagree with your above post -- It's not good advice to make interview subjects seem more interesting/intelligent/charming than they actually are. That is a misrepresentation of the interview subject, especially if they are in fact boring, stupid, or charmless.

A good interview illuminates its subject truthfully -- the good and the bad -- providing insight into their work or life. The "art" of the interview is asking questions that illicit an original response, not just the same rote answers given to many others. It's definitely not about making the person look good -- that's his/her PR person's job.