Isherwood Firing — Page 4

I can't find his first review... has anyone seen it?

Ish is now 52 years old; he will never get another writing job equal to the one he had at the Times. It's doubtful that he could write any kind of book that would sell more than a few hundred copies. He could pursue a teaching job at some lower-tier school that would be pleased to employ a crit/lit professor who had worked at a few major organs, but he would have to do regular hours for the first time in his life, answer to a department chair, and he may just be too old for that kind of transition.

If he weren't such an annoyingly bad writer and obtuse thinker, one might feel sorry for him, but like John Simon, he wasted his life on the pursuit of a rather negative and useless vocation, so - "you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas."

Oh, I agree that he has no teaching credentials whatsoever; I thought I made it rather clear that he would only be hired by a relatively podunk college impressed by his Variety and Times experience.

Well that's just ludicrously untrue; I personally know many professors of acting, directing, and playwrighting who had no teaching credentials, but were hired based on professional experience. What do you think you're talking about?

Exactly, AC126748. College professorships generally require no teaching certificate. I have no idea what Hogan thinks he's talking about.

I think HogansHeros is talking about terminal degrees. But not all positions require a terminal degree, and in some positions, a preponderance of relevant work experience can substitute. As I said, when I went to journalism school (at one of the top programs in the country), most of my profs were not PhDs or MFAs.

HogansHero said: "Almost no one who teaches anything related to theatre (among most other disciplines) at the most prestigious schools arrives at that job without teaching credentials.



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You are kidding, right? I am assuming that you are because many respected theatre departments have lecturers, instructors, and professors who do not have teaching credentials. Sutton Foster has enjoyed a position on the faculty of Ball State University, and even The Yale School of Drama has many lecturers, and instructors who have zero teaching credentials.

newintown said: "Well that's just ludicrously untrue; I personally know many professors of acting, directing, and playwrighting who had no teaching credentials, but were hired based on professional experience. What do you think you're talking about?"

calm down; it was a typo. without = with. we are in agreement. The point I intended (apologies to one and all for creating a tempest in a teapot) was that you seemed to be saying that because Ish lacked teaching credentials he would be limited to gigs at podunk colleges. It's obvious now that that makes no sense, by your own statements (and others)...

newintown said: "No, I think he would be limited by the minor "scandal" of his firing. Perhaps not, but I think the better schools might see him as tainted goods."

That may well be (and it pretty much closes the loop on this). Although in this business (show, if not press) taint is sometimes a badge of honor.

I was just posting in the Shakespeare in the Park thread about studying under Oskar Eustis at UCLA. Per Wiki, Oskar "attended NYU briefly" and that was the extent of his college education.

His dramaturgy classes were not only considered some of the most difficult in the department, but the seminar I took is one of a handful of classes that profoundly changed me by reorienting the way I think. He is quite simply a great teacher.

I could name others who were successful artists but nearly incapable of conveying what they did to anyone else. So it works both ways. But it is definitely true that theater departments (like journalism, writing and art schools) will substitute professional experience for teaching experience or advance degrees.

A friend of mine who reviewed TV for a major NYC daily for many years had several full-time offers when he retired from the paper. The job he took came with tenure, even though he had little teaching experience and no terminal degrees.

Updated On: 4/5/17 at 07:31 AM

to be clear, "working" is a bit of a stretch. (And it is not clear whether or for how long he will get tickets for "plumb show assignments" for writing at a blog that has less readers than would fill most Broadway houses for a night. )

yankeefan7 said: ""He's not as high profile as he used to be but he dosent need to fight Brantley for the plumb show assignments anymore which was what annoyed him while at the Times. "

I always wondered how they decided which shows they would review.



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What is there to wonder about? Brantley, as chief theater critic, got first pick of what he wanted to review. Brantley's also-rans fell to Isherwood and the stringers.