I tweeted at Steven Pasquale this morning to ask him if he and his friends truly believe that these boards should be completely eradicated, as he said last night. I told him that I believed it was a shortsighted viewpoint and that it disregarded all of the good discussion this board generates. This was his response:
@clever_redux My friends? U mean the people who are MAKING ALL THE THEATER? Bye bye. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
He then proceeded to block me. So keep in mind that this was never about starting a conversation for some -- if not all -- of the actors who have decided to carry Patti's banner. They do not believe we should exist. They believe that theirs is the only side.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
Maybe somebody should ask Mr. Pasquale who he thinks is paying for the theatre he and his friends are creating. Theatre can't run without money. Has he ever taken an economics course?
They/them.
"Get up the nerve to be all you deserve to be."
My thoughts exactly, Cinders. Although, it's clear that many theater folks (at least those on the purely creative side) are clueless to even basic economics. But perhaps that's a discussion for another thread.
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
His comment shows a lack of understanding that people actual go to shows based upon feedback provided on this board. I only went to see Bridges when I was in NY a few years ago because of the wonderful word of mouth on this board. Similarly, when I was in NY in December, I snagged a ticket to The Color Purple prior to its opening based upon similarly glowing comments.
I get calling for more civility on the boards, which is always a challenge, but advocating that they be eradicated as a centralized place where people from a variety of backgrounds can share experiences and educate others about live theater is one way to continually shrink your exposure and footprint. What an incredibly smug/arrogant response on his part.
That's a shame, AC126748. Interestingly, Lea Salonga did delete the tweet that called us bitches, so I wonder if she had second thoughts. At least I did not see it anywhere today.
I definitely use this site and board to get information on new shows. Nobody I know is really interested in theater like I am. But, I had never been to a Broadway show before 2007. It was always a dream, but always to see familiar sounding shows like Phantom of the Opera, Cats, and Mamma Mia. But, I have definitely gone on to see so many different kinds of shows. While I tend to only end up seeing things that truly are of interest for me, versus others who see everything, I come here to learn about shows, good and bad.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
This has gotten to the ridiculously stupid point. Pasquale's show is not selling well (don't delete this post for my writing a FACT) so I wonder how the producers would feel if they knew the star was actively trying to alienate theater fans from attending.
I I said it before in the locked thread but it bears repeating - I'm so glad actors are coming together to stand up to their fans. It's about time they stood up to us to tell us that they're better than we are.
mailhandler777 said: "Marianne2 said: "That's a shame, AC126748. Interestingly, Lea Salonga did delete the tweet that called us bitches, so I wonder if she had second thoughts. At least I did not see it anywhere today."
It's on her Facebook page yet as well as Patti's since she tagged her in it.
"
Seriously? Was looking forward to her 54 Below show, now that just went down the tube again.
"I don't want the pretty lights to come and get me."-Homecoming 2005
"You can't pray away the gay."-Callie Torres on Grey's Anatomy.
Ignored Users: suestorm, N2N Nate., Owen22, master bates
^That's the most disappointing part about all of this. I'm sure Murin is proud of her Trump tactics.
I feel that while performers should not visit these boards (unless they have thick skins and take the time to understand how an online community works), the creative teams and producers could find feedback, and perhaps it would be a good idea for the actors' agents to check things out as well. The way many of these people are reacting on social media is not the way to engage with (against) the significant fan base here.
On another note, how about this: Is there a list somewhere containing the names of actors and other industry professionals who do support fan sounding boards like this? Matthew Murray is a critic, so I'm not sure he counts as being in industry per se.