Theatre reviews to return to the ABJ?

The buzz around the Village Green is that Kerry Clawson's byline might be appearing on some theatre reviews in the Akron Beacon Journal very soon. This is great news for local theatre people who have been ill treated since the purchase of the former Knight-Ridder newspaper by a Canadian by the name of Black. Black indeed has been the mood hanging over our local theatres who contribute far more than mere entertainment to our community. The theatre is, as Shakespeare said, a little world -- society in a microcosm. A place for us to gather in the dark and contemplate tragedy, comedy, or absurdity as well as lots of acting, singing and dancing.

The Beacon's cost-cutting action was a blatant slap in the face to the arts community of Akron, which is large and has become increasingly vocal. So keep writing the letters in support of Kerry Clawson's return and for regular reviews for all the local theatre companies, because the ABJ will only be allowing a few reviews here and there.

The arts are integral to our lives -- and the Beacon needs to hear about it in order to believe it.

Response from ABJ to Actors' Summit Theatre

Neil Thackaberry had a response from the Beacon which he shared in a comment on my original November post on this topic. I'm re-posting it here for all to see:

"In response to the email I posted above, I received a response from the Beacon Journal. I replied as follows.

Mitch,

Thanks for getting back to me. I wish I could say that I found consolation or reassurance in your letter, but that would be untrue.

I stated that coverage of Actors' Summit no longer seemed to be a priority. That is exactly what was demonstrated by Elaine's choices for last weekend. I gather the three events you referred to were her reviews of two professional productions in Cleveland and one community theater production in Akron.

The Cleveland Play House, as one of the premiere regional Equity theaters in the country certainly deserves the Beacon Journal's attention, as does the Equity professional touring production of Light In the Piazza. But a choice was obviously made to cover two productions in Cleveland. That decision is an example of a priority, one that continues to denigrate the value of professional theater in the Beacon Journal's home market.

The question of priority is clearest in Elaine's decision to see Fat Pig at Bang & Clatter instead of QED at Actors' Summit. I'm glad that Fat Pig was reviewed. As a start up, semi-professional theater I'm delighted that Bang & Clatter is being covered. I'm also happy to see the Beacon continuing to cover Weathervane's community theatre efforts.

Neither of these ventures employ members of Actors' Equity, the international union of professional actors and stage managers. I believe that most of your newsroom staff are members of a union, as I am. Without just union compensation, healthcare and retirement benefits, it is impossible to sustain a community of artists capable of serving the highest aspirations of our community.

Elaine is working very hard to do an impossible task. While all of us involved in the theater are grateful for coverage of our productions, perhaps, given the paucity of resources the Beacon has committed to the arts, more care could be taken in allocating those resources. I would be happy to speak with you or any of the other editors or writers about suggestions you may have on how we can do a better job of keeping Elaine informed. The dates of all of our regular season productions are announced in late summer. We send press releases before each show opens. I have also contacted Elaine by email prior to each opening to remind her.

As for the possibility of Elaine's getting to QED during its final four performances, I'm afraid that any review she would write would have about the same relevance for the readers of the Beacon Journal as her dispatches from Florida -- coverage of performances that none of the readers will ever have a chance to see.

My original letter stated "I'm sorry that the Beacon Journal's priorities don't allow for consistent coverage of Actors' Summit, the only fully professional nonprofit theater in Summit County." My feeling is unchanged, and nothing in your letter leads me to believe that the Beacon Journal intends to establish policies or provide sufficient resources to change the situation.

I'm glad you read my letter and took the time to respond to it. I look forward to a time when we will be able to see more coverage of the professional theaters located within Summit County.

Sincerely,


Neil Thackaberry
Artistic Director"

Akron Beacon Journal continues to ignore local theatre

Akron is home to many theatre companies as well as being home to the beautiful Akron Civic Theatre pictured here. You'd never know that if you were a reader of the Akron Beacon Journal -- in print or online.

Today in a comment to an earlier post, Neil Thackaberry of Actor's Summit tells us that the ABJ is not reviewing their work:

Neil Thackaberry said...

"I sent the following email to the Beacon this morning.

I'm sorry that the Beacon Journal's priorities don't allow for consistent coverage of Actors' Summit, the only fully professional nonprofit theater in Summit County.

The regional premiere of QED was seen this weekend by critics from The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Cleveland Free Times, The West Side Leader, The Record Publishing Papers, The Chagrin Valley Times, and The Cleveland Jewish News. The critic from the Times newspapers is scheduled to attend this coming weekend. It seems that only the Beacon Journal doesn't consider our work worthy of critical review.

In the past, Actors' Summit was considered a priority of the Beacon Journal. I'm sorry to see that is no longer the case.

Neil Thackaberry
Founder & Artistic Director
Artistic Director"

I am very sorry to hear this. I've been having a heck of a time finding any theatre reviews at all at ohio.com, the ABJ's online presence. Elaine Guregian is still listed as Classical Music and Dance critic with no mention of theatre. Her theatre reviews are not posted under her listing as a columnist. I finally located them under a small heading on the Entertainment page: Peforming Arts. There are two reviews by Elaine -- one for the latest Bang and Clatter production and one for a musical at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. There is also a review by George Thomas's 12 year old son of the concert version of High School Musical. (George Thomas no longer writes movie reviews for the Beacon but rather has been assigned to the sports department.)

If one were to take the Akron Beacon Journal as an accurate reflection of our community, we could only say that Akron is a cultural wasteland. Furthermore, we would wonder why so many theatre companies are shown in the listings but are no longer reviewed. Certainly Actors' Summit was always on the agenda, and ditto Coach House and Weathervane. Theatre work of interest by Akron's own New World Performance Laboratory would be covered as well as note-worthy productions at the University of Akron, Kent State, Wooster and beyond. Carousel just opened a new show last week but not a peep from the Beacon yet. What about Magical Theatre? As for all those surrounding community theatres in Hudson, Stow, Medina and so on -- forget it! If the Beacon isn't going to cover Akron theatres, there is no hope for you.

The weekly Theatre Notes column has vanished, so we are cut off from news such as -- has Weathervane hired a new executive director yet. We never got a column on the untimely demise of Ingenue Theatre Company. If anyone of any importance was doing something in theatre locally, we once had a place to read about it. I can't fault Elaine -- how do you fit in covering all the local theatre when you are also trying to cover classical music and dance events as well?

So what is a local theatre-goer to do? Everybody who is in the know, subscribes to the NorthEast Ohio Performing Arts (NEOPAL) list put together by Fred Sternfeld, but that is more of a bulletin board. Some people do post reviews, but it is not the same as having a trusted and consistant voice from a reviewer you respect. The NEOPAL list does not necessarily target the potential audiences that our local theatres must have in order to keep existing.

You might check out Kerry Clawson's new blog From Page to Stage. She is writing about the local theatre scene. Post a comment and let her know you care too. Because obviously the ABJ doesn't give a damn. Don't let that stop you from joining Neil Thackaberry and write a letter to the editor. The editors won't do anything until they feel the pressure.