Media Ethnography

For my media ethnography assessment, inspired by Tara's examination of Gopher games, I chose to discuss the trend of the Minneapolis theatre scene and it's unavoidable money troubles.

Last night, at Woyzeck we had ten audience members for our first show, and five audience members for our second show. Tonight, Thursday, we have one hundred and fifty tickets pre-sold for all three shows. Obviously, there is a large disparity here due, most likely, to a growing trend in audience attendance I will speak more on later. Weekends are really the "banking" points of a a show's run. It is just incredibly difficult to get patrons in seats during the Monday through Thursday portion of the week without offering a discounted incentive. This is understandable, though. People work during the week, have appointments and errands, and probably need to get up early the following morning. For performers, some shows often offer Monday night performances if they want to include actors, crew, and techs in their audience. This is because most runs are "dark," or have the night off, on Mondays.

Last night, I spoke with two members of the audience about their days after the last show.

Nick:
Nick is a recent graduate of University of the U. His degree is in theatre arts, and he came to see the show because he saw the last version, knew a lot of people in the cast, and really liked all the "shots up on Facebook." I asked Nick how many plays he sees a month. He thought about it for a second, and asked if he was supposed to imagine if he was not working on anything himself. I said yes. "Oh, probably at least two a month. Sometimes one each week. You know, Allison, depends what's playing." I then asked Nick what he thought about people our age and younger seeing shows. He told me that most people our age and younger have probably never stepped foot in a theater. "Most people I know who see theatre, are involved/ were involved in theatre at some point in their lives. I also think it is kind of stigmatized for dudes to come and see plays on their own. Not me, though. I don't care. And, its stupid, look at your show, it's like a haunted house- which people love. I don't know, I don't get it." I asked Nick if he thought cost was a factor. He told me it was probably the biggest factor to more people not being able to, or thinking to attend shows. He explained that he never actively went to see shows as a young person, because he had no money. Only once he was in college, working, and getting student discounts could he afford to go out and see performances. I asked him if he sees much dance theatre. Nick told me that he did not, though he wished he did. Lastly, I asked Nick if shows featuring new media in them draw him in over others: "Yes and no," he explained. I think it has to be done well. Sometimes it seems gimmicky and I don't like that, but other times it is really cool. Like the person to film scene in Brief Encounter the Guthrie brought in, that was amazing."

Linda: Linda is in her early fifties (I did not get to ask her where she worked), and is a major follower of dance theatre. She told me that she loves Black Label Movement's work, and came to the show expecting to see more of a dance concert and was pleasantly surprised with the "museum-like qualities and theatricality" of the show. I asked Linda if she saw much theatre, and she told me that her husband was more into theatre, and that they would occasionally go to the Guthrie to see shows there. When I asked her if her husband came with her to see the show, she told me, "No, he is a pretty traditional guy when it comes to shows. No offense, but he would have hated this. That's just him, though. He used to turn his nose up at dance, as well, but has warmed up to it over the years." I asked Linda what other theaters she liked to go to, and she responded that she really loved going to the Walker and seeing outside dance companies, but it was pretty expensive, and she also enjoyed going to the Ritz theater for dance concerts. I asked her if she had ever been to the Bedlam or Bryant Lake Bowl. She told me she had been to BLB a few times times and really enjoyed herself, and had never been to Bedlam, but had heard "interesting things." When asked how many shows she sees a month, Linda told me she saw one or two a month. Lastly, I asked Linda if shows featuring media, or media sources featuring shows played into her choosing to see certain performances over others: "Yes, I do like when projections and things like that are used, especially in dance. It is so beautiful to see the form and line of the body against the lines of the projection" and "Yes, I have the Facebook now, my daughter is so embarrassed. I joined the groups of the dance companies I really like and get their invites, and it helps me schedule which shows I want to see instead of sifted through all the postcards!"

Reflections:
Right now, theaters are suffering. It is currently better to be a company than a venue. Several companies I work with around the Cities have had issues with empty opening and mid-run sections of shows, and then selling out their last four performances making the ever looming threat of breaking even more and more dire. On the flip side, several venues around the Cities, such as the Southern, are taking the risk out of putting up shows for themselves and putting it on the invited company. The Southern now sets monetary goals for each weekends take for any show they let in their doors. If the company does not make its goal, the company must make up for the money lost from house totals. It seems harsh, but is actually an insurance policy for the Southern to keep them in the black. Running a space is incredibly expensive and theaters closing around the Twin Cities has everything to do with money rather than talent or integrity. Check out this article about Jeune Lune for a sad example of bankruptcy ruining art:

On the subject of cost to audience members, an interesting division of patrons occurs at different theaters. At theaters like the Guthrie, Orpheum, State, and Walker, ticket costs are high. Most patrons of these theaters are well to do, frequently attend those theaters, and are usually forty years old and above. These venues generally show "straight" plays and musicals, with the Walker being the exception. Theaters such as the Southern, Mixed Blood, Red Eye, and the Jungle are middle sized theaters that serve, generally a more diverse population of people, and art, bring in younger crowds, late 20's and up, and feature more experimental shows with shorter runs, and younger casts. Finally, theaters like Bedlam, Open Eye Figure Theatre, and Bryant Lake Bowl serve the counter culture of the theater community and offer off-the-cuff new works, bar and bike culture within the theater space, and maintain incredibly young audiences ranging from late teens to 90's.

When examining venue, it seems that Minneapolis theatre is a hobby for the privileged, despite groups like Bedlam (who also just lost their space, but will reopen soon) doing their best to incorporate diversity and community based activities. But, there is one company that stands out among the rest for promoting social justice and has making theatre assessable to all. This is Ten Thousand Things Theatre. Artistic Director Michelle Hensley gets some of the best actors in Minneapolis together to work on classics from the canon and then brings her actors to community centers, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, rehab centers, and other spaces where access to art is sparse and puts on the shows for free. The company works with minimal sets and sound, and the lights stay on the whole time so the audience can see each other experiencing the performance. TTT chooses plays that have real meaning for their audiences. Last year, the company performed Othello and Endgame and Hensley said that their community audiences related to them on deep levels. The women incarcerated in the correctional facilities felt Clove's pain in his restlessness. The adolescents at Native American Community Center understood the Othello's horror after learning of his double cross. The company makes theatre personally significant to it's audience. In addition to their free, community shows, TTT also performs at Open Book for paying audiences to help fund their efforts in the community.

Bring your cameras, cell phones, and video cameras to Woyzeck!

If you would like to come check out Woyzeck, feel free to bring any recording devices to use during the performance. You can then upload any media you capture to the Woyzeck-My Woyzeck Facebook page and share your experience with others who have seen, plan to see, cannot see the show! Here is a video mash up someone snagged from previews:

How iTunes has changed the way I think about music

When the iPod first came out, I was very hesitant to get one. I have always liked going to music stores and buying a cd, and looking at the inside artwork, and inserting the disc into a machine that played it. Call me old fashioned. But, all this changed when I got my new computer for my freshman year of college. At that time, when you bought a mac, you received a free iPod nano via a rather lengthy rebate proceedure.
As soon as I started playing with iTunes, I was hooked. Now I have an iPod classic that I try to cram as much music on as possible. I have begun hoarding my friend's music onto my iPod. But, the more I put on the device that I do not actually own, the greater the potential for me losing all that music is. I am actually starting to get paranoid about what will happen to my music should the iPod die, which it will invariably do. I also don't like how music is purchased anymore. I miss music stores. I loved going to Sam Goody as a kid! It was a treat! Now you can shop from home on the iTunes Store and all your purchases are remembered for you. It is kind of weird to me, actually. I still have all my cds from my adolescence, as well as a large number of my dad's cd collection. Needless to say, I will not be giving them up any time soon. One benefit of iTunes is that it enables the user to quickly make playlists and dump sound creations from garage band into a burnable format. And, I have to admite the genius playlist configuring feature is pretty cool.

I guess I am just conflicted overall.

Voice thread

http://voicethread.com/share/1422357/


I hope this works!!! I have tried so many times to make this silly voice thread turn out correctly, if not, I will try again....

Here is a section of the interview I gave to the daily about the "Sanctity of Marriage DVD"

MN Daily Article

If you want to see Woyzeck for free...

You could usher one of the shows!

Here is the pertinent info:

Ushers are still needed for most shows of Woyzeck Project. I was
wondering if any of you might have students who would like to see the
show for free sort of speak, that is usher for the show. Each show
will have three ushers: one as crowd control at the front door and the
other two will tour with the audience.

If you know anyone who might be interested or have students, feel free
to give them my info below.

Alison Goetzman <---(Note, this is not the Allison who is your classmate)
Audience Services Manager + McKnight Fellowship Assistant
The Southern Theater
1420 Washington Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55454
alison@southerntheater.org
612.340.0155 ext310

Incorporating media lenses into lesson plans

This lesson would be designed to introduce students to reading media through the feminist lens.

First I would ask the students to think about videos and commercials they've seen from the 1950's and 60's. I would draw a diagram on the board with the headers "men" and "women" and ask the students what words pop into their heads when thinking about gender in that time frame.

Once brainstorming is complete, I would show the class a powerpoint of some 1950's and 1960's ads that perpetuate gender norms of the times. A brief discussion would follow noting their observations.

I will then show the students the "Somewhere That's Green" clip from Little Shop of Horrors once to let them acclimate to the clip:



Once they've seen the clip, I will ask them to share what they thought with the class. After a few observations/opinions, I will ask the class if they thought the clip highlighted any of our preconceived notions of gender in the 50's and 60's. After their response, I'll ask them if there was any evidence against what we devised on the board. Then, I will ask the students if they thought the clip was funny, and why?

I will ask the students if they know what satire is, and take a couple of definition attempts before giving a definition.

Next, I will ask the students to watch the clip again, this time looking for elements of satire.

After the second showing, I will ask for their observations.

For homework, I would ask students to think about gender in the present, and bring in some current ads that deal with gender. I would also ask them to think about what would the modern, "Somewhere That's Green" look like?

Analysis of Bud Light commercial

The below ad was banned from the 2010 Superbowl, but it actually says a lot about American culture.

Through the lens of race: All of the office employees who are highlighted in the commercial are white. At the end of the commercial, the African American man and woman who work in the office are shoved behind the line of white people so they are hardly visible. Furthermore, the only African American individual featured in the commercial is a delivery man, who oafishly slams into a wall after seeing the secretary naked behind her desk. This implies a number of things. 1. White collar jobs are mostly reserved for white people in this world. The delivery man's shirt is blue, implying that if your are not white, you are doomed to blue collar work. So, race in this video is also related to class. 2. The delivery man is the only person to have a large reaction to nudity in the commercial, and he is the only man to react to the naked woman. This could be viewed as an echo of the brutally racist idea that African American men lust after white women.

This commercial can also be viewed from the feminist lens: First, the commercial starts with traditional gender role reinforcement. Women are supposed to be the nurturers in our society, so naturally the female office employee takes it upon herself to organize the clothing drive. The men couldn't care less, until they are offered a personal benefit: beer. And apparently, women do not like beer. Throughout the whole video, the only woman who derobes for extra beer is the secretary. This subtle indication of class differences implies that well bred, white collar women do not drink beer, but lower middle class and working class women can drink with the boys. And, of course, we need to talk about body image. The secretary is fit, tan, and embodies the male ideal of what "sexy" looks like. The other women in the commercial, who are a bit plain, are dressed extremely conservatively and seem prudish. This is also measured against the men who strip for beer. Most of them have bellies, unkempt body hair, expose skin that has never seen the sun, and do not embody what would be called "sexy." Their nudity is supposed to be funny, but why couldn't the stuffy women strip down as well? That would be funny, wouldn't it? This disparity between body types, intentions, and genders are all earmarks of the pale perspective of the human body.

Check it out for yourself!