Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Quick Change

Extra! Extra! Read all about it.
Today in the world of Oregon theater, the big leagues have changed up their line up.
Check it out here.
What does this mean to you? Are you sad to see some of the shows go? Happy to see the new shows in? Indifferent?
I am curious how the subscribers will react. Will they welcome the change or feel somehow cheated? I personally think some of these decisions are smart ones, but also wonder if people are really THAT interested in one man shows. I'm purely curious for my future artistic planning.
What are people really interested in seeing on stage?
Also, how DO people feel about the subscriber model?

Monday, May 18, 2009

So what do you think about gun control?


I recently asked a few of my friends what they thought about guns and gun control. I'm recently more curious about this topic since the gun in my upcoming directing project is like an additional character.
I gave them a few questions to get them started:
Do you own a gun? If so do you lock it up? Why or why not?
How do you feel about people owning hand guns?
Do you feel safer knowing that our policemen carry guns?
What colors your decision about how you feel about hand guns?

Below are a few of their responses. What do you think?

i do not own a gun. if i did, i would lock it up.
i don't think people should carry handguns, or automatic weapons. hunting, fine. anything else no way. given the amount of gun related crime, i think it's appropriate that police carry guns.


I do not own a gun, if I did, someone would take it and shoot me. Or worse, I would get drunk and shoot my dogs accidentally. No guns for me, thankyouverymuch.
I don't like the idea of housebound handguns, I think they cause more problems than they solve.I am alright with the police carrying guns, but that doesn't make me feel safer. I have no personal experience positive or negative with guns, all I know is the statistics of gun violence in this country, and the amount of guns in this country does not appear to solve any problems whatsoever.


I used to own a gun, but if you own one they are called "weapons" or "peices" or "firearms", no gun owner calls it a gun. Mine was a Walther PPK 9 mm semiautomatic (pistol). I did lock it up, in a drawer next to my bed. I no longer own it. I believed in guns when I lived in South Africa, but not now.
I am a libertarian and believe in constitutional rights, so I believe that people should be able to own as many guns as they want. I am also pro-life, but believe that people who are pro-choice have every right to an abortion. When you're a libertarian, the first priority is to individual freedoms, not personal politics.
I don't necessarily feel safer that our police officers carry guns, but I feel that it provides THEM certain safeties on the job that would not otherwise be possible. I don't believe in war either, but if we have to get into one, I want weapons involved.
What colors my decision is the fact that I grew up in a less stable social context than the one we enjoy in America and I believe that most people, if they were in a really dangerous situation, would kill to save their families, and should do so if that situation arose.

Don't have a ton of strong opinions here- but I DO think that people should be screened before owning any gun- it seems to me that most of the crazy people who have committed mass murders like at Virginia Tech; that Amish school- had signs of being unstable and shouldn't be allowed to own a gun legally. Now; that's not going to stop them if they are hell bent of blowing people away- there's always the black market and shit- but it might stop some people; ya know.

Do you own a gun?
I do not own a gun. Actually, I don't think I've ever held a real gun or seen a real gun fired. Never even been to a firing range.

How do you feel about people owning hand guns?
I don't like it. I wish that wasn't legal. But I understand it. I at least understand the argument for owning one hand gun. What I don't understand is owning 10 guns or automatic weapons or opposing waiting limits or any of the other processes that people try to put in place to limit the number of guns on the streets and who has them.

Do you feel safer knowing that our policemen carry guns?
Yes. If no one could own a gun, then maybe I'd feel differently. But with people able to buy guns, if policemen don't have them, we're just asking for them to be at a disadvantage in many violent confrontations.

What colors your decision about how you feel about hand guns?
The fact that they kill people. And I can't quite get my head around the fact that someone would want to own something that's purpose, at the end of the day, is to kill people.






Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Great. Everyone is going to move here now.


Did everyone see this article in the NY Times on Sunday? I was in Providence when I saw someone post this link on their facebook page. I read it aloud to Kristan and with each mention of a hip trendy place our stomachs turned. Now everyone's going to know how cool Portland is.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

R.I.P. Boal



I was talking about Augusto Boal and his Theater of the Oppressed on Thursday with a friend over dinner & then on Saturday I see a few status updates on Facebook about his passing. He was a great theater practitioner and although he is gone his ideas will live on.