Theatre Louisville

Home
Audition Listings Call for Actors Call for Production Teams Emergencies
Show Listings Now Playing Coming Attractions
Peer Reviews Read Reviews Become a Peer Reviewer
Resources Theatre Guide Training Costume and Prop Sales
Submit Your Information Log In Sign Up

TheatreLouisville interviews Judy Egerton, page 2

The Role of the Reviewer

What is the reviewer's role in the arts? Judy describes it as the sharing of knowledge. "I think it's just to learn as much as you can about the play you're going to see, or the people involved in it, so that you have knowledge you can incorporate into your review or story ... to be knowledgeable about it, and then to share that with your readers -- not so much to promote the arts, but to encourage other people to expand their own experience." She says she strives to be as honest as she can about what she sees.

Judy says that it's important for a review to tell people the context of the play, and why, perhaps, the theatre chose that particular piece. In her own work, she also enjoys offering the element of surprise by including some details that readers might not know. She explains that readers appreciate being able to learn something new about a piece.

Directors and producers can also benefit from the review process. "At times, they've learned where the work might be weak, or where they've lost their audience," she says. They can also learn where casting might be coming up short, although it isn't always easy to tell whether the script, the acting or the direction is at fault. "I think that's really hard to know, when you're outside of it," she tells us. "All you can say is, 'This scene didn't work for me,' or 'I fell asleep here.' I just try to stay in touch with my senses about it." And if the show is bad? "You just have to say so, as kindly as you can." More importantly, you have to try to figure out why you hated the show so much. "That's not always easy in a short time."

The rush to press can cause problems also, but Judy says she tries to give herself time to think a piece through. Deadline pressures used to be worse. "When I first started, I had to write that night," she recalls. "I could see a Broadway series thing that didn't end until a quarter to eleven, and it had to be done at 11:30. And for an Actors Theatre show, I'd see it that night and it would be in the paper the next day." While such timeliness may seem nice for readers, it can be otherwise when the reviewer hasn't really had time to focus. Accuracy is at risk as well. "So it's better to sleep on it," she says, "and get your head clear the next day."

A Wish List

Asked whether there is anything that she wishes Louisville theatre would change, she quips, "Well, I'm glad to see that Actors Theatre has added something besides A Tuna Christmas and A Christmas Carol to their seasonal line-up. The Santaland Diaries -- I'm glad to see that." She says she's glad that theatre groups have begun to communicate more about their seasons. "It used to be that everybody was opening the same night -- and they all expected to get covered!" At the top of her wish list is more advance notice from theatre groups about what they're planning. "I think they just don't know how far ahead we work," she says. Theatre groups could also help themselves by finding out the paper's deadlines and where to send their information. They could also gain from taking a more varied approach to coverage, such as with a neighborhood or food story, rather than thinking that they absolutely need to be featured in the arts section on Sunday.

-- next page