Farming
by Jamie
Quick story: my mom and dad raise cattle. A couple of years ago I asked my parents why cattle farmers don’t go “organic.” People are into organic food these days, and if asked, most people would agree they’d rather eat beef that isn’t laced with growth hormones. Why, then, don’t farmers just make the switch? The answer I got went something like this: growth hormones make cattle grow bigger, faster. Most cattle producers don’t WANT to have to use them, but if a single producer stops using them, he or she can no longer compete and goes out of business. It takes time for a farm to receive the certification that they produce organic beef, and in that time, most farmers would have to sell the farm. What needs to happen, then, is the government needs legally prohibit the use of growth hormones so that all farmers can make the switch without fear of going under. The end result would be higher quality beef that is higher in demand, which is really just great for everybody.
End of story.
New story. Some of you know that I’ve been a sessional instructor in Lethbridge for the past two months, and, needing something to do in the evenings, I started an argument with the city’s only theatre reviewer slash blogger about a comment he made in his review of New West Theatre’s production of The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls. He said on his website:
“And we are to believe that it took more than three years for five people to write this ninety minute play with the eight-chambered title? As they say around here: my cow died last night, so I don’t need your bull!”
Hey! Another cow reference! Pay no mind to it. It’s merely coincidental. The point is, he thought the script was unoriginal and couldn’t understand why it took so long to create an unoriginal show.
I responded pretty quickly in the form of an essay. My philosophy is: If you disagree with someone, make them read a lot of words until they agree with you.
“I find it unfair to laugh at time the artists spent on the creation of this piece. Canadian theatre is already created in an alarmingly rushed environment. Two weeks to rehearse? Plays that are written in a week? This should be the exception, not the rule! I’ve met European artists who literally laugh in disgust when they learn how quickly we mount new works. For a collective creation piece, which are by their very nature necessarily inefficient, a three year creation model is both normal and respectable. What are we hurrying for? It’s not as though doing it faster will provide a finished product any sooner! There is no finished product! Da Vinci said “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” He is correct. We may choose to share our “unfinished” art, but there is always room for growth, and I admire the collective for honoring that it takes time to find honesty in character…”
Now I think it is more than fair to criticize a script for needing more work, or for lacking character development or whatever, but I have a problem with any comment that suggests a the amount of time a play spends in development seems excessive. As I say in my response, aren’t we already a little too hectic in Canada in our move from page to stage?
There are a number of companies in Calgary that have adopted a creation model that is a little less hurried and a little more focused on creating quality art, and I have nothing but respect for them. I saw a workshop of DVB and Eric’s Highest Step in the World over three years ago, and the artists didn’t mount it in full production until 2010 in playRites. Now I’m not sure if that move was out of necessity, or if that was a choice made by the artists to continue exploring the work until it was ready for a public showing, but I think it’s a model we ought to encourage in all of our shows, not just the creation pieces. Why don’t we spend five or six months rehearsing all of our shows? If not that, then at least a month?
The problem is, who can reasonably afford longer rehearsal periods? Canadian theatre companies, like farmers, need to produce quickly and efficiently, or they can’t afford to produce at all. At present, theatre in Canada is absolutely high on growth hormones.
Perhaps the solution to this problem lies with the farmers. Perhaps, like the farmers, we ought to press the government for some help. Perhaps we all ought to start asking for extended rehearsal periods in our grant applications. We don’t have to start big – add a couple of days, at first. Then weeks. Maybe after a few years, we’ll have raised the standard to the point where two month rehearsal periods are the norm. Of course, we’d all have to do it…
What we can’t have is our reviewers – or anyone – judging the amount of time spent in creation! We’ve all been there. You could spend a week creating a brilliant scene that ends up being cut from the play. Was that week poorly spent?!
I suppose I could use another metaphor. Like, heart surgery. Yeah, it CAN be done in two hours. That doesn’t mean it SHOULD be. Or driving. If you take a shortcut, you’ll never know all the cool things you missed along the way. The thing I like about the farming thing is that, like theatre, we expect an “end product,” but the focus should be on healthy growth.
I guess what I’m saying is, let’s farm our theatre. Let’s nurture it, raise it like a living entity, and give it time to grow. The end result will be higher quality theatre that is higher in demand, which is really just great for everybody.
