Ritzel's 'Theater District' Debut
First, some housekeeping: by default, I'm shifting What/If Arts to every other week, and hope readers will bear with me as I try to figure out the best way to promote my work, make some extra money and get more of my content out into the world.
My new goal is every other Monday, so for November, expect to hear from me Nov. 11th and 25th. However... If some stories I have been working hard on for month drop sooner, I'll put out a bonus issue!
What I'm Listening To: Me!
I was so flattered when Chad Dexter Kinsman, host of Theater District, asked if he could interview me for his podcast. Dex's guests run the theater-ecosystem gamut: Marketing directors, visitors' services managers and of course, actors. He's adding to the discourse in the best possible way.
Although we taped out interview in May, Dex ended up hanging onto the tape and editing our conversation for his lead-off interview for Season 2. Dex boosts an MFA in theater from Yale, holds down a day job at Washington Performing Arts and has some writing chops to boot. Here's how he sums up our conversation:
Arts journalist Rebecca Ritzel discusses her journey from early childhood storytelling to becoming a first-rate journalist and critic, adept at reviewing a wide range of performing arts as well as investigative and preview articles. A brilliant setter of scenes, Rebecca invites her readers into the theater with her, to experience the work from her point of view.
I'm blushing. Listen straight from the Theater District site , or via Apple Podcasts.
What I'm Seeing
A few years ago, I wrote a story for Dance Magazine about ballet companies that curate family friendly programming beyond The Nutcracker. Saturday, Oct. 26, a mixed-bill program by The Washington Ballet reminded me that some dance organizations still need to get memo.
The Warner Theatre was barely half-full for an very good weekend mixed-bill matinee. This gave me the willis more than Giselle. Call me an idealist-aunt, but surely The Washington Ballet could have packed the place be rebranding the Saturday afternoon show as a family matinee.
They'd need to make a few changes. Two intermissions might be too much for little kids, so they probably would have cut the middle work by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano (interesting movement but too-dark lighting and lousy costumes) and performed Stravinsky Violin Concerto and Edwaard Liang's Mummeration. Add introductions featuring the dancers themselves with demo steps to up audience engagement. For example, what if Ashley Murphy greeted the audience and demonstrated some Balanchine steps with her daughter onstage? Before Mummeration, which inspired by the flight of migrating starlings, pick a couple of audience kids to do their very best bird moves onstage.
If the Warner Theatre was amenable, some ancillary activities would be great: Come early and color in basement lobby! Meet a dancer for photos! (And those "dancers" could be advanced students who are of course paid for their time.) If it's Halloween weekend – and this show was — absolutely line those kids up for a costume contest and pack the damn theatre!
There's a widespread misconception that narratives are necessary for kids to sit through dance. It's an idea perpetuated, I think, by the (historically) large percentage of people running dance companies who do not have children.
“I think we underestimate kids a little bit,” choreographer Sasha Janes, a father of three, told me in 2019. “Assuming that they only want to see fairy-tale ballets is not the right approach. It’s great speaking to the kids after they’ve seen an abstract ballet and getting their interpretations. They have wild imaginations and unique ideas.”
If I Could Write Anything...
U.S. National Medals of Arts are due for a takedown. This is because... 1) They were waaaaay overdue when handed out late last month. And 2) Political favors and People Magazine types clearly took priority over artists from classical music, dance and theater.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted a reception at the White House Oct. 21 to pass out both the 2022 and 2023 National Medals of Arts. You read that right. The National Endowment for The Arts, which manages the award nomination process on behalf of the White House, provided no explanation as to why the awards were presented one and two years behind. (Ditto for The National Humanities Medals.)
So timing's a problem, but the second is this: Only one out of 20 artists earned the distinction for her work on a performing arts stage. Let's hear it for the OG Elphaba, Idina Menzel! No one is ever gonna bring her dow-ow-ow-own!
A-hem. Sorry. Seriously, though: One out of 20?
To be fair, the some of the visual artists who made the list have impressive exhibition CVs and seem worthy of the honor, including Alex Katz and Carrie Mae Weems. But completely skipping over American achievements in dance and classical music two years in a row? And only honoring one theater artist? WTF?
The rest of the winners hail from pop music, movie theaters and the DNC: Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Eva Longoria, etc. Take away the the visual artists, Country Music Hall of Fame (?), Hollywood directors and that leaves you with:
I'm sure the accordion and ukulele players are great guys. Outstanding in their fields. But the NEA also offers National Heritage Fellowships, lifetime achievement award in the folk and the traditional arts that come with $25,000 in cash. Flaco Jimenez received one in 2012. There is no comparable national award for achievements in theater, dance or classical music. Why not pick up the slack with the Medal of Arts?
Just for shits and maple syrup, let's compare Biden's honorees with Canada's 2024 Governor General Award Winners in Performing Arts:
What a great little list, right? Even if you only know two of those names, the bios indicate this is a balanced list of people who have dedicated their lives to the performing arts. (And three are people of color, FYI)
Like employer-based healthcare, the electoral collage and never-ending elections, it doesn't have to be this way, America! Things could change. We may not get universal healthcare, but here's hoping President Kamala Harris will at least honor some bona fide performing artists, and do it on time.
