APPALLED AND DISGUSTED
I
was appalled and disgusted to read your "review" of Sex, Lies and Coffee
Beans in the July 1 edition of Willamette Week [Performance listings].
You have truly outdone yourself in allowing your personal bitterness and elitism
to completely destroy any semblance of journalistic integrity that may have
existed in your sloppy little column. The following points are for your benefit....
1. Nobody cares about your brief flirtation with theatrical and/or literary glory. They are reading a REVIEW to get a better idea of the play they are about to spend their hard-earned dollars on. Stick to the play and forget about that schlock you spewed out for third-grade recital. (Or whatever that "turgid" radio gibberish is.)
2. Stay for the whole play. You can't discuss what you have not seen. This is part of your job and it is the fair and ethical thing to do. Yes, I did ask. You left at intermission.
3. Don't use a review to vent your personal dislike for a particular individual. It is not professional and diminishes your credibility. Your review sounded more like the vacuous musings of a jilted adolescent at the cafeteria lunch table. Keep to the business at hand.
4. If you can't write an honest, unbiased review, then find someone else to do it. People will begin to take you seriously and you may acquire a modicum of professionalism and respect in the process.
5. Maybe someone at the show could get you Jim's phone or address and you could communicate the feelings you have for him in a more appropriate manner?
6. Your responsibility as a reviewer is not to find ways to slam people or invent creative and hip combinations of hurtful insults. Your pedantic ravings might cause a titter at the office, but they are boorish and undignified.
7. What is Jim doing? Why, he's working. Following his dream. Practicing his craft. Taking a risk. You should try it.
8. Theater everywhere has always been a vehicle for a talentless clique's vanity. Get over it.
9. Don't proselytize about Portland theater. Save that for the Tuesday night clove cigarette, poetry-on-a-cocktail-napkin crowd. They might be impressed by your scathing wit and vapid insights on local theater.
10. Whatever the director's shortcomings may be, your sophomoric assessment conveyed nothing. If you have a valid point then make it. Your insult was neither original nor informative.
The arts are filled with people who have followed their dreams. Keep them honest but don't penalize them for having the strength and tenacity to take risks. That is how good art happens. I personally am very thankful to have people willing to put their money where their mouth is and put ANY kind of theater out there. You owe it to them to suck up your sanctimonious propensity for trendy jaded art babble and present a fair review be it good or bad.
Willamette Week has a deserved reputation in the theatrical community of delivering reviews that are not reviews and relying instead on cheap insults and pretentious verbiage. Do us all a favor and stop pandering to the lowest common denominator. You are an insult to those of us out there paying our dues, trying to make a living and practicing [our] respective crafts. Just remember that a well-written bad review done with taste and intelligence benefits us all. Thank you for your time.
Andrew Kendall-Bray
Vancouver, Wash.
Steffen Silvis responds: Certainly Mr. Kendall-Bray has a point. Staying to the bitter end of a play would be the fair and ethical thing to do. In my defense, I can state that I've only walked out on a play once before, which I confessed to in the subsequent review. But sometimes life seems too short to endure yet another trivialization of an art form I respect. My review was used to shame an old friend who, if we must use the letter writer's terminology, is not "following his dream," and I'm willing to risk friendships to protest against abuses of talent. Mr. Kendall-Bray was connected with this production, so his statements, though heartfelt, are no more objective than they are reasoned. Does my "proselytizing" have any effect on Portland's theater? I've no idea. But if I can leave this post knowing that I've convinced one person that theater is a noble art that is not (to refute item 8) the sole reserve of a herd of preening amateurs, then I will be content.
GOODBYE, THEATER--HELLO,
ZAMBONI!
On two counts I would like to personally thank Steffen
Silvis for his review of our play, Sex, Lies and Coffee Beans [Performance
listings, WW, July 1, 1998]. First, via some sort of twisted reverse
effect, since his highly critical review appeared in the Willamette Week
the interest in our play has increased exponentially and our reservation lines
continue to ring off the hook. Secondly (and certainly more profoundly), it
was courageous on his part to offer us his erudite insights into our lack
of talent for writing. But he has beneficently spared us a lot of future agony
and disappointment. While our play continues to be extremely well-received
by audiences and other reviewers, thanks to Steffen we recognize that this
is purely a fluke. Rather than waste another moment pawning ourselves off
as playwrights, both of us have abruptly sought other professions. Judy [Rachel,
co-author] is now driving the ice-resurfacing machine at the Clackamas Mall
ice rink, and I have just begun an apprenticeship learning the difficult but
satisfying trade of soldering copper wire. Steffen, keep up the good work
and maybe you single-handedly can clear the field of pretenders and make more
room for the work of real playwrights like yourself.
John D. Rachel
Southwest 57th Avenue
SOUR GRAPES?
Maureen O'Hagan's excellent report on the "feud" between County
Chair Beverly Stein and Sheriff Dan Noelle over who controls county parole
and probation services suggests that Stein lost both the "turf" war and the
public-relations offensive that followed ["Shootout
at the MC Corral," WW, July 1, 1998].
After reaching what appears to be a reasonable compromise with Noelle, Stein, through her spokesman Eddie Campbell, engages in gratuitous political sniping. According to Campbell, Noelle lacks "political vision," does not "build coalitions" and acts like a "lone wolf." While these comments can be attributed to sour grapes after his boss was outmaneuvered by Noelle, Campbell continues his descent into the political gutter by attributing Noelle's failings to his "paramilitary background." For this choice slander he owes both Noelle and the law enforcement community an apology. Alternatively, Stein should explain how Campbell's comments comport with her own "political vision."
Nicholas Fish
Southwest 5th Avenue
PAY THE KIDS
We all make mistakes. It is how we deal with them that really matters.
Some may admit their fault and work towards a solution or restitution with
the help of friends and family. Others would find excuses or place the blame
on an innocent victim. Janice Schott at TNT Talent has chosen the latter ["Star
Struck," WW, July 1, 1998]. I appreciate Nigel Jaquiss and his
efforts to tell the story about child models and actors that have been dealt
with unprofessionally and dishonestly. This problem at TNT Talent will surely
give the business here in the area a big black eye. This is not something
we want the prospective producers and directors that would have their movies
filmed in Oregon to expect either.
I would like everyone to know that there are people at SAG/AFTRA and the OMPA that can help you gain information and a better knowledge of the industry before you enter it, especially with your children. There are a lot of scam artists out there for sure. There are some legitimate agents and casting people as well. Don't be afraid to follow your dreams, just do it with both eyes wide open. Do your homework and investigate before you invest your time, money and energy.
Lastly I would like to ask Ms. Schott to realize we were all there to help her at any given time. Myself as well as many others I know appreciated her friendship and the working relationship she provided. We just could not stand around and let a lot of children and their families be taken advantage of. I apologize for nothing and expect you to do the right thing. Pay those kids.
Damon Jones, Actors in Action
Southwest 1st Avenue
EAT YOUR BROCCOLI,
KIDS
I have a problem with some of the assumptions in your article about
young people's voting habits ["9
out of 10 Young Voters...Don't," WW, July 8, 1998]. I'm amazed
that you placed the political parties in your Rogue of the Week column, and
that your article attempted to lay blame on candidates and parties for the
low turnout of young voters.
Now, maybe I just missed an entitlement somewhere, but I never knew it was anyone else's responsibility to cajole me into voting. Had I known that, I would have held out for more than just the warm fuzzy feeling I get from participating in the government of my community. Perhaps if we offered free body piercing at the polling place, we could boost Gen-X turnout, but why should we? If the soul patch and skateboard demographic can't be bothered to do the arithmetic and understand the realities of governing their community, why should the parties and candidates spend their time and money to get these kids to eat their civic broccoli?
Jeffrey B. Zurschmeide
Southwest 75th Avenue
originally published July 29, 1998