Last Week Around the -ISTs
Schieffer's Out of Gov Race
In his role as a theater writer for Austinist, among other publications, Dan Solomon has critiqued performances from numerous Austin dramatists. However, unlike many critics, he's never done time working in the theater to learn the form.
To gain a better understanding of what goes into the process of creating theater, he assembled a cast of frequent Austin actors to perform a script written by his wife, Katherine Craft, and helmed the director's chair. The resulting production, No One Else Will Ever Love You, stars Jennymarie Jemison (Touch, Faster Than the Speed of Light), Spencer Driggers (Arthuriosis), Karina Dominguez (Orestes), and Bastion Carboni (No Exit), and is staged inside the living rooms of three different Austin volunteers on three different weekends.
Carboni, who directed the Poison Apple Initiative's recent production of No Exit (which Solomon reviewed harshly back in June), sat down with the critic-turned-director to talk about critical credibility and what'll happen if his show sucks.
You've kind of started in a backwards fashion, with little to no practical experience save high school. Do you count high school?
No. I didn't memorize my lines. I just showed up in a grasshopper suit.
With no practical experience in the field that you've been critiquing, are you worried about critical slights discrediting your previous reviews?
Like if I suck?
Yes.
Not really, because they're different skills. I don't usually go after the director. I don't know his job well enough. I don't know how sausages are made, I just know if what the factory makes is fucked up. How am I supposed to know what's a director's choice vs. an actor's choice?
It's largely a grey area.
I don't think I've attacked a director in a way that would invalidate what I've written if I can't do it.
So you're immune?
No. I think if I was pissing all over every thing and then I sucked, that would be different. I try to be pretty fair regardless of my perspective. I've never claimed to be an expert.
Your selection of everything will be under more scrutiny.
Probably.
What concerns do you have with other critics seeing your work?
Frankly, I was concerned that other critics would be nicer to me because they'd see me in themselves. That's why I invited directors to the show.
Right, but you've invited directors whom you've critiqued before, which is either really humble or really cocky.
Yeah. I don't know which.
Are you going for equanimity?
That's the idea. I didn't earn my position as a critic. It's not necessarily one that you have to earn. All of those people are just as qualified, so why not give them a shot?
What assurance do these people have that their reviews will be printed as written? Are you concerned this gesture might blow up in your face?
I figure any time you make a gesture towards people it could. I'm not going to touch the reviews, and I trust my editor.
Ed. Note: I'm really looking forward to this.
What assurance do you have that they'll be impartial?
I trust that they'll recognize the fairness of my reviews of their work and take that in to account.
Have you been privy to their criticisms on theatre before?
No, and they might not be good at it. I think I'm pretty good at it, in terms of what I'm trying to accomplish. I only know two things a critic can do: Be fair to the theatre makers and be honest with the readers. I don't have a capacity to be an expert on everything that I write about, so I try to be fair not just in terms of what they're doing but what they're trying to do. I'm not going to critique a piece in a new works festival like it's at the National Theatre in London.
Without it having had a workshop production, are you expecting critique of No One Else Will Ever Love You to be more lenient?
No, that's why I cast the people I did. If this cast can't make the script and me look good, that's my fault. Otherwise, I could have cast my friends.
Why choose now to direct a show?
I've had people compliment my reviews and I'm not sure I deserved it. I'd like to try to earn it.
If you don't?
Eventually people'll figure that out.
Why did you start with a piece written by your wife?
I don't think it's fair to find a writer whom I'm not familiar with and say, "Hey, let me experiment." If I'm not any good at this and I fuck it up, I'd feel pretty bad. But she kinda owes me that. We're married.
No One Else Will Ever Love You runs through September 12th at private residences. Tickets available online only at www.nooneelsewilleverloveyou.com.
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