These “Tough Economic Times”

You just can’t turn on a football game these days without hearing about “tough economic times.”  Oh, wait.  Yes you can.  And I think most of us did.  For only $2.6 million, you, too, can buy your very own 30-second spot during the Superbowl.  How much were tickets to the game?  I’d assume that most of the fans in the stands weren’t necessarily from Tampa, so that’s lodging and food, too.  I guess, in the end, it’s a question of priorities.

Andrew Wade (formerly of the Royal Shakespeare Company) came by my acting class for a few hours and we got on the topic of live theater vs. screen (big or small).  For someone who routinely begins sentences with the phrase, “In Shakespeare’s time…” I find him to be a pretty down to earth kind of cat.  He’s cool and approachable with a you-feelin’-the-knowledge-I-just-dropped-on-you-homie? demeanor, so while he’s telling us about the relative illiteracy of Shakespeare’s audience, I’m inclined to believe him.  The conversation turned to the role that the audience plays in theater (versus, say, in a movie), so he ventured into this neck of the woods [and I paraphrase]:

People think they have to be quiet.  “I paid good money to hear and see this play, not to have you gasping/weeping/otherwise reacting to it.”

“Don’t we do that in sports? And at concerts?”  I chimed in.

I don’t remember how he responded exactly, but the long and short of it was this:  People don’t get excited like that about theater anymore.

I’ve been there when there’s a few seconds left on the clock, the Vikes have marched down the field and the only thing separating them from victory or defeat is a kickers leg.  I’m on the edge of my seat.  My palms get hot.  And there’s that moment where the commentators are inevitably saying, “the crowd is on it’s feet!”  That’s drama.  In fact, a friend of mine broke his remote control during a Jets game simply by squeezing it at just such a moment.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota wants to phase out all government funding for the arts in the next 2 years.  This after the people of Minnesota voted overwhelmingly for a constitutional amendment raising our taxes in order to properly fund clean water, protecting the environment, and–wait for it–the arts.  So we can drop him into the “not excited” column as well, right next to “not listening to his constituency.”  I guess, in the end, it’s a question of priorities.

So while the poor are trying desperately to get the ends to, at least, vaguely recognize each other, and the rich are buying Superbowl ads, is it too much to ask for people to forget about their problems for 2 hours?  Spend the $20 bucks you set aside to numb the pain at the bar and take your girl or guy out to a show.  I can’t promise any game-winning field goals, but if you are in the right frame of mind, it’ll feel that way.