CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

by Mark Aikman

We’ve all been part of the conversation, the one about theatre criticism in Toronto and what works and what doesn’t; the desire to label it all as cartoonish super-vilainry, the exceptions to the rule, and the wonderful discussion we know can be had if only there were a place for it. I was having one of these conversations last month with a few artists at The Hub (don’t worry if you haven’t heard of us… yet) and we decided to put that fancy website of ours to some use.

With Fringe and Summerworks and so much else happening in Toronto this summer, we wanted to create a space for artists and audiences to have a real discussion about the work. Something to redistribute the power and voice of theatre criticism that has become increasingly centralized in this city.

It’s called Constructive Criticism – basically it’s a wiki-critic. Artists can send us info about their show (theatre, dance, performance, anything artistic) and we give them a free listing on our site complete with a discussion board for people to share their thoughts and reactions – and where people involved in the show can have a dialogue with the people who saw it.

We have some simple, and perfectly reasonable (rules) that we expect everyone to follow. They basically boil down to: try to be constructive, even if you didn’t like the show; speak in complete thoughts and sentences; and try not to be a dick about it. And if you don’t follow our rules, we delete your post.

We’re not trying to be mean or to censor anyone, but we are trying to foster an intelligent discussion.

And this is not done to wage a war on print or online journalists. For every idiot out there there are is at least one thoughtful and informed voice to match. All we want is to bring the power of criticism back to the community so that they can become more informed, knowledgeable and critical of the art they engage with. Your show may not be for everyone, but it is the perfect show for someone – and this is the tool we can all use to make those connections happen.

All of the Fringe shows are now up on the site, so check out hubtheatreproject.ca and talk about all the amazing shows you see this summer.

And if you’ve got a problem, a suggestion or just want to say hi – please (drop us a note)[mailto:mark@hubtheatreproject.ca]. This is still new, always growing and we love love love to get feedback.

Happy theatre-going,
-Mark