An interview at Bryant-Lake Bowl with four Twin Cities performing arts critics: Quinton Skinner (City Pages), Camille LeFevre, Dominic Papatola (Pioneer Press), and Graydon Royce (Star Tribune).
0:00.00: How did you become a critic?: Dominic put his two loves together; Quinton stumbled in to it.
03:45.01: How do you fit in to the performing arts community?: The critic lives in a “no man’s land” between the artists and the media.
06:30.14: Are you an arts advocate?: Advocacy is different than boosterism.
10:22.19: Who are your readers?: Quinton: “the coolest, most adventuress crowd;” Camille: “a certain amount of intelligence.”
14:52.25: Are you in a “conversation” with artists?: Where the critics say that they want you to call them.
19:33.29: Do you approach each show differently?: “Going native,” giving shows “the benefit of the doubt,” and copping to biases.
26:03.28: Does size matter?: The smaller the review, the less the context will be in it, and the more insights are left out.
32:24.10: What is the future of arts criticism?: Blogs, new business models, theater as a reflection of the local community, and “the tyranny of limitless opinion.”
36:52.08: What do you want from the performing arts?: “All I want . . . is I want my life to be changed.”
38:06.16: BONUS FEATURE!!
(Slightly updated version. 2/17)
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