RAT No Subject

[OPSHOPPE@aol.com]

I'm working on an article about what I call "new populism" for lack of a 
better coinage. It is a follow up to a feature I did for the Village Voice 
that talked about fringe-level companies that are doing work that embraces 
(or at least takes into account) the tastes of the audience. a movement away 
from Richard Foreman and Mac Wellman etc (obscurantism) and that sort of 
thing and in the direction of showmanship. what seperates the work I have in 
mind from "commercialism" is that the goal is not money. It is about 
attracting the audience FOR THEMSELVES, not their money per se. IN my local 
story, I talked about a great variety of contemporary work: revivals of the 
Ridiculous, vaudeville and circus (naturally), a company that puts 
shakespeare to pop music, a company that models its work on amusement park 
rides, etc. If you have ideas about similar stuff in your town, please let me 
know. respond directly to opshoppe@aol.com rather than the ratlist please so 
we don't burden the collective with our conversation. Thanks. Trav S.D.