tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post3566265628370094139..comments2024-01-24T17:37:19.114-05:00Comments on The Youngblog: No Wasserstein Prize in 2010; Selection Panel Cites Lack of Outstanding PlaysPatrick Linkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13704171211589054157noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-58820120025105071722010-12-15T10:55:47.919-05:002010-12-15T10:55:47.919-05:00When the committee is told that their actions perp...When the committee is told that their actions perpetuate gender bias, simply because they determined that their own search processes are not working properly and that their decision to not give an award until they fix their process is a "slap in the face" (metaphorically violent) of women playwrights, that's a charge of misogyny.<br /><br />If it is insulting to anyone, it's Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-76754897964055247952010-12-15T10:40:08.154-05:002010-12-15T10:40:08.154-05:00Ian:
Nowhere does Mike accuse the committee or an...Ian:<br /><br />Nowhere does Mike accuse the committee or anyone of misogyny. Nor has anybody demanded that they give the award to just anybody without reforming the selection process. In fact Mike's letter specifically refers to three or four different ways the selection process could be revised. I'm not sure where you're getting your assertions.<br /><br />Mike's letter RJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05426979815197932443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-74117470961415575912010-12-14T23:55:13.958-05:002010-12-14T23:55:13.958-05:00Anonymous,
Michael Lew (and others) did make char...Anonymous,<br /><br />Michael Lew (and others) did make charges of misogyny against the Wasserstein committee. Quite bluntly, it's a ridiculous charge because the committee was never going to be awarding the prize to a man under any circumstances.<br /><br />Is there gender-bias in theatre? Sure there is, but the Wasserstein committee isn't the villain.<br /><br />Is there a problem Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-48182701559493171382010-12-14T20:45:12.191-05:002010-12-14T20:45:12.191-05:00Thal,
I cannot respond to the comment about miso...Thal, <br /><br />I cannot respond to the comment about misogyny because I did not make that point. <br /><br />However, I've thought about this "media fiasco" a great deal.<br /><br />I continously return to this understanding: If TDF had never sent out the premature and possibly immature correspondence, this whole matter could have been avoided. Yes, I understand the committee hadAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-86379435418931926662010-12-13T11:30:12.838-05:002010-12-13T11:30:12.838-05:00From this point, the 2010 Wasserstein nominations ...<i><b>From this point, the 2010 Wasserstein nominations will be the known as "the wrtiers who were not good enough."</b></i><br /><br />But is this distinction entirely the fault of the TDF or are the folks who accused the Wassetstein committee of misogyny (sort of absurd since they are clearly dedicated to awarding a prize to a woman) to blame for demanding the award be given anyway, Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-68624055381337307872010-12-13T11:24:26.477-05:002010-12-13T11:24:26.477-05:00Hi Mike,
Your letter is so beautiful. The wonderf...Hi Mike,<br /><br />Your letter is so beautiful. The wonderful part about this is TDF has decided to "go ahead" and reward the prize. The unwonderful part is the women who were nominated this year have been marked by this fiasco. This prize nomination, if nothing else, could have been CV/resume worthy. Did TDF not realize they were doing more to hurt the ones who were nominated simply Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-44608969777180255312010-11-20T10:07:52.094-05:002010-11-20T10:07:52.094-05:00I agree with EJ.
It's ridiculous to argue tha...I agree with EJ.<br /><br />It's ridiculous to argue that their panel refused to award the prize because they have something against women, because the prize is only awarded to a woman. <br /><br />It's more realistic to argue that the judges have aged and are no longer able to decode works meant for younger audiences, but (a) you didn't argue that, and (b) you would need to grill Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-38265516275835998532010-11-19T23:56:06.671-05:002010-11-19T23:56:06.671-05:00I could show show you at least 3 female playwright...<i><b>I could show show you at least 3 female playwrights worthy of the award RIGHT NOW!</b></i><br /><br />That may be the case, Alexa, but there's also a good chance that those three playwrights' works never got to the Wasserstein panel-- and that's the problem.Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-41626840509531837142010-11-19T13:59:58.558-05:002010-11-19T13:59:58.558-05:00Outrageous!!
I could show show you at least 3 fem...Outrageous!!<br /><br />I could show show you at least 3 female playwrights worthy of the award RIGHT NOW! I'm really disgusted! Thank you for the letter.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02499598996109583206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-67116169030282279082010-11-16T23:52:38.149-05:002010-11-16T23:52:38.149-05:00thanks for reposting Jack!thanks for reposting Jack!ejlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-21500372579519768822010-11-16T23:26:58.151-05:002010-11-16T23:26:58.151-05:00Bruce Norris Rocks!Bruce Norris Rocks!Keith Enrique Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11618388037395143520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-86232483498327337362010-11-16T10:31:18.077-05:002010-11-16T10:31:18.077-05:00Yes, everybody just be glad for the crumbs that yo...Yes, everybody just be glad for the crumbs that you get!joshcon80https://www.blogger.com/profile/13493227172042089467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-66802133470035360242010-11-15T18:00:03.145-05:002010-11-15T18:00:03.145-05:00The fact that from among those 4 there was no cons...<b><i> The fact that from among those 4 there was no consensus as to a favorite (last year 3 of those 10 plays quickly emerged as favorites) led the committee to consider the question of whether the process itself was in need of repair. Thus, the decision to take a year off from awarding the prize so as to realign the system. </i></b><br /><br />Thank you for the explanation, Mr. Norris. I Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-91393995446208109062010-11-15T17:23:37.473-05:002010-11-15T17:23:37.473-05:00Okay everybody: God knows I hate this blog bullsh...Okay everybody: God knows I hate this blog bullshit but I guess the time has come to weigh in.<br /><br />I was one of the evil judges on the panel that made this decision - a decision which strikes the majority of you as misogynist and/or elitist or whatever. For the record, the judges (predominantly women) were split as to whether or not to give out the award, some of us said yes, some said Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-30498719667217348572010-11-15T15:42:15.448-05:002010-11-15T15:42:15.448-05:00For those who haven't seen the other thread, t...For those who haven't seen the other thread, the NYTimes reports that TDF will reconsider the 19 nominees and have them submit more plays, in the hopes of giving out the award. Mike's letter here gets no small share of the credit (<a href="http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/15/a-do-over-for-the-wasserstein-playwriting-prize/?ref=arts" rel="nofollow">Link</a>). Good work Mike, andRJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05426979815197932443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-34423006831758585662010-11-15T15:25:36.547-05:002010-11-15T15:25:36.547-05:00I just can't help but wonder if the reason the...I just can't help but wonder if the reason the TDF did not find a play they felt to be worthy of the award is that they were relying on a discovery and nomination process that was inherently flawed.<br /><br /><br />Wasn't part of the argument of <i>Outrageous Fortune</i> that the current development process and cultural gatekeepers are not necessarily delivering great work to American Ian Thalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15348768867561450314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-20797690878386766242010-11-15T14:25:19.694-05:002010-11-15T14:25:19.694-05:00Brilliant and well put, mike.Brilliant and well put, mike.testhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12321983333929433870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-88577318947268976842010-11-15T13:08:14.224-05:002010-11-15T13:08:14.224-05:00Michael Lew, your response is eloquent and thought...Michael Lew, your response is eloquent and thoughtful. And maybe the people who administer the prize need to change the rules.<br /><br />What I want to add is that the fellowships and awards I received when I was "under 32" helped to build my confidence. Writing is beautiful, but the business of writing is incredibly tough and it's made tougher by the fact that so few people S.P. Miskowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07176386274348362718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-84607282689132572392010-11-15T12:26:58.298-05:002010-11-15T12:26:58.298-05:00She posted it already. Oh well. Worth repeating. S...She posted it already. Oh well. Worth repeating. Sorry.Jack Worthingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-67769455514912917092010-11-15T12:25:25.571-05:002010-11-15T12:25:25.571-05:00Re-posted from commenter 'EJL' on Kris Vir...Re-posted from commenter 'EJL' on Kris Vire's blog. No, I'm not female and no, I didn't write this.<br /><br />Dear Victoria,<br /><br />I’m not one to write letters often, but once I read Michael Lew’s<br />response to what is going on with the Wasserstein Prize, I had to<br />write. As a female playwright–or as I like to just say: playwright–I<br />think TDF did the right Jack Worthingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-54594794640744922762010-11-15T09:52:12.005-05:002010-11-15T09:52:12.005-05:00Thank you, thank you, thank you for this letter.Thank you, thank you, thank you for this letter.theresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04189267702718226156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-28549382323459720882010-11-15T02:43:08.698-05:002010-11-15T02:43:08.698-05:00Wow Mike! Well done! Thanks so much for writing, ...Wow Mike! Well done! Thanks so much for writing, because this is some shit here.Godfrey Simmons, Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13803046058864322043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-14997483778335493432010-11-14T11:58:59.092-05:002010-11-14T11:58:59.092-05:00The four items here are quotes from a letter by Mi...The four items here are quotes from a letter by Michael Lewis posted on www.youngblood.blogspot.com - probably not going to make a lot of friends with my comments but it just seems this business lives on rejection and the collective always seems to be frustrated by that. Its why those who once walked in these shoes who learn how to survive it and learn from it and are lucky can create an “Keith Enrique Beckhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11618388037395143520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-49003660041925784432010-11-14T09:23:18.598-05:002010-11-14T09:23:18.598-05:00So well said. Thank you.
~Catherine CastellaniSo well said. Thank you.<br /><br />~Catherine CastellaniAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36366777.post-70247331533559708152010-11-13T18:07:26.136-05:002010-11-13T18:07:26.136-05:00Thanks so much for writing this and for being an a...Thanks so much for writing this and for being an ally, Michael. Receiving that rejection was A) bizarre and B) sort of humiliating. <br /><br />Your letter is articulate, accurate, and deeply heartening.Diana Grisantihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14475038181923141704noreply@blogger.com