Written by: Liv Garcia and Leah Geisler, Co-Editors-in-Chief
We’ll put it frankly: The Theatre School has a problem with criticism. This month The Grappler published our season response, a tradition that has generated some pushback in the years that we’ve done it. It’s an exciting and anxiety-inducing time for us as editors. We believe in the work our writers do and want to stand behind them, but we’re also working within the context of a conservatory where the only discussions of criticism are a dreaded notes session after a bad run or a class that less than half of the TTS population takes.
Conservatory culture is built around a competition to be the “best.” The specter of artistic scarcity lurks behind the scenes, threatening to take away resources if we fail to reach impossible standards. On one hand, criticism is framed as demoralizing and hurtful to school culture, rather than as an essential part of the artistic process. On the other hand, many TTS students have experienced abuse framed as constructive criticism in their theatrical training. How can we acknowledge both of these realities? What would it take to create a robust and sustainable culture of criticism at The Theatre School? What if we thought of criticism as something that could foster deeper relationships, help us gain perspectives outside of our own, and create an environment of genuine care for one’s growth?
We recognize that it’s hard to even imagine criticism in a new way when most people have only experienced criticism that is limiting, hurtful, and possibly even demoralizing. Our reactions to this kind of criticism can be defensive, rooted in past traumatic experiences and our own need for self-protection. Criticism, in its myriad forms, needs some serious rebranding at The Theatre School.
Our challenge to you all is to take the first step towards reimagining criticism in artistic contexts. Thanks to the work of Liz Lehrman and other theatre artists who have changed how we give feedback, we have some models to work off of. Criticism can be questions, suggestions, moments of inquiry.
This new vision of criticism might look like a director asking their actor “I have a thought about the choice you made to grab your purse before leaving the scene. Would you like to hear it?” Creating a consent-based model means that actors, designers, and other members of the creative team have autonomy over their choices.
Dramaturgy also gives us tools we need to make criticism an effective tool to use in artistic spaces. As artists, we can change how criticism is viewed by examining our responses to receiving it. Even with the best of intentions, having our choices criticized can make us resentful towards those providing us with feedback. Let’s take a moment now to reframe how we receive criticism:
Decide if the feedback is useful to you or not. There will be times where someone offers feedback that is not constructive, and it is okay to not implement it.
Ask for clarification. A criticism may be well-intended but come off as confusing or scrutinizing. When this happens, take a break to process your emotions, then come back with an open mind.
Offer frequent healthy criticism. If you are in an artistic space where feedback is not given frequently, it might come as a surprise and cause (unnecessary?) reaction. Even if you are not the director, the speaker, or the person leading a project, you still have permission to advocate for criticism as an integral part of the creative process.
Sometimes criticism will come at the wrong moment. Sometimes we need to take Mia Mingus’ lead and ask for accountability from others and from ourselves. The myth of perfectionism often stops discussions in their tracks, but it’s essential that we move beyond the binary of right and wrong. Criticism is a complex and imperfect process, and that’s a good thing! Let’s give it space to grow.
Sending you all compassion and grace in challenging circumstances,
Leah and Liv, Co-Editors-in-Chief
Here at The Grappler, we want to embrace criticism with open arms. This letter is a first step, not a definitive answer, for how to foster a more constructive response to criticism within TTS. Let us know your thoughts on criticism in the comments below or on Instagram, @grapplertts.
Love what you're reading? Subscribe to our newsletter!