Songs for the Struggling Artist
Songs for the StrugglingArtist
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My library finally re-opened post-pandemic and I went in for a celebratory look around. Though it supposedly had been re-modeled, it seemed to look exactly the same. (Except now there seemed to be no way to access the card catalogue? WTF?) I took a look at the theatre section because, you know, Theatre Nerd, and was struck by how much the selection of plays resembled the selection of plays that were in the library when I was growing up. It struck me that the accepted literary canon of theatrical greatness has not really been updated since the 1950s. When I was growing up, the theatre section looked like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. And today, the theatre section looks like mostly Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams. This doesn’t mean that theatre folk only read Miller and Williams but I think it does mean that the culture as a whole still only considers Miller and Williams worth keeping in the collection. There may be a scattered addition from a contemporary writer – maybe if it’s a library that’s really trying to expand, you’ll see some August Wilson or Suzan Lori Parks or an Anna Deavere Smith. My library had an Annie Baker, even. But for the most part, in libraries and bookstores across America, the bulk of a theatre section will be Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams – maybe, on occasion, some Mamet, Albee, Simon or Durang – but most shelves will be the Miller and Williams collection. I’m curious about this.
To keep reading The Canon Is Stuck visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 426
Song: Love Me Tender
Image of the Queens Public Library play shelf by me, Emily Rainbow Davis
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Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis
Trigger Warning: I don’t think this piece is any more triggering than just living in the world at the moment but if you’re not feeling like reading the words r*pe and r*pist a bunch, just skip this one, my friends.
*
It’s Election Day in New York City. Astoria, particularly.
I see a guy in a Trump baseball hat. We don’t see a lot of those around here and I hope we never will again but watching him make his jaunty way up the sidewalk playing his air piano, I started to think about how he’s marked himself as someone dangerous, someone to avoid.
To keep reading Something I Was Thinking About On Election Day 2024 visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 425
Song: Step Off
Image by Bernd Dittrich via Unsplash
To support this podcast:
Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!
Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis
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Tell a friend!
Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis
A video I saw on BlueSky of a guy playing a cigar box guitar, while wearing a tin can helmet/mask, made me think of a teacher I had many years ago. That teacher told us to call him Professor Bobo (his name was Bobby Hansson) and he wore loud Hawaiian shirts with even louder wide neck ties. He had a big white and grey beard and his straight gray hair was cut a bit below his ears. He had the look of a 70s Santa on vacation. I adored him.
I took a workshop with him at Penland School of Crafts at the suggestion of a friend who was a full time student there. Even though I didn’t have any particular interest in his subject matter at the time, she knew I would be inspired by his style. The class was Tin Can Artwork and today I’m even gladder that I took it than I was at the time.
To keep reading An Ode to Professor Bobo or to see the image better, visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 424
Song: The Tin Can Man
Image by Bobby Hansson
Video about Bobby Hansson here.
To support this podcast:
Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!
Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis
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Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd
Me on Mastodon - @[email protected]
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Me on Hive - @erainbowd
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Tell a friend!
Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis
A few days after the election, I received a piece of writing in my email inbox about art and fascism. It was a thoughtful piece and good advice but I also thought, “Yeah, I wrote almost the same piece in 2016. This lady’s is a newsletter, mine was a blog but the content is almost exactly the same.” Did this lady copy me from 8 years ago? No. Not a chance. She’s a big shot. I’m sure she’s never seen my blog.
I think what we’re seeing is that there’s not much to say this time that we didn’t say the last time our country elected an authoritarian fascist. (The same one!)
To keep reading The Resistance Will Be Recycled visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 423
Song: Here Comes the Rain Again
Image by Andrea Huls Pareja via Unsplash
To support this podcast:
Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!
Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
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Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis
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Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd
Me on Mastodon - @[email protected]
Me on Bsky - @erainbowd.bsky.social
Me on Hive - @erainbowd
Instagram and Pinterest
Tell a friend!
Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis
It had been a long time since I’d seen a play, so I was kind of excited when the lights went down. When they came up, one of the three women on stage said, “Where should we begin?” and my head just sank into my hand in disappointment. I instantly knew the play I was going to spend the next couple of hours with, would not be great.
To keep reading Please Don't Start Your Play Like This visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.
This is Episode 422
Song: Start With the Ending
Image by Markus Spiske via Unsplash
To support this podcast:
Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!
Rate it wherever you listen or via: https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist
Join my mailing list: www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/
Like the blog/show on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/
Support me on Patreon: www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis
Join my Substack: https://emilyrainbowdavis.substack.com/
Follow me on Twitter @erainbowd
Me on Mastodon - @[email protected]
Me on Bsky - @erainbowd.bsky.social
Me on Hive - @erainbowd
Instagram and Pinterest
Tell a friend!
Listen to The Dragoning here and The Defense here. You can support them via Ko-fi here: https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany
As ever, I am yours,
Emily Rainbow Davis