Ok, for those that know me, here comes one of my rants.. thanks for your forebearance.

I want to start by saying, “Maybe it’s just me.”  But, that being said, I wanted to make a general statement about the direction and health of this and other boards like it.  When I discovered these sites, I was thrilled.  At last, a place to share our passion for theater.  A place to ask advice, share techniques and garner support for that which every theater person needs, an ego. 

By in large, they have served that need well and I have loved the give and take, as well as the feeling that my “advice” might have helped another.  Lately, and again this might just be me, I feel like the tone in many posts have changed.  When someone tells how they did something, or asks advice, rather than saying, “The way I handle that is...” or “You might want to try…”we seem to be getting a lot more of “That’s stupid” “this is the only way to do that.” or “there is absolutely NO reason for someone to do that, its just wrong” 

I’ve said it before, and yes, I’m saying it again,  all Community Theater is NOT created equal.  Can it all be fun? Can it all be fulfilling?  Can it all be good Art??? Of course it can.  Is it “One Size Fits All”?  Of course not.  We have theaters represented here that have 60 plus years of experience and ones that just started out last week (or have come here looking for startup advice) There are theaters here who own their own house and those that move from venue to venue  as space and resources allow.  Some are huge houses with seating in the hundreds and others with moveable seating for 50.  Many that look at their bank accounts and say, Well if we get everything donated, do a royalty free, or dip into our own pockets we may be able to put on a show this year, and others with million dollar budgets and seven or more shows a year. We have theaters represented here with professional directors and tech and others whose director pool might be one person who did a school show once, bought a book on directing or maybe, came here to ask for advice on how to get it done… 

Those of us who offer advice to and those of us who seek it, need to remember that though we may consider ourselves experience, and some may name themselves experts, unless you are in the other persons shoes, you don’t know for sure what THEY need what will work in their house, with their people, their audience, their fiscal position. 

I guess as I near the end of my rant, and again, thanks for letting me rant occasionally, I’d ask that we all try to craft our replies in a supportive way that respects the askers/posters dignity and recognizes that A. They are not necessarily the same as us. and B. (this is the hard one) We might not have the ONLY answer to every question.

Again, thanks to one and all, and for those who are new here, don’t ever feel discouraged by the responses, take what works for you and remember it’s just some other guys opinion…