Arts Writers: Let's Do Play-by-Plays

It’s no surprise that newspapers throughout the US are drastically cutting arts coverage of any kind.  Even though audience numbers are up, reviews of concerts and plays are sparse and feature stories are rarer still.

Being a long time arts writer, I have been thinking how to combat this trend, and I think I’ve found the answer.

I have noticed that as the arts coverage is disappearing, the sports articles continue to expand.  Instead of being a “sports page” it is now a “sports section” - sometimes two - covering high school, college and pro sports in excruciating detail.  Pages and pages are filled with analyses, graphs, standings, and features. Why can’t the arts do that?

Instead of blaming the sports writers for gobbling up all of the available white space in local papers, I think that arts writers should learn from the sports writing colleagues.  We should be more like them and take their lead. 

Speaking personally, here are some things that I should be doing.  Before a symphony concert, for instance, I should write a few stories predicting the performance level of the orchestra. “At the last concert the orchestra had trouble in the woodwinds. Clearly there needs to be some personnel changes in the section.  During the Beethoven we couldn’t help but hear some awful information in the flutes, Will that be improved during this week’s tackling of Brahms’ 4^th?  I certainly hope so.”

Or “I understand that the concertmistress had a cold last week and she missed some valuable rehearsals.  Let’s see if the health issues affect her playing of the important solo coming up in this week’s reading of Scheherazade.”

But that can’t be enough!  For a big game at MSU there are multiple stories.  We should also have a feature about how the maestro is analyzing the score for the upcoming Schubert symphony.  “The last time the Maestro corralled his musicians to perform Schubert, his tempos were ragged and the entire reading the piece was too brash.  Will he use the same game plan this time around?  We’ll have to see.”

Oboe players are always ripe for discussion.  “I understand that the oboist has been having trouble with his reeds.  As you know, each oboist makes his or her own reeds. The lack of good cane has been in short supply, lately.  Will this alter the tone quality of his solos? Also, I have heard that he is very frustrated about his reed making technique.”

How about talent changes?  “The first cellist has to be out of town this week because of an aged mother.  Does the orchestra have enough bench strength to cover her exposed solo sections?  We’ll have to see. If mom doesn’t get healthier, we’ll see some shifting of chairs in the cello section.”

Theater analysis can include a plethora of sticky problems.  “The crowd at the last week’s show was disappointed because the star kept on dropping lines.  Other actors in the play are concerned that maybe the star’s time as a headliner are numbered. The word’s out that the director is searching for a replacement.”

It seems that problems like these are good for three or maybe four articles – before and after each performance, of course.  Audience members can be interviewed and maybe reviewers can create on-the-spot podcasts about what is happening on stage and during the intermission.

Of course, the key for arts writers to match the readership of sports writers is to find a way to rate every performer and performing group. In the local area, we have several theater companies.  Let’s rate each company against one another and place the standings on the first page of arts section. And maybe a playoff at the end of the season.

We should also pit the actors and musicians against each other to create more competition.  Who is auditioning for the next lead role?  Who will be the orchestra’s next principal clarinetist?  Who’s the best?

Do you think I can squeeze out ten or twelve articles about every concert or play?  I think I’ll give it a whirl.