The Canadian Theatre Critics Association, in conjunction with the Tarragon Theatre, presents:
Reviewing on the Internet: The Rebirth of Theatre Criticism?
A panel discussion
Sunday, Feb. 7, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Tarragon Theatre (Rehearsal Hall – upstairs)
Rumours that the art of theatre criticism is dying may be premature. Despite the challenges posed by today’s shrinking arts coverage in traditional media, reviewers and theatregoers are finding a new venue for criticism on the World Wide Web. But is cyberspace the best place for informed and enlightened writing about the theatre?
Join a panel of professional Canadian theatre critics for a provocative discussion of reviewing in the Net age. Panelists include: Marianne Ackerman (roverarts.com), Jeniva Berger (scenechanges.com), Robin Breon (aislesay.com), Martin Morrow (cbc.ca) and J. Kelly Nestruck (theglobeandmail.com). Moderator: Kamal al-Solayee, journalism professor, Ryerson University.
Admission: Free.
The panel follows the Feb. 7, 2:30 p.m. performance of Courageous by Michael Healey, in the Tarragon Mainspace.
The annual general meeting of the Canadian Theatre Critics Association will be held after the panel, at 7:30 p.m. All CTCA members are invited to attend.
Panelist bios:
Kamal Al-Solaylee (moderator) is assistant professor at Ryerson University’s School of Journalism and is the former theatre critic for The Globe and Mail (2003-07). He is currently editing an anthology of plays from the Tarragon Theatre and writing Intolerable, a family memoir.
A Montreal writer and journalist, Marianne Ackerman is founder and publisher of The Rover, an online arts magazine at roverarts.com. Her new novel, Piers’ Desire, will be published by McArthur & Co in April.
Jeniva Berger has been reviewing theatre professionally since the 1970s. Her writings have appeared in international and national print publications. Currently she is publisher and editor of scenechanges.com, the first Canadian website to concentrate solely on theatre in Toronto, which has since expanded to cover English language theatre in Ottawa, London and Montreal.
Robin Breon is a freelance arts journalist whose feature articles, reviews and cultural essays have appeared in a wide variety of print media, popular and academic journals over the years. He is a regular contributor to Aisle Say (the Internet magazine of stage reviews and opinion) and has been publishing on the World Wide Web since its inception.
Martin Morrow is a producer for CBC.ca/Arts, where he writes primarily about theatre and film. He served as theatre critic for the Calgary Herald from 1988 until 2000 and as arts editor and theatre critic for Fast Forward Weekly (2003-06). He has also written on the arts for The Globe and Mail and is author of the book Wild Theatre: The History of One Yellow Rabbit (2003).
J. Kelly Nestruck has covered theatre in Canada, as well as in New York, London, Dublin, Edinburgh and other thriving international scenes. He joined The Globe and Mail in February of 2008 and has been blogging in some form or another since February of 2003.
The Canadian Theatre Critics Association, incorporated in 1981, is a non-profit organization representing professional theatre critics in English Canada. The CTCA is affiliated with the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) and presents the annual Herbert Whittaker Drama Bench Award for Outstanding Contribution to Canadian Theatre.
For more information:
CTCA President Don Rubin, drubin@yorku.ca
Kamal Al-Solaylee, 416-979-5000, ext. 6390; kamalsol@ryerson.ca
