This Can't Be Broccoli

Today I get to talk to one of my favorite people all about cancel culture. They have been working in theater for over twenty years, and we talked for so long, I had to spend a few hours editing the interview down to something you could actually follow, so you might see the unedited seventeen-part series at some point in the future. But for now, here's the (condensed) interview-- ME:  How are you? THEM:  I am tired.  How are you? ME:  I'm pretty tired. THEM:  You still starting these interviews asking 'How are you?' ME:  Listen. THEM:  (Laughs.)  You ever get anybody saying 'I'm doing so good, Kev.' ME:  I haven't gotten that in awhile. THEM:  Wait, I was supposed to say something.  What was I supposed to say? ME:  I've been better. THEM:  I'VE BEEN BETTER.  Yes.  That's me. ME:  Can we do this damn interview now? THEM:  Boy, you better watch that tone. ME:  It is--what time is it? THEM:  (Laug...

First, let's make one thing clear. I'm a horrible person. Terrible. Really bad. Absolute control freak. Pathological need to be the center of attention. Loooove feeling important. Love it. Now, most of the time, all of these things would not necessarily make me a...fun person to be around. I mean, some people put up with it, and because I do theater, some of it is tolerated because it falls under the heading of "Annoying Things About Theater People." But your average person tends to balk at it, and I don't blame them. They don't want any of that in their lives. ...Until there's an emergency. In the middle of the pandemic, you saw people who previously hated Governor Cuomo and Governor Raimondo here in Rhode Island saying things like "You know, I never liked them before, but I really admire the way they handled this crisis." What you don't seem to understand is, all the things you didn't like about them are the things that made it possible...

This week's interview is with someone who has recently stepped down as Artistic Director of a prominent theater in their area. They asked to speak with me about their experience. Here's the interview: ME:  How long were you at the company? THEM:  Two years. ME:  Okay. THEM:  Two long years. ME:  Long years. THEM:  Feels like--yeah. ME:  What made you decide to leave? THEM:  Before we shut down due to COVID, I was on the fence about leaving.  When you started to see theaters responding to Black Lives Matter and looking at how they handle incorporating BIPOC in their theaters and their seasons, I had a conversation with my board where I was met with a lot of resistance. ME:  What was the reason behind the resistance? THEM:  The reason I got was-- This isn't a pressing matter for us.  We don't know if we're going to re-open. We need to focus on that.  Once we do that, we can revisit this.   I also felt like--I felt that ...

One of my favorite podcasts is Who? Weekly , and a few weeks ago, one of the co-hosts nailed it with one sentence. Posting is a disease. She was talking about an influencer who got into trouble for posting about getting a haircut during the height of the pandemic when everything was supposed to be under lockdown. Aside from what you may think about that person breaking quarantine, the bigger question seemed to be-- Why would you post about it? This person knows she has a large following. She knew what she was doing was wrong. She must have known she'd get dragged for it. So why post? Because posting is a disease. When the entire world came to a halt, I remember hearing about how liquor stores needed to stay open, because otherwise alcoholics would have withdrawals and need to go to hospitals and it was easier just to let them continue on with their addiction since we didn't have time to address the problem in any other way. All right, I thought, but what about attention addicts...

I think it's normal when you're interviewing people and then heavily editing those interviews that you, the interviewer, would err on the side of making yourself look good. The truth is, even if you go out of your way to not  do that, just by owning the platform, you automatically gain audience support. My reason for pointing this out is that I almost didn't put this interview out there.  I'm quick to anger, and it's something I've dealt with for a long time.  When I blow up, it's not good, and even though I've gotten heated during these exchanges, I can't say I've ever really, truly lost it on someone. I had a much nicer interview that I could have ran instead this week that was constructive and interesting and you'll see that next week, but I can't justify burying this particular interview, and looking at it now, ten days from when it was had, I still stand by most of what I said even if I wish I could have said some of it in a better w...

This weekend, as people in Rhode Island were losing their minds over Allie's Donuts taking away a police and military discount, I made a status about how most of those people didn't seem to mind when Chik-fil-A first declared their opposition to the very existence of gay people. It was a cute little quip, perfect for sharing, and just snarky enough to make a point. But behind that, there was actually a lot of frustration and pain. See, Rhode Island didn't have a Chik-fil-A when the company made its first statement, so while I didn't see certain people speaking out against it, I assumed it was just because they didn't see the point in condemning a company that we wouldn't be able to patronize anyway, and I didn't think much more about it than that. Then, they opened a franchise here, and I actually got to see a bunch of people who call themselves my friends gleefully posting about their first time eating there. Oh sure, a couple of people in the comments poin...

Last week, I spoke with a friend about our current moment in the country and particularly in the arts. Since then, more and more people have called for a reformation of the performing arts world.  One of those people is the person I'm speaking with today. I had the honor of taking a class with them a little over a year ago about creating opportunities for disenfranchised voices within an arts community, and they were gracious enough to speak with me one-on-one. Here's the interview: ME:  Thank you so much for doing this. I really appreciate it. THEM:  Thank you for asking me.  I love to be asked. ME:  Have you been getting asked a lot lately to speak on some of these topics? THEM:  Yes, but I only said 'Yes' to you. ME:  Oh, I feel very special then. THEM:  (Laughs.)  I said I don't know if at my age I have the strength to start from the beginning with someone, but you were in my class last year, and I remember how eager you were to do the wo...

Hey-- Please Don't Get Your News from Your Cousin's Friend on Facebook. That's pretty much it. I know you can't really trust a lot of news sources right now, but if you see someone say something like "Oh my god, they set a Waffle House on fire" and you live in Rhode Island, where we don't have Waffle Houses, mayyyybe push back on that? Ask to see photos. Ask to see videos. Ask for proof. Don't worry about offending someone by implying you think they're exaggerating or they've gotten the wrong information. Everybody gets stuff wrong, especially when they're anxious or panicked, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to help people out by alerting them to something, but when things catch on on social media, it has real world consequences. It creates more noise that can drown out real threats and things people need to know. Here in Rhode Island on Tuesday I heard everything from "They're targeting every Walgreens" to "Th...