but wait there's more

Totally forgot something that struck me earlier today.

We have five Ithaca kids in our group and I hung out with them because they're amazing, and Tanya, a Russian student that they know. (Turns out she was the one who took us to our dorm back in January! And she still talks to Barlow?) We went out for sushi and talked about everything, but particularly about the difference between American and Russian theatre and Russian impressions of American theatre culture.

I always thought that it was incredible that the government subsidizes the theatre here. But I didn't think about the ramifications of that. There's a remarkable amount of weight that goes along with that- you're responsible to the government, and they can pull funding for any reason, actual or created. And in a country that's still figuring out its governmental system, that's not an impossibility. Russia takes great pride in its theatre. It is, in fact, a religion. (During the Soviet era, all semblances of religion were destroyed. Soviet thinking didn't allow for it, because paradise was supposed to be established on earth, not in Heaven [where you may or may not end up]. So the Soviets substituted theatre. Lucky for us-seriously and sarcastically.).

We think that Russians are the epitome of acting. Russians think we are. But not in the same way. Russians appreciate the commercialism of theatre in the States-musicals, Broadway. They don't have that opportunity. Russia has had a free market for 20 years. The States has had on for 200. Our sense of commercial capitalism is something that Russia has not yet developed. We think that Russians are the epitome of acting because they are. They are better actors, better performers. They have to go through an extraordinary journey to become performers. American theatre students take out a college loan, add some things to their resume, and are therefore actors.

I'm not trying to slam the American way of doing things. But it's not thorough. It's not exclusive. This is where capitalism fights art, instead of working with it.

Look below for the post from earlier today:

M