About Broad's Eye View
Broad’s Eye View is an online journal of theatre criticism and writing from a feminist perspective. A natural outgrowth of Eve Muson’s practice as a stage director, dramaturg, and producer, it provides another platform from which to express her deep commitment to theatre work by women who don’t necessarily receive the critical attention they deserve. It is a space to locate a production within a context—its relationship to other productions and plays, theatre history and feminist criticism, trends in our region, and the present moment.
In the rapidly-changing landscape of theatre criticism, we are interested in exploring the ways in which artists, critics, and patrons might form a robust dialogue—exchanging and building on argument that together move the art form forward. As Lyn Gardener, principal critic of The Guardian wrote about the structural changes in criticism, “...the conversation begins with the review, it doesn’t end it, our word is no longer the last word.” Even though the modes of expression are different, the goals of the professional theatre-maker and theatre-spectator are not all that dissimilar; the responsible artist and critic are both passionate specialists who dedicate their experience and knowledge to make the theatre an exciting, vital place to spend one’s time.
We are guided by Jill S. Dolan’s notion of “critical generosity,” a practice she employs in her brilliant theatre blog, The Feminist Spectator. Dr. Dolan has two, simple criteria for choosing which productions to cover: she attends only the performances that speak to her political and ideological mission, and writes about only those she likes. Her working theory is that she can think deeply and analytically about a play she admires; in fact, the analysis deepens the pleasure of the experience. As an artist-critic embedded in her community, the practice of critical generosity is crucial for trust, collegiality, and deepening dialogue for Eve Muson. Nevertheless, she does not ask for complementary press seats, even from theatres with which she is loosely affiliated, and aims to write about productions that intrigue, unsettle or delight her, on her own schedule.
It’s an unusually exciting time for theatre, and theatre women, in the D.C./Baltimore region. Within the next two seasons, four long-time artistic directors of major theatres will retire—at Baltimore Center Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth—making way for a new generation of artist-producers. These individuals will no doubt bring fresh approaches and energize a theatre community already rich in talent and committed to new works by underrepresented voices. The bi-annual D.C. Women’s Voices Theatre Festival takes pride of place in the national effort to promote gender parity. There will be a lot of theatre to see, a lot of theatre to think and write about. We will be in the thick of it, watching as hard as we can.
In the rapidly-changing landscape of theatre criticism, we are interested in exploring the ways in which artists, critics, and patrons might form a robust dialogue—exchanging and building on argument that together move the art form forward. As Lyn Gardener, principal critic of The Guardian wrote about the structural changes in criticism, “...the conversation begins with the review, it doesn’t end it, our word is no longer the last word.” Even though the modes of expression are different, the goals of the professional theatre-maker and theatre-spectator are not all that dissimilar; the responsible artist and critic are both passionate specialists who dedicate their experience and knowledge to make the theatre an exciting, vital place to spend one’s time.
We are guided by Jill S. Dolan’s notion of “critical generosity,” a practice she employs in her brilliant theatre blog, The Feminist Spectator. Dr. Dolan has two, simple criteria for choosing which productions to cover: she attends only the performances that speak to her political and ideological mission, and writes about only those she likes. Her working theory is that she can think deeply and analytically about a play she admires; in fact, the analysis deepens the pleasure of the experience. As an artist-critic embedded in her community, the practice of critical generosity is crucial for trust, collegiality, and deepening dialogue for Eve Muson. Nevertheless, she does not ask for complementary press seats, even from theatres with which she is loosely affiliated, and aims to write about productions that intrigue, unsettle or delight her, on her own schedule.
It’s an unusually exciting time for theatre, and theatre women, in the D.C./Baltimore region. Within the next two seasons, four long-time artistic directors of major theatres will retire—at Baltimore Center Stage, Shakespeare Theatre, Studio Theatre, and Woolly Mammoth—making way for a new generation of artist-producers. These individuals will no doubt bring fresh approaches and energize a theatre community already rich in talent and committed to new works by underrepresented voices. The bi-annual D.C. Women’s Voices Theatre Festival takes pride of place in the national effort to promote gender parity. There will be a lot of theatre to see, a lot of theatre to think and write about. We will be in the thick of it, watching as hard as we can.
About Eve Muson
Eve Muson is an Associate Professor of Theatre and the Head of the B.F.A. Acting program at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and a director in the Baltimore/DC area. She is the principal director for Grrl Parts, UMBC’s festival of new plays by women. For this annual project, Eve has directed commissioned works by Sheila Callaghan, Tanya Saracho, Lucy Thurber, Ellen McLaughlin, and Timberlake Wertenbaker. She has directed dozens of university productions including Leah’s Dybbuk, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Gum, Las Meninas, The Cripple of Inishmaan, Arcadia, Slavs!, and many new plays and devised works. She has been twice cited for Outstanding Direction by the Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival for her work on Un Tango En La Noche (Boston University) and Las Meninas (UMBC). Directing credits include Kerrmoor (Interrobang & Strand Theater, FringeNYC), Inexcusable Fantasies (Strand Theater, Prague Festival Fringe, FringeNYC), Speech & Debate and Las Meninas (RepStage), Venus, Big River, and Peter Pan (Olney Theatre Center), and many productions at Boston Playwrights Theatre, WordBRIDGE Playwrights Laboratory, American Stage Festival, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe. www.evemuson.com