Imagine you are the publicist for a theatre company with a production due to open in Sydney. The playwright happens to be happy and available to give the media an interview to assist you in publicising the show.
That playwright happens to be Mark Ravenhill - someone who you may very well not rate - but still, he is one of the most influential playwrights and arts writers currently engaged within the international theatre scene.
And not a single newspaper is interested in interviewing the man. Not the Sun Herald, not the Sydney Morning Herald, no one. And he'll even do a photo shoot if you want.
What do you do as the publicist? How do you generate articles in the local media when you have journalists and arts editors more interested in either copy and pasting second hand articles printed in The Guardian, the UK's Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Times or writing about the latest non-event personality clash in an arts institution?
Are these editors and journalists ignoring the interview opportunities because you happen to be producing the show in an independent theatre? Would this same response be afforded to the mainstream?
This is quite an amazing situation which happened this week.
I'll put my hand up and interview him if no one else will.
12 comments:
Had Ravenhill all locked in for interview for the Sun-Helium and then the editor pulled the piece. Irksome to say the least.
JB
I thought it might have been something like that. Consistent with other recent decisions.
Lovely.
With editors like Tim Blair who think the only reason to write about the arts is to bash them and whip up red-neck frenzy against any government funding - are we surprised? By the way I read that Max Staford Clark is in town--since he was, I believe, the original director of "Shopping and Fucking", why not interview him ABOUT Ravenhill?
!!!
I think the blogs should pick up the slack. Go for it Nicholas!
That's STAFFORD Clark and he's in rehearsals at STC so you should find him if you lurk around Hickson Road...
write it up as a freelance feature interview yourself and sell it to a weekend mag supplement. this admittedly dodgy method also involved you getting paid.
I have to admit to being slightly bemused as to why you wouldn't interview him yourself anyway.
You are an Arts Journalist, aren't you? And the title of this blog is Sydney Arts Journo, isn't it?
Whose permission are you waiting for?
Yes SAJ, why don't you?
I appreciate that the said theatre might want more mainstream coverage, but they should understand better than anyone the politics at play and (as you have so well put) the finances of the media.
I'm glad someone has finally called a spade a spade on this one.
Thanks anonymous and Geoffrey - but I have a funny feeling the 'said theatre' doesn't want me to do the interview.
Well starved as they appear to be for coverage, it's amazing that they think they have a choice!
What's that old saying about "Any publicity ..."? Besides, a man like Stafford-Clark could be pitched in a hundred different ways to lots of different outlets.
How odd that a venue so apparently modish and cool should be so Victorian (as in the era, not the state) with regards to their publicity haul.
It appears they just got a whole lot more publicity thanks to you Nicholas.
Best publicity I've seen for ages quite frankly.
http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com/2008/08/archival-adventures.html
No no - the recent Opera Australia takes the cake.
Post a Comment