LETTERS: SUPPORT ARTISTIC EFFORTS

To the editor:

This letter is in response to the item in Speak Out regarding Notre Dame's musical and the newspaper article on which it focused.

Before I continue, I want to commend Sam Blackwell on his article concerning Notre Dame's musical and all the other articles on area shows he has highlighted so creatively and insightfully. Too often these articles become dubbed "reviews," as if there is someone else who can determine my tastes in appreciating art.

Theater requires such an enormous compilation of resources and talent that it is often not understood by those who have never before participated. In addition to the obvious talents of the performers on stage, theater encompasses the life skills of construction, electrical work, sewing and mending and publicity, among a myriad of other things. Anyone who thinks theater sets are simply cardboard and paint can stop by the university theater shop on any work day to witness the labor occurring. What we as audience members see on the night of the performance is the result of weeks of real-life work by the students and their adult helpers of our communities. Theater produces the culmination of the talents and energy of a wide variety of people.

I have been involved in theatrical productions which were "reviewed" by a number of people. Among those reviewers are Mr. Blackwell and the talented Judith Crow. Mr. Blackwell and Ms. Crow have had the daunting task of viewing the dress rehearsals (which, by the way, lack one of the elements of a production: the audience) and overlooking the flubs and foibles of the case and crew to give the community something exciting about which to read concerning that particular production.

Therefore, I must ask the person who disliked Mr. Blackwell's article to please take some of these other factors into consideration. Obviously, I agree that the theatrical production cannot depend on one person, and I am certain Mr. Blackwell did not intend that in his meaning when writing his article.

I was fortunate enough to have helped out with this particular production, and I can say unequivocally that the students of both cast and crew are a wonderful, hard-working bunch of young people. As an alumna of both Notre Dame and Southeast Missouri State University, I can confidently state that I am proud of all the productions with which I have been involved. Certainly all students want to be recognized for a job well done, and they should be. However, let us not fault Mr. Blackwell and others like him who try to share with the community the art of the schools. How many times are individual achievements mentioned in athletic articles? For that matter, how often are the efforts of sports teams "reviewed?" The arts and athletics are just a few of the numerous involvements of our city's young people and can share being highlighted in the media.

So, please, let us not criticize but encourage our newspaper to support our community's artistic endeavors. Let us try to produce and support the arts in Cape Girardeau so that some day in the daily paper there will be a section, maybe even near the sport section, labeled Arts.

KARA CRACRAFT

Cape Girardeau