Campus theater critic rethinks his mumbling and grumbling

If you didn't read my most recent column, I spent most of it griping about the preponderance of mediocre theater (and mediocre art) on Princeton's campus.

Obviously, this is just the opinion of one person; beauty—or, rather, the quality of art—as subjectively defined as it is, truly is in the eye of the beholder. It is up to each of us to decide for ourselves what constitutes "good" art and what constitutes "bad" art. There is no real reason for me (or anyone else) to impose a grand-scale formula for separating the wheat from the chaff.

After weeks of grumbling about the state of the arts on campus, I would like to use this week's column to work toward a more unequivocally positive end. As usual, I'll begin this week's argument with an anecdote.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to see "Spettacolo" (or is it "Spettacolo Italiano?") at 185 Nassau Street, and I was absolutely, 100 percent impressed. I had read a few reviews of the production, all of which came courtesy of other student critics, which had praised some of the show's aspects and panned others. Going into the experience with this mindset, I wasn't sure what to expect from the production.

What I saw in the Matthews Acting Studio that night made me remember what got me interested in the theater in the first place. "Spettacolo" had been entirely student-organized: it was written, developed, directed, designed, produced and acted by students. The members of the company had made this piece of theater from nothing and using nothing but their own bare hands and some technical support from the school.

And isn't that a thing of beauty? Isn't that something to be proud of?

In criticizing the student arts scene on campus, it strikes me that we (myself, especially) often forget the sheer devotion and passion present in so many student artists. Princeton is the kind of place where people throw themselves headlong into projects like "Spettacolo" all the time. Yet somehow, we fail to recognize just how impressive these accomplishments are because we see them so often.

The Program in Theater has sponsored two other student-conceived productions this semester, David Brundige '04's "Pig Tails" and Khalil Sullivan '04's "Playing in the Dark" (which opens this weekend at the Berlind). These are student playwrights – that is, playwrights who are also students and who are trying to write, direct and produce full-scale theater pieces while they also try to write their theses like every other senior. For this reason (among others), I find myself continually amazed at the work they manage to turn out. This is not to even mention the other student artists on campus, whether they be directors, actors, photographers, sculptors or painters.

In all honesty, pursuing the arts as an undergraduate at Princeton University can be a very difficult thing to do without sacrificing one's academic standing. The fact that there is such a preponderance of theater on campus (regardless of whether it is "good" or "bad") is truly a credit to the commitment and curiosity of the theater community and its members.

Student artists (and especially you theater-makers), I applaud you. Take a bow.