Renaissance
I looked up Renaissance on Dictionary.com (they use my favorite dictionary, by the way, The American Heritage dictionary, and yes I know it is really anal that I have a favorite dictionary! My favorite line from any television show: Bree (on Desperate Housewives) "Don't mistake my anal-retentiveness for affection.")
Renaissance: A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor.
In order for Fresno to be going through a Renaissance, we would first have to have had at one time a period of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor. I'm being careful about the wording because it's like the spiritual revivals that the charismatic missionaries talk about. Tell me how China could be having a revival??? China has never been a Christian nation, how can they have a revival. Note the "re" as in, "again." I find it very irritating when people get lazy about semantics. Then there is my real pet peeve, rehearsal/practice and audition/tryout. People, yes mostly in athletically dominated areas, tend to use these terms interchangeably. I will once again refer to dictionary.com. (my anal retentiveness requires that I admit that I am choosing the definition that best supports my argument.)
Rehearsal:
The process of repeating information, such as a name or a list of words, in order to remember it.
Practice:
To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill.
Audition:
A trial performance, to demonstrate suitability or skill.
Tryout:
A test to ascertain the qualifications of applicants.
Here my favorite dictionary deserts me, it lists Audition as a synonym! But look at the definition. When one has sides that one is reading, is that not a "trial performance"? It isn't a test. Maybe I am being too picky, but I just don't like using football terms for theater. Besides, a tryout is what a Play does before it goes to Broadway. Not what an actor does for a director.
Or is it that we're just lazy. When I was in college, it annoyed me to have a professor that wasn't a PhD because then I had to say "Professor Schmoe" instead of "Doctor Schmoe" and Doctor is much easier to say than Professor. Just like Practice is much easier to say than Rehearsal, and Tryout is much easier to say than Audition.
In the same vein, it is much easier to tear down a building and start over with a really cheap version than to restore the old one. Witness "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" there is no way that they could do what they do in 7 days if they were restoring. They knock the old house down and put up a pre-fab home that goes together like tinkertoys or an erector set or legos, whichever works best in the point I'm trying to make.
I guess that this is the point I am trying to make by using the term Renaissance. It implies a restoration, an acceptance of heritage, a revival. I commend everyone, including myself, who wants to bring more art and culture to Fresno and its metropolitan area, but I see little value in reinventing the wheel all over again. We can't move forward without acknowledging where we came from. As a director, my first question to an actor entering the stage is usually, "Where did you come from?" As a participant in this Renaissance I can proudly answer, "Fresno!"
Renaissance: A revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor.
In order for Fresno to be going through a Renaissance, we would first have to have had at one time a period of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor. I'm being careful about the wording because it's like the spiritual revivals that the charismatic missionaries talk about. Tell me how China could be having a revival??? China has never been a Christian nation, how can they have a revival. Note the "re" as in, "again." I find it very irritating when people get lazy about semantics. Then there is my real pet peeve, rehearsal/practice and audition/tryout. People, yes mostly in athletically dominated areas, tend to use these terms interchangeably. I will once again refer to dictionary.com. (my anal retentiveness requires that I admit that I am choosing the definition that best supports my argument.)
Rehearsal:
The process of repeating information, such as a name or a list of words, in order to remember it.
Practice:
To do something repeatedly in order to acquire or polish a skill.
Audition:
A trial performance, to demonstrate suitability or skill.
Tryout:
A test to ascertain the qualifications of applicants.
Here my favorite dictionary deserts me, it lists Audition as a synonym! But look at the definition. When one has sides that one is reading, is that not a "trial performance"? It isn't a test. Maybe I am being too picky, but I just don't like using football terms for theater. Besides, a tryout is what a Play does before it goes to Broadway. Not what an actor does for a director.
Or is it that we're just lazy. When I was in college, it annoyed me to have a professor that wasn't a PhD because then I had to say "Professor Schmoe" instead of "Doctor Schmoe" and Doctor is much easier to say than Professor. Just like Practice is much easier to say than Rehearsal, and Tryout is much easier to say than Audition.
In the same vein, it is much easier to tear down a building and start over with a really cheap version than to restore the old one. Witness "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" there is no way that they could do what they do in 7 days if they were restoring. They knock the old house down and put up a pre-fab home that goes together like tinkertoys or an erector set or legos, whichever works best in the point I'm trying to make.
I guess that this is the point I am trying to make by using the term Renaissance. It implies a restoration, an acceptance of heritage, a revival. I commend everyone, including myself, who wants to bring more art and culture to Fresno and its metropolitan area, but I see little value in reinventing the wheel all over again. We can't move forward without acknowledging where we came from. As a director, my first question to an actor entering the stage is usually, "Where did you come from?" As a participant in this Renaissance I can proudly answer, "Fresno!"
posted by Christien at 3:37 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home