And…scene!

The three of you who regularly visit this slice of cyberspace know that activity here has slowed to a crawl recently. Part of this has been the result the mad busyness that happens around the RTCC awards. But another big part has been the dawning realization for me that it’s time to put my energy elsewhere.

With this blog, I was hoping to provide entrée into Richmond’s theatrical world to the public at large while also being interesting to insiders within “the community.” I think that would have required either more entertaining and engaging writing by me or the backing of some other media outlet. The latter is unlikely to appear given the current media market and the former is unlikely to materialize given my inability to devote any serious time to this endeavor (or perhaps my lack of greater talent!). Fortunately, there are all sorts of social media out there now that can do this better than I ever could, plus a new player on the scene (Show Biz Radio) that might be able to do some of the things I aspired to.

I also hoped to spur conversation about theater in Richmond and the issues involved. What seems clear to me now is conversation like that is better spurred within the community. It seems like theater insiders prefer to talk to other insiders and that, even though I’ve straddled the inside/outside line for years, most still consider me an outsider looking in. While I frankly think this is insular, I also understand it. Fortunately, my perception is that conversation within the community is at an all-time high, led by people like Adrian Rieder (on Facebook) and the folks at TheatreLAB (with their “experiment.”) This kind of self-analysis is critical, I think, for Richmond theater to reach the potential I have always thought it could achieve.

Rather than limp along sporadically, I’m officially closing up shop here at Dave’s Theater Blog. I’ll probably maintain the show listings and such, just for grins, and won’t delete the site because there are some interesting points of reference within it. But I won’t be adding much of anything new going forward.

I’ve also started the conversation with other RTCC members about how the “Artsies” might morph and change in the future. I appreciate the feedback I’ve received from people who are supporters of the concept of the Artsies and have also provided useful suggestions for improvements. I’d love for the Artsies to transition some day to a community-led event but, until that day comes, we critics will plug along as best we can.

Thanks to those of you who checked in here regularly (or even occasionally) and have participated with your comments. It’s been a fun sidelight to the main attraction: the exciting and ever-changing world of Richmond-area theater. See you at a show sometime!