It is a necessary institution that needs support if the future of new work is to be assured in New Orleans. The last few years have seen the growth of company-generated original pieces, but little in regards to the work of singular playwrights. Part of the problem has been the significant lack of infrastructure for the creation of new work. In its cleanest form, the process is rather simple: a play is written, a basic reading follows, the creation is given a number of workshops, and, hopefully, this work results in a full production. It comes with the caveat that the writer must keep rewriting as the process moves forward, honing and refining. Throughout it all, the playwright must maintain a delicate balance between listening to his or her collaborators and audiences while making tough decisions on their own.

As you can see, the loneliness of writing is only the first step for the theatrical author. The rest takes an army. The process might be simple, but the elements necessary for each step are not. This process rarely happens in the aforementioned seamless order anywhere, however in New Orleans that progress is near to non-existent. Too often, plays die after first readings, or they go from zero-to-sixty and fail as full productions before the necessary work has been completed. There is nothing in between. This is the importance of Bacchanal as an institution: it provides a conduit for work to make its way in a more orderly fashion from the page to the stage.

Almost as important, it fosters a conversation between theatrical artists both inside and outside the city to discuss the trends in the development of new work. Furthermore, it exposes New Orleans’ writers to outside work and gives them a better sense of what is being produced across the country. In a city that is too often insulated from the national zeitgeists or influences, the program put forward by The Bacchanal provides a rare opportunity to understand what the theatrical world offers between a St. Claude black box and Broadway. Just as the Fringe exposes local artists to the rigor of work like ticktock’s Domestic Variations, Bacchanal gives artists a chance to meet promising writers like Susan Soon He Stanton and upcoming directors such as Lydia Fort. It is a chance to check in on the state of the art and exchange the ideas you have with not only colleagues but also theatrical enthusiasts from all over the community.

With that in mind, I want to give three tips for enjoying all the offerings. It involves adjusting the way you look at theatre a bit, but following these suggestions will allow you to engage your critical apparatus in the best way.

1. Ignore production and acting quality. I know this seems counter to everything you know about theatre, but you are going to have to do this. And I mean that in both extremes. Not only should you not let a distracting approach wreck your enjoyment of a strong play, but you should also avoid being swept away by a good actor powering through the sins of a thin text. Given the quality of the people involved this week, the latter is more of a possibility than the former. Focus on the play being read. You should try to determine if the words are advancing the action and developing character. Cool specials, terrific line readings, and hysterical takes might enhance your enjoyment of the evening, but if they do nothing to illuminate the text, they are to be viewed as a performer or director engaging in a cover-up.
2. Continue to ask yourself, “What is this play trying to accomplish?” Do not look at the play through the lens of what you would have done. Instead, try to figure out what the plays objectives are. You might want an alien invasion to electrify a play’s second act, but that might not be the best solution for the three-act kitchen sink drama with conflict issues. Instead, you need to realize that your urge for a Martian arrival stems from a lack of action in the latter stages of the work. In other words, you are engaged in trying to figure out if the play succeeds on its own terms.
3. Never forget you are witnessing process. I do not mean to sound up-with-people, but along with asking if the play works on its own terms, you also need to see its potential. Are you watching a play in the stages of its becoming something more, or is it, in fact, hopelessly lost in a lack of plot or characterization? This is why figuring out the play’s mission is so crucial, because once you do, it allows you to fully participate in critical analysis. Ultimately the most useful critics of new work ask questions instead of offering suggestions. If you crack the case of an original work, you will then be able to ask the relevant questions towards helping its creators figure out why their objectives are not being reached.

Jim Fitzmorris will be tweeting the Bacchanal all week. Follow his tweets at @shcktheatre. Fitzmorris will also blog about the Bacchanal at NOPPP.