It's also a handy tool when talking to possible donors. Both in terms of pointing out the trust and regard that artists have in you (in that they are willing to work for you for less) and in terms of showing that you are being responsible financially but that you still need to grow resources to be fair to the artists. Really smart idea. Thank you.

David, Thank you for this. As disappointing as I'm sure it is for you and the team, there's something really refreshing in the idea that Arena is simply too close to the cream of the crop in new play development to choose between them. Thank you and the Art Dev folks for all the work you've done around #newplay and the Outrageous Fortune tour and in jumpstarting this conversation in general. It matters.

So just to clarify: there will still be self-respect and there will NOT be cupcake photos? No cupcakes not cupcakes. Quid pro quo Clarice. Quis pro Quo.

So a new play is a new play until the fontanelles close?

I'll agree that major part of the problem is reporting. heck even LA keeps complaining that everyone keeps saying that their theatre scene is dead... but no one is writing about what's going on beneath the surface there. We have no access to it. Prior to my discovery of the theatrosphere I had no idea of the size and scope of the Chicago Storefronts or the indie scne backing up Canada's Fringe facade. Kirk Lynn is up there in your sidebar with a premiere at the Speakeasy, and most folks have no idea that his company just presented a Schechner tested Schechner approved recreation of Dionysus in 69 here in Austin that was pilgrimmage-level good. It should be talked about the way people are talking about Sleep No More. But how do we get that reportage? This niche of the arts world isn't big enough to support a comprehensive truly national magazine. American Theatre doe s agood job with their budgetary/staff constraints... but there's only so much you can cover. So do we leave it to self-reporting and the blogs? The Rude Mech's should be famous. Banana Bag and Bodice should be famous. Marc Jackson and ArtStreet should be famous. Z Space and the Exit should be tourism draws (not FIGHTING to get locals in). The Storefronts should be tourism draws. How do we Certify to the public that these places aren't just good, but Important? And to state the unstated, all truly local and locally focus places and people.

Ken, I don't disagree that the right stars can be very good for Broadway. But given the surfeit of riches that A Steady Rain has I don't understand the logical leap that those 100 new attendees are now theatregoers. They are event goers certainly. But how likely are they to even see Gods of Carnage? Never mind Fela! or something in their neighborhood. I just don't see the trickle down.

Andrew: The streotypes also explicit raise the authenticity strawman. The idea that my mediocre show is somehow more Authentic than Dreamgirls at a 900 seater because I spent no money on it and you've not yet heard of any of my performers. No matter what goes on in a big "commercial space" the punk rock kids on the mean streets assume that polish and precision mean no heart - mainly because it's not to their taste... And we live in a post-taste America now that Don Hall has enjoyed Xanadu. But how do we stop having this argument when so much of indie theatre identity is built into the underdog mentality, which requires an over dog...