Monday, February 02, 2004

Phake Phunk

Spinal Tap, eat your heart out.

Role of the NEA?

I applaud the resurrection of the NEA, and I think "enlightened, life-affirming art" deserves to be seen by as many people as possible, but do we need government funding to focus on that old chestnut William Shakespeare? I may be living in a vacuum, but I don't think our far-flung communities are as starved for Shakespeare as they are for Miller and O'Neill, not to mention brilliant new plays like Copenhagen or Side Man. (Neither of which features urine or chocolate, although Side Man has flying macaroni and a lot of salty language.)

Also, where's the funding for new playwrights? All this cultural conservation is a noble activity, but I'm worried we won't have any new culture to conserve.

Yup, it's Monday, and I'm grumpy.