In the Round: On Criticism with Carly Maga, Steve Fisher, and Lynn Slotkin
iPhoto caption: In the Round: On Criticism. Photo by Dahlia Katz
There’s something really interesting about how closely theatre criticism seems to reflect theatre-making. There are indie reviewers who some people think are useful and others are totally frustrated by. Critics can barely make a living doing what they do. There’s a diversity problem in the field. There’s a real question about what criticism is worth to the city of Toronto.
We brought together three Toronto theatre critics to dive into these issues.
Carly Maga
Carly Maga studied journalism at Ryerson, and theatre and performance at York. She has been covering Toronto theatre since 2010, and previously wrote theatre criticism for Torontoist. She’s currently a critic for the Toronto Star.
Steve Fisher
Steve Fisher is an arts and entertainment critic who writes about theatre for Torontoist. His writing has also appeared in Post City, NOW Magazine, The A.V. Club, and CBC Music, among others. In 2016, he won a Nathan Cohen Award for Excellence in Critical Writing.
Lynn Slotkin
Lynn Slotkin is a theatre critic who runs her own website and newsletter, The Slotkin Letter. She’s also the theatre correspondent for CIUT’s Friday morning arts and politics show. Her work has previously appeared in The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Performance Magazine, How Theatre Educations, and the Hollywood Reporter, as well as on CBC and TV Ontario.
On Independent Reviewers
Steve and Carly think people who review theatre on their own blogs generally help the city’s arts ecology. Lynn disagrees completely: “There’s no place for mediocrity.”
On Working for Free
Toronto only has one full-time salaried theatre critic. How much are we willing to pay for theatre criticism, and what will that do to the community?
On Diversity
There is unanimous agreement that more needs to be done about diversity in theatre criticism in Toronto. Do they feel they have the responsibility to help change that, and what can be done?
On the Toronto Theatre Scene
What does theatre have going for it, and how it can be better? Steve, Carly, and Lynn challenge each other with thoughts on whether or not theatre should be more event-like.
Interested in more from theatre critics? Carly Maga penned this piece on why she chose to be a theatre reviewer.
Philip Riccio
Philip is co-artistic director of The Company Theatre. He's mostly an actor, director, and producer, but once in a while he's also a curmudgeonly but loveable softball coach leading a ragtag group of adult misfits to rec-league mediocrity.
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Jill Harper
Jill is a Toronto-based theatre director with a film degree. She is the co-founder of Cue6 Theatre. She directs lots of indie shows, both for Cue6 and for other companies around town, but she still manages to find enough film work to subsidize her love of eating on a regular basis.
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Dahlia Katz
Dahlia Katz is a professional photographer who specializes in portraits, promotion, lifestyle, events, weddings, and the performing arts. She is also a director, dramaturg, and puppeteer.
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