Workshops and their flaws

I realise that the workshop process is basically sacrosanct in theatre and creative writing, not to mention art music, but I think it's an unnecessarily confrontational method.

If the goal is to prioritise the creative expression of a writer, there are better methods. For example, I read my scripts/songs out loud, listen to my tapes, and then I seek feedback from my friends and allies. I don't need to seek feedback from my enemies, as they provide it regardless. Think of those readings as a public consultation process. -

Unfortunately, there are always hierarchies, and these get particularly catty and pathetic when dealing with people that are taught to view life as power/status relationships, which is part of actor training. When we participated in the Sandpit Workshops in Wellington, virtually all the writers kept on bitching that the actors preferred the scripts that gave them OTT business or dialogue, and shat on the ones where they had small roles. It was so cloistered. Instead of clapping, people snapped their fingers. Pazzi! - While I see the career value of performance workshops for young musicians, masterclasses are way more important, and usually less intense. Seen far too many people become emotionally damaged thanks to crippling stress or anxiety brought on by harsh, and often deeply personal, criticism from their peers. Though it was briefly an Olympic sport, music isn't supposed to be competitive. Bear in mind that I'm saying this as a well-respected performer that studied acting. Sam Neill said in a recent interview that he doesn't like the way that drama schools break actors down, then build them up again. I feel similarly about music schools. Like, not everyone survives that dismantling, and it's debatable whether it's necessary. Most students aren't world-class virtuosi, and that's the failing of the conservatory method: treating them as if they could be, or spitting on them to make the worthy ones feel better. - My best scripts were written sans workshops, yet people are too chicken to actually give those songs or stories a go. They feel left out because 'the group' didn't get to give notes. So, instead of taking the note that the Press Hui was 'too far', I built my AI mannequins and voiced all the characters. Those skits were great, though I'm unlikely to do more. - Phillip is the only person to date who had a listen to the Shipwrecked reading and gave some notes, but he said that he couldn't tell what was going on with me reading all the lines myself. Took acid and had a listen: thought it had the right bones, but it's a mess plot-wise. - 'The group' are a bunch of people that called me a perverted fetishist, so forgive me if their attitudes and opinions are permanently unwelcome. They also called me a sociopath, insinuated that I was attracted to minors, and have repeatedly accused me of deliberately exposing my penis at public events, despite the Police seeming completely uninterested. The only reason that I was investigated was my political views and my crush on Chloe. My gender identity and expression wasn't a topic of open discussion with the powers-that-be, except for the Omelette accusing me of flashing him, which wasn't really an 'open' discussion .. Luxon has never spoken to me, which is strange for a man that apparently spends so much of his time bitching about me. bulge = dick behind clothes. That's perfectly legal. indecent exposure = intent to flash, so accidents don't count. I might add that my understanding is that the law takes a dim view of people that ascribe intent to an action without bothering to ascertain whether that was the true intent. - That's unforgiveable imo. Plus it's kinda rude to Eilish and Lucinda to say that you saw me in public with them, and thought they were children cos they're short with small tits. That's not evidence-based thinking. Could've always asked instead of presuming guilt: 'trans people are paedos' is a classic anti-rainbow slur, so maybe this suggests that the horseshoe effect is indeed real, or that economically progressive people might still have class, race and gender-based prejudices. Plus, to be rude, my music isn't 4/4 pop (at least, not the new score) and much of their attitude is just jealousy: well, as you can see, all that esoteric knowledge about music came at a rather high price. I envy their stable middle-class lives, even though I realise that it would bore the shit out of me to actually live that way. I wouldn't say I care about ideas more than people, but it's 50-50.