Ethnographic encounters and local musical theatre in the United States | Intellect Skip to content
1981
Volume 14, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 1750-3159
  • E-ISSN: 1750-3167

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on some of the research and writing choices I made while engaged in ethnographic research for . I consider several challenges, including how to navigate my role and point of view as an empathetic insider or advocating outsider of local musical theatre; how to conceptualize the project’s scope and scale; how to articulate the strengths and weaknesses of a multi-site, limited-view project; how to manage relationships with corporations that challenged my politics; and how to deal with revisions, which I invited, requested by people I interviewed and observed. I also discuss how I understood non-professional theatre-makers’ disavowal of the label ‘amateur’ and came to appreciate the untenable distinction between ‘amateur’ and ‘professional’.

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2020-04-01
2024-04-28
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