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Ethnographic encounters and local musical theatre in the United States
- Source: Studies in Musical Theatre, Volume 14, Issue 1, Apr 2020, p. 11 - 22
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- 23 Apr 2019
- 28 Jan 2020
- 01 Apr 2020
Abstract
In this article, I reflect on some of the research and writing choices I made while engaged in ethnographic research for Beyond Broadway: The Pleasure and Promise of Musical Theatre Across America. 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’.