A Blogs I Follow Blog

Since I started this blog back in August, I have had the opportunity to visit many blogs and talk to make bloggers.  Naturally, I gravitate toward blogs about theatre.  I love to see what others do with their sites.  Some are fan sites, focusing on one or two shows or stars.  Others are personal experiences blogs with minute by minute accounts of trips to theatres all over the country.  Mostly, though, I love to read what other people think about theatre.  Opinions on everything abound, and at all ends of the spectrum.  I have a lot of respect for folks who voice their empassioned feelings and back it up with facts and examples.  (I have spent exactly 15 minutes - including trying to click off the damned site - on All That Chat, which I find attracts the lowest common denominator of people who take delight in misfortune and creating witty barbs that sting on a personal level.)

If you look over to the right and scroll down, you'll see a section called "Blogs I Follow," which is standard for this format.  There you will see a list of exactly five.  They represent hours of looking at other blogs.  I am pretty choosy.  Some write, like I do, every day.  Others write several times a week, and one writes when the mood hits.  Today, I am going to talk about two of these sites - Producer's Perspective and Gratuitous Violins.

In fact, let me start the first half by thanking the blogger of Gratuitous Violins, Esther (a fellow Northeasterner!), who does a column like this very one, where she recommends other sites to look at.  A couple of weeks ago she featured JKs TheatreScene.  Thanks for letting me borrow your idea!  If you follow comments that are left after some articles on here, you'll note that Esther is a frequent contributor.  She really knows her theatre stuff, probably due to the fact that she attends A LOT of theatre.  I am envious!  But she is also a very generous blogger, sharing ideas and tips with me that have really improved my blogs, this site and its exposure!  Thanks to her, I know how to "link", have a great new visitor counter, and some really nice responses to my ideas.

When you go to her site, though, theatre is not always the topic.  No, she covers it all, as her whim, news events and society takes her.  What I love about her stuff is that it is so well researched - she must read 24 hours a day - citing everything from yours truly to The New York Times to The Denver Post.  Her opinions are so clearly stated and backed up, you can't help but appreciate her point, whether you agree with her or not!  And like her witty blog title, you can count on a great sense of humor and a healthy dose of smarts.  And when you can count Valerie Harper among your followers, you gotta be doing something right!

Please take the time to visit her blog.  Click here to get there fast!

The second blog I follow is The Producer's Perspective, a daily report from Ken Davenport, producer of such shows as Oleanna, Altar Boyz, My First Time, The Awesome 80's Prom, and the forthcoming Broadway revival of A Few Good Men.

There is nothing like Broadway talk from someone who actually is involved on Broadway (and off).  He knows what he is talking about because he has been there, done that, has the battle scars to back it up.  And he talks about a wide range of topics : why some shows fail while others succeed, trends in production, trends in sales and ticketing, how the box office trends weekly, other theatre professionals, and much more.

Perhaps the best thing about the blog, aside from the wealth of information he provides, is the sense that he wants to share his knowledge and help future professionals get there, to share his love for the art of theatre, and to share what he knows so that others can profit from his experiences.  And he is the first to take himself to task, while being a true gentlemen with regard to others.  (He never names names unless it is a positive thing, or in the rare case that it isn't, only after the name has made headlines.)

His site is user friendly, and his blogs are certainly time-friendly.  Each one is short, to the point and easily read in five minutes or less.

Click here to get there fast.

And so there you have it, two of the blogs I follow.  If you like them, be sure to add them to your followers list!  And when you visit, please tell them Jeff sent you!

Comments? Leave one here or email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com.
Jeff