Vote for Comment of the Week

Here are this week's contenders:

Comment #1: a new comment on your post "Religious protests greet Broadway play's first per...":

Well isn't this just a great story to read on my Monday afternoon. Having some more Christians revolting and protesting, some production that is portraying Mary in some "new" light. WHOOAA! First I really enjoy the fact that the group protesting says they are In "Defense of Tradition, Family and Property". Family and Property, wait WHAT!! Family I can totally get behind Tradition I can not. Did this Christian's read the gospels, because I have, (side note I am not a scholar, but I do feel like I pay attention to the words on the pages). TRADITION, is what got the Jews in trouble in the first place, the pharisee and saducees were so caught up in legalism they totally missed the point of the Jesus. Nicodemis (a pharisee, I beilieve) is the probably the only pharisee to truly seek out with Jesus said. But if you read the bible, TRADITION like the "FOUNDING FATHERS"" HA. How about Thomas Jefferson, who cut sections of the BIBLE out that he did not like. Are you trying to protect that guy. Sure go for it but I will not be standing in that line. Ok moving forward.

They want to protest, Fine Great!!! Do IT!

But I just want to always say, if you just go home and show LOVE truly the best our sinful, depraved selfs can then that will be a bigger impact then protesting. But yet again I am not a big supporter of the Christian founding fathers so what do I know.

Ok so the point about the playwright and direction being homosexual. Umm let me think. So in God's eyes "we all have fallen short of the glory of God". So your telling me two sinners (just like everyone else) is directing a play, about a woman who is truly not that important in the scheme of Salvation. Salvation comes through one name and it is not Mary.

So I decided not to yammer about property. 

Comment #2: a new comment on your post "Regional Companies Battle Tough Times With New Fun...":

I'm sure I gathered the groundbreaking new fundraising methods being implemented by regional theaters. The efforts and changes that theaters are taking to their approaches to fundraising are no where near as drastic as they need to be in order to theater to survive in the changing climate. The donors that companies have relied on for so many years are drying up. The committed donor no longer exists.

I was discussing arts funding with a friend of mine, and she disclosed that the internet fundraiser Kickstarter contributes twice the amount of funding to the arts than the NEA. People are looking for one-time donations. No one wants to be committed to anything anymore. Kickstarter monopolizes on the ability of the donor to pick, choose and evaluate direct projects. It's not just someone donating money to an organization. Those who receive funding must clearly layout the process and the product they will create. Also, the donor gets more than the satisfaction, they receive gifts based on the level of donation - not just their name on a plaque.

Large organizational donations are still crucial for non-profits, but if they want to change their tactics with individuals, then take a look at some new guerrilla fundraising techniques. Consumers aren't interested in being a life-time donor. They want to shop around and participate a little in a lot of projects. 

Comment #3: a new comment on your post "Review: 'Book of Mormon' lives up to the hype in P...":

I saw the Book of Mormon last week when it was at the Benedum and I was very excited to see it, one because Grey was in it and also because of all of the mixed reviews that it has gotten. After the first 20 minutes of the show and the stereotypical African setting, characters and scene I was most upset and disturbed. Then I had to stop myself and remember who the creators were and what their vision was. I had to stop myself from feeling as though it was the most racist thing ever and remember that it just wasn't the black stereotype that was being represented, but the white and norman. After I slapped myself out of it, I must admit that I started enjoying myself and then I was completely captivated by intermission. The music and lyrics were good and funny and made the story so compelling and easy to follow. I also love the touring set and how it captured all of the different worlds/locations.

Some of the African accents weren't consistent. That was my biggest problem after my initial racist concern. Good show! 

Comment #4: a new comment on your post "Suzy Lee Weiss: To (All) the Colleges That Rejecte...":

There appears to be this widespread belief among many (not all, but many) white seniors applying to college and their white parents that one can only get in to their dream school if they are *insert minority here*. This is what this article is alluding to and I dare hope that this is meant to be a satire, because if it's not this girl is just exposing her bitterness and narrow-mindedness to many, many people.
Just a few weeks ago, I heard several women discussing this very topic. One of them was explaining that her son did not make it into any of the medicals schools he applied to because he was white, and that it's well known that good schools only accept minority students. My friend had to keep me from going up to them and suggesting that maybe her son's flaw wasn't being white, but simply not being good enough instead.
This is such a sly form of racism; it implies that minority students who got into college didn't truly deserve it, and simply benefited from their skin color/ethnicity/upbringing. It implies that the students she mentions "who by age 14 got their doctorate, cured a disease, or discovered a guilt-free brownie recipe" didn't deserve to get into college.
Claiming that being white and "not diverse" is the reason she didn't make it to the college of her choice is complete delusion. Yes, colleges want diversity. I would too, if not looking for "diverse" students meant accepting self-entitled and self-centered students like Suzy Weiss.
I recommend reading this article responding to Weiss's: http://www.racialicious.com/2013/04/10/to-all-the-white-girls-who-didnt-get-into-the-college-of-their-dreams/ 

Comment #5: a new comment on your post "Jane and Jim Henson: How do you get to be a profes...":

As a child, I grew up watching "The Muppet Show" re-runs with my family and when I'd watch TV in the morning before school, there was always "Sesame Street" on. In essence, puppets were an important part of my childhood. If I wanted to make my own toy, I used to make (rather poor quality) sock puppets with button eyes and pipe cleaner hair. The art of puppeteering is something that is very respectable in my mind, just as much as the theatre I do is very respectable to me. It seems a bit strange that a field that's such a staple on TV and in modern children's lives is something that only a few colleges provide a degree or training in. People who really like puppets shouldn't have to hope and pray that eventually a renown person in the field will find them. I think that puppeteering has a lot of theatrical value as well, and that more theatre schools (in the least) should provide more puppeteering and puppet making classes. I don't see this art form dying out anytime soon, which is so great that such a physical and traditional form of entertainment has such staying power.