Curtains Up Winnipeg

There is big news in my life that I’ve been holding on to for a while now, which I have finally been given permission to reveal. This is big news for me personally, Daniela Smith-Fernandez, the person who writes and runs this blog… but it also has an impact on the blog itself. It’s hard sometimes to believe that I’ve been writing Curtains Up for less than a year when it has become such a big part of my life. And yet it has, and here we are – the passion project that has grown beyond me as an individual. So here’s the news:

I’ve been hired as the Company Manager for the Manitoba Association of Playwrights

I am beyond excited. I’ve wanted to work in arts administration since I was a fifteen year old kid photocopying submissions for Prairie Fire Magazine. The arts are my home, and I want very much to be useful to an organization. Selfishly I want to be surrounded by creative people and never have to make small talk about insurance ever again in my life. It feels like a good fit. The interview was the most myself I’ve ever felt in an interview. I can’t wait to be part of the team that makes things happen.

Thursday Executive Producer Daniel Thau-Eleff put on a newsletter to members with the following message:

Dear MAP members,

I am so excited to welcome Daniela Smith-Fernandez to the MAP office, as our new Company Manager! In addition to her passion for theatre, especially local theatre, Daniela has the (much-better-than-my) organizational skills that MAP needs as we begin this next leg of our journey. I think Daniela and I are going to work really well together, and I look forward to introducing her to you all as we continue to serve this wonderful playwriting community.

I feel very welcomed. I also can’t wait to start.

HOWEVER…

It does mean that I will be occupying a different position in the theatre community. One where conflict of interest is a serious concern. And where I have obligations to be fair.

Which means that I have to stop writing reviews. Which is sad, because I love writing reviews. It’s also bittersweet because for now holding off on reviews is going to allow me to take on this amazing new role which I am so incredibly excited for.

I’ve been playing this over in my head, and some of the scenarios run a little like this:

Me: Welcome to MAP! How can I help you get set up with dramaturgy?

Client: Oh thank goodness you’re so helpful! This AWFUL blog Curtains Up said that my play with (dinosaurs reciting bible verses-a defence of bedbugs-repeated product placement from an MLM) showed questionable judgement! ME!

Me: Oh… (trying hard to hide my Curtains Up sticker) I mean, well… that was me!

Client: How dare you! An organization that hires someone like you clearly has terrible judgement! I can’t trust you at all! I’m going to go away and NOT make use of the services of this wonderful community organization! (Flounces out)

I mean, that might be a little exaggerated. No one is twisted up inside enough to write a play defending bed bugs.

Still, it’s the end of an era and I need to pivot to keep this blog going.

I will continue to write pieces about theatre in general, probably more of them going forward, I will go ahead with my Bedford Introduction to Drama read along – although probably not right away. I have thoughts about playwriting and dramaturgy. Also, I’m going to be reviewing published plays for the presses that have gotten back to me.

This will continue to be an active space.

I’m also interested in having other people review for me, as long as they are willing to adopt my philosophy of respect for the artists no matter what you think of the play. Feel free to send people my way.

I have loved writing this blog. I’ve loved knowing that other people want to engage in dialogue about theatre which isn’t mean, or reductive, but genuinely comes from a place of loving the art form. Even if sometimes you think it could do better.

Thank you for coming with me, and I hope you will stick around as I pivot a slightly new direction.

Curtains Up.