>How can it be verbatim theatre if only *some* of the participants agreed to you paying them a fee to use their posts?

Your question is easily answered. The answer is 'easily'.

Verbatim Theatre, according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verbatim_theatre

All that is required is for the text to come from people's quotes.

I'm not sure what part of your question is your point?
Only some agreed to be paid a fee, others allowed it for free. Only some agreed to use their posts, so some posts were not used. Some posts were used anyway, whether there was agreement or not, because they were from unverified anonymous names and so could not be tracked down anyway. Only some responded at all, so some posts were deemed 'up for grabs'. Some have been a part of the play-building process, contributing more than what is in their posts.
Some posts were used at one point, but have since hit the cutting room floor.
None of which contradicts it being verbatim theatre.

Is that enough information? None of it answers your question, because your question was constructed from an illogical syllogism.

Cheers,
Craig

~<8>-/====\---------

Hi Murray

I wasn't going to post again so soon after my rants on the other threads (especially in light of your warning about bringing down a sequel upon us all). But I think you make an excellent argument, and were kind enough to allow a chance to persuade....

I really DO think it's important to make it clear that the participants were amateurs. If the story was about actors in a professional theatre who all got paid for their efforts I honestly wouldn't care about them at all; I'd think 'what a whining bunch of tossers to complain about a review - it's your job to take full responsibility and wear it on the chin! Suck it up!'

But knowing that it's about a community who do this as a hobby, for the fun, the experience, the pride, the camaraderie...I really DO care about their feelings when they get shot down, when misguided comments create deeply felt wounds, and when - despite their vulnerability - they somehow soldier on and bounce back.

(If I made a similar analogy to your Cartman/Wilde one above and pretended this was the movies: rather than follow the story of an impersonal professional soldier prepared for war, this would be the story of the parent completely out of their league but valiantly fighting the aliens to protect their family. That character is so much MORE of a hero.)

The whole point is that the characters from the Rock Apocalypse thread are ordinary people. That's what makes their story worth telling.

I understand the perception/fear that it's all about poking fun at the childishness of the participants...because it's obvious to all that there WAS some childishness. And I'd be lying to pretend we are not hoping to find humour in the piece, like we would hope from any script.

But it's not a farce.

It's a drama, with characters we hope you'll respect and care about.

It's keenly observed, with first-hand information. It tells many perspectives of the same story, and from the interviews that were done it tells a side you would not have read online.
It's a story I imagine would be relevant to many people here, and interesting to anyone regardless of whether they'd read the source material.
And stylistically, it's hoping to do something you may not have had the chance to see onstage before.

All the creators of this show really care about making good theatre. Interesting, challenging theatre. We don't need to resort to lofty rock-hurling at others' expense, and if it were that kind of show we simply wouldn't participate.

I think it's risky. It might not work. It might not be everyone's cup of tea. But I thought it was too good an idea not to try.

Yes, most of us (not all) involved do consider ourselves professional. But, as with most of the shows I've ever done at the Blue Room, I hardly expect the money I'm likely to get in return will cover the cost of my petrol expenses, let alone to be making any huge profit out of it. I'm doing this one because I believe in the key artists and the value of the project.

I respect that you have reservations about attending, but I will chide you like I would anybody about pre-judging the end result.
Can we compromise and say that you'll boycott the first two weeks, and then when you hear that we are getting good houses and great responses, you'll come in the final week and I'll have a beer with you after the performance?

Thanks for your perspective.

Cheers,
Craig

~<8>-/====\---------

i'm interested in your comment, most of us (not All) consider ourselves proffession..... so who is the non proffessional , i've been trying to figure out which one of you it is..

You've just pointed out to me that the way I phrased that comment may have sounded a little unfair. 'Professional' is one of those vague words which you can make to have different connotations depending on your context.

Jeremy, Kate, Greg and I consider ourselves 'professional' in that this is what we rely upon for a living, this is what we state as our occupation on our tax returns.
Whitney is a recent Uni graduate, just starting in the industry. I understand she holds down another job to get by, but I have no doubt she will be getting more frequent professional work in the near future.
Vanessa is a community theatre performer, in her first paid performance. I'll have to ask her whether she's currently working in another occupation, or whether she intends to pursue this further as a career...I don't actually know.

At no time did I mean to imply that anyone was being paid when others were not, nor did I want to suggest that the standard of talent was not uniformly high. I think everyone is terrifically cast for the roles they need to play.

The reason I drew attention to it at all was that I was making a point about the importance of sympathising with the amateur world, and that those of us who are from the 'professional' world are still really doing this for the love of it.

Thanks for your comments. Glad you enjoyed the show.

Cheers,
Craig

~<8>-/====\---------

I love your concerns,, but this play was about critism.. and yes they showed both sides of the story. it was not a shit slinging at ameture threatre . it showed the critism comments of many and the hearts and feelings of the proformers..
don't be scared to put your hand in your pocket and go see it,you could of saved yourself half an hours blogging if you had ....
from someone who enjoys amature and professionsl theatre..

...and enjoyed it.
To be honest, my post was pretty much me playing devil's advocate. Hopefully the reply Craig gave means others will now go and see it without preconceptions.
Your point is valid though about saving time blogging but I don't consider it wasted because at least there was some healthy debate between myself and Craig which is something we could do more with on this site.
I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did