10 Things About Art

• Between mainstream media and independent blogs, a multitude of voices currently provide reviews and critiques for Toronto’s theatre landscape. To avoid redundancy with “10 Things about Art,” I am far less interested in evaluating and assessing than I am in observing and wondering.

• I expect to cover performance in a variety of formats: theatre, movies, television, and emerging types of media. Like many parents with limited time (are there any other kind?), I am attending fewer live events and shifting my attention to digital media I can watch at home.

• Despite my claim in the previous point, I still manage to attend about 50 live performance events each year. The simple litmus test for selecting subjects to write about: which shows stay with me days after I’ve seen them?

• Spoiler alert: there will be spoilers.

• To balance the Toronto-centrism, I expect to place emphasis on touring productions, as well as performances I see while travelling.

• Don’t get me started on award shows (particularly the guidelines surrounding eligibility, categorization, and jurying).

• I reserve the right to change my mind. Print is forever. The web lasts until I hit <return>.

• Life is too short for mean-spirited eviscerations of lacklustre work. Cheerleading lamentable performances is akin to receiving participation trophies for losing; that said, because I don’t have an obligation to comment about any specific show, I expect to omit the forgettable and focus on the remarkable.

• For what it’s worth, here is a brief list of some plays, movies, and shows I really admire: Angels in America, Breaking Bad, Hamilton, Before Sunrise, 887, Hoop Dreams, Enron, The Office, and Studies in Motion.

• Why 10 things? The somewhat arbitrary number seems suitable to provide a snapshot of the featured subject. Plus, what young person in the 90s didn’t love 10 Things I Hate About You?

—Nick Hanson