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I'm done holding my tongue about the scourge of the Milwaukee theatre community.

Damien Jaques' response to my including "newsworthy? You'd think so..." to the end of a Play in a Day announcement on Facebook was to say "insurgent needs to improve quality" before he'll even mention us. Then he wrote this follow up to his review of Quasi's Henry V.

Anyone who knows me knows i'm no fan of Shakespeare, i wasn't able to see quasi's show (doing multiple shows of my own right now) but the idea that the biggest theatre writer in the city is saying it maybe shouldn't have happened at all is insane. You can see my (and other's comments) on his post.

I also wrote a letter to the editor. Milwaukee's Theatre community doesn't need to accept such lousy coverage. I'm not saying that Damien has to like what we do (i expect he won't) but if he's supposed to be a news source covering significant things happening in the theatre community, then he needs to at least acknowledge the existence of things he doesn't like.

Here's the Journal's "letters to the editor" address: jsedit@journalsentinel.com

Here's what i wrote:

When are you going to replace your unqualified and terrible theatre writer?

Damien Jaques spends more time regurgitating Broadway headlines than
covering local theatre. He has a narrow uninformed definition of what
makes good theatre. He was the bane of Theatre X (but then pretended
to be sad when they closed) he refuses to acknowledge the existence of
smaller theater companies, indeed recently advised Quasi Theatre that
they shouldn't have even tried to produce Shakespeare. This man is
ignoring or obstructing the growth and development of a new and
exciting theatre scene in this city.

The Journal has recently expanded and VASTLY improved it's visual arts
coverage, thanks to Mary Louise Schumacher's engaged and dedicated
coverage of not only every gallery show, but also spearheading and
participating in vital discussions of relevant issues in the visual
art community. Why can't you replace Mr Jaques with someone who'll
give similar treatment to our struggling theatre community?

Ben Turk
Local Playwright and Theatre Producer with Insurgent Theatre.