Meet the Rogue

Live theater. Unsolicited commentary.
From Detroit to Lansing.

Carolyn Hayes is the Rogue Critic, est. late 2009.

In 2011, the Rogue attended 155 plays, readings, and festivals (about 3 per week) and penned 115 reviews (about 2.2 per week).

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RSS: All | Reviews only | Rogue's Gallery

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Theaters and Companies

The Abreact (Detroit)
website | reviews | 2011 SIR

The AKT Theatre Project (Wyandotte)
website | reviews

Blackbird Theatre (Ann Arbor)
website | reviews | 2010 SIR

Detroit Repertory Theatre (Detroit)
website | reviews

The Encore Musical Theatre Co. (Dexter)
website | reviews

Go Comedy! (Ferndale)
website | reviews

Hilberry Theatre (Detroit)
website | reviews | 2010 SIR

Jewish Ensemble Theatre (West Bloomfield)
website | reviews

Magenta Giraffe Theatre Co. (Detroit)
website | reviews | 2010 SIR

Matrix Theatre (Detroit)
website | reviews | 2010 SIR

Meadow Brook Theatre (Rochester)
website | reviews

Performance Network Theatre (Ann Arbor)
website | reviews

Planet Ant Theatre (Hamtramck)
website | reviews

Plowshares Theatre (Detroit)
website | reviews

Purple Rose Theatre Co. (Chelsea)
website | reviews

The Ringwald Theatre (Ferndale)
website | reviews

Tipping Point Theatre (Northville)
website | reviews | 2010 SIR

Threefold Productions (Ypsilanti)
website | reviews

Two Muses Theatre (West Bloomfield Township)
website | reviews

Williamston Theatre (Williamston)
website | reviews

Archive

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

The end of the theater season prompts its chroniclers to reflect on the best of what they saw.
The Rogue Critic is pleased to announce the extension of the summertime Season In Review series.
Below, the SIR FAQs.

Which theaters will get a SIR, and what will the SIR include?

Each theater listed in "Theaters and Companies" at the right of this page will eventually have a dedicated SIR post. At the inspired suggestion of Barton Bund during my Encore Live! podcast episode, I have revised the project to span several summers, covering a fraction of the theater each year.

Each SIR discusses shows I reviewed, productions and staged readings I saw but didn’t review, and noteworthy business issues such as venue changes. SIRs will not address announced schedules and casting of upcoming seasons.

How do you define the “season”?

For my purposes, the season begins on or around the first of September, in parallel with the fall-to-spring schedules of many theaters.

How will you choose which SIRs to write in a given year, and the order in which they are published?

My highly scientific method involves identically sized folded strips of paper and a drinking glass. Theaters with a SIR already published will not be included in the pool.

NB: Logistically, a theater cannot be eligible for SIR selection until the opening of its final production of the season. Therefore, theaters whose seasons conclude in the spring are eligible earlier than those whose productions extend through the summer.

Will you also be recognizing individual performances and designs with conventional awards, in the vein of the Wilde Awards, the Pulsars, and the Thespies?

The SIRs were created to take the place of awards. Conventional awards were not given for the 2009–2010 season.

I do not like the SIRs for several logical reasons, which I would like to explain to you. Furthermore, I have helpful suggestions for how they can be improved or replaced.

I respect this reasonable feedback. Do send your well-constructed argument to roguecritic@gmail.com.