Atlanta Dispatch

Recently, when taking my fiance to Atlanta to begin her stint with the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, I was afforded the opportunity and balmy weather to wander around downtown Atlanta for a few hours. Turning from Peachtree Street, onto Peachtree Lane, then strolling down Peachtree Court, and then up along Peachtree Road, I stopped by two of our young capitol's two theatrical landmarks. The first being the Woodruff Arts Center (Housing the Alliance Theatre), and the Historic Fox Theatre.

These two landmarks had one very remarkable thing in common on this pleasant August afternoon, they both boasted a small string of protesters outside their gates.

The Woodruff's protesters were not, more's the pity, particularly concerned with the Alliance Theatre's disconcerting habit of casting their shows out of New York nor with their NY-centric playwriting program. Instead, they appealed to issues of gender equality, claiming that the Woodruff refuses to hire female security guards. While I cannot speak for the existence (or lack thereof) of this practice, I can say that it seems mildly ridiculous if it actually does exist. Firstly, there is the fact that every female guard I have ever faced at passport control has been twice as frightening as the male guards I have faced. For the second, we must reach back to a spottier time in American history, to the West and its notorious brothels. The common practice, should a gunslinger get out of sorts with his lady, was to send the madam as opposed to a bouncer. Quite simply, it just worked better, according to sources.

However, and bearing more directly on issues dramatical, is the protest outside of the Fox theatre. According to protestors, the board of Atlanta Landmarks (which operates the Fox) is looking to evict Joe Patten, the 83 year old former Technical director of the Fox and founder of Atlanta Landmarks, from his Fox Theatre apartment. Upon a glance at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the issue is slightly more complex. Articles outlining the full situation can be found here and here. An Associated Press article with a title stating that the "Phantom of the Fox" (which is a great nickname, and Savannah needs people living in its theatres) could remain in his apartment was published by the San Francisco Examiner this morning.

It is not our purpose here in The Savannah Dramaturgy to register much in the way of opinion on this subject. A flyer handed out by protesters claims that Mr. Patten is being evicted because the theatre board claims they need the space for "improvements." According to various sources, the board has not yet made this claim, but instead voiced concerns about the octogenarian's health. Instead, we would like to draw your attention to the outpouring of concern to be found.

On some level, this man (and the theatre he saved) has engaged with the community in a meaningful way to the point that they care (beyond his immediate family and close friends) precisely where he lives and what goes on in the theatre. Though it is little more than a touring house, it is somehow a part of the popular imagination. In all honesty, there are a number of theatres in Savannah (possibly a majority) that would simply not be missed should they shut their doors. So again the question comes about: How to engage?