To the editors:
As one of three jurors for the performance series “Opening the Circle of Identities,” I appreciate your coverage in the November 24th Reader. But unfortunately, Justin Hayford skirted several important issues. For starters, Dominique Dibbell’s Dean Rivers was a parody of a male performance persona. Instead of arguing this point, however, Hayford writes that Dibbell should adopt an “actorly concern” and commit herself more fully to her character. If Dibbell had wanted to achieve this goal, I doubt that she would have used a hairbrush as a microphone when she lip-synched. By ignoring the comedic aspects of Dibbell’s performance, Hayford circumvents a feminist critique.
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Justin Hayford replies:
While I ordinarily appreciate hearing opinions contrary to my own, your critique is markedly unsound. First, a more careful reading of my original review would answer each of your criticisms, especially that concerning my alleged uneducated misogyny. Second, as you were a juror for “Opening the Circle of Identities,” your insight comes from the vantage point of an insider. You are familiar with and privy to the material, allowing you access to ideas that were not necessarily communicated with any success through the performances themselves.
