Welcome to My Blog

Well, it's been months of throwing out hypothetical ideas combined with weeks of whining to my friends and digging through my brain to come up with a suitable title, but I'm finally here! Finally in my own little corner of the blogosphere, ready to dazzle the masses with my sparkling wit and thoughtfully obsessive analysis. Or something like that.

Honestly though, I couldn't be more thrilled. Since everyone and their dog (and/or cat) has a blog these days, I thought I would take this opportunity to explain just why I started mine and what I hope to achieve through it. And maybe to offer up a little bit of insight into the crazy girl whose posts you will soon (hopefully) be turning to for information.

As most of you (being my friends and/or family) probably already know, my name is Katie Doornbos and I am a complete theatre nut. An amazing accomplishment being located in Wichita, KS and approximately24 hours away from Broadway (as the car via Google Maps drives). I graduated this past May from Friends University with a Bachelor of Arts in English/Drama (English Emphasis) and am currently working as a Senior Administrative Assistant in the Financial Aid Office at Wichita State University. My goal is to (hopefully) apply to the Master of Arts in Theatre Studies program at KU within the next few years (once the economy dies down, of course). Why KU? Because aside from being a Jayhawk fan (RockChalk!), they also provide a Masters program that offers emphasis in criticism instead of just performance/stage work. And that is the ultimate point of this blog: I, Kathryn Elizabeth Doornbos, want to be a theatre critic.

Hence, the blog. Living in Wichita, I obviously have limited opportunities for career advancement in this field (especially given the recent economic impact on newspapers). So what better way to get practice and get my name out there than by starting my very own blog? I plan to use this site as a forum to express my ideas/feelings about theatre in general as well as to post reviews of local productions that I see. In writing, the best way to find your voice is to practice and this blog is a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Being a performer myself (and yes, I do plan to post my theatre resume shortly), I understand the politics that go on backstage and also how hurtful a mean spirited review can be. Negative reviews can also be hurtful, but I personally believe that artistic integrity is the name of the game. In the interest of not stepping on toes, I will only be posting reviews for professional or semi-professional productions in the area. Although I do see a number of shows at Friends University, Wichita State, and area high schools, it is unfair to post reviews of these shows for a number of reasons. For one, these are students who are just learning how to explore their craft. On a more personal level, I tend to have a large number of friends in these productions and I would really like to avoid the drama that would be caused if I were to write a negative review.

I promise that my actual reviews will be far less verbose than this initial post, but they will hopefully be every bit as reasoned and articulated. PLEASE feel free to leave comments for me critiquing my...critiques. The whole reason behind my drive to be a critic is my firm belief that it is only by exploring our mistakes and making the necessary corrections that we can grow, both as performers and people. Being new at this, I know that a number of mistakes on my part will be inevitable.

One last thing--you're probably wondering about the name of the blog. "I Am Not Dorothy" was an idea submitted to me by my friend Clay. Although he originally read the quote in an article "slamming a show by Dorothy Parker," he pointed out (and I agree) that it is also a great way to address the stereotypes inherent in being a woman from Kansas. As any of my fellow Kansas will know, it is BEYOND irritating to have people ask you about Toto any time you are own vacation. So the title is my tongue-in-cheek way of pointing out that not all Kansas worship the Wizard of Oz while also having "the great benefit of actually being an insiderish theatre thing." All quotes are attributable to Clay, btw.

So there you have it folks. The blog is up and running, I will hopefully start cranking out some reviews shortly, and I am thrilled to be dipping my toes into the waters of my future. I leave you with the words of the incomparable Stephen Sondheim:

Here she is boys! Here she is world! Here's Katie!

Or something like that.

~Katie Doornbos