I write this email to vociferously condemn Rick Levin’s review of the VLT production of At Winter’s Edge (“For the Rest of Us,” 12/12). The entire review mentions only the male actors and makes no attempt to discuss or even mention the contribution of five women who played integral roles in that production.
Granted that the efforts of Paul Rhoden and Dawaul Lawler deserve praise, but the contributions of Bull and Marzyck are minimal and serve only to provide bridges from one scene to the next, or as with Bull, background to the story.
The five women Levin cavalierly ignores, on the other hand, provide essential elements of the play. Rachael Carnes wrote the play based on interviews with the cast and the dialogue is based entirely on those “true” stories. Without their contribution, the stories of Rhoden and Lawler would have consumed at best 30 minutes of the play’s run time. The quality of Carnes’s work depends far more on their stories than those of the two men, even with their skilled and artful presentations.
In this day and age, to ignore the work of women who contributed so much to the power of a narrative is to engage in sexism at its worst. I would have thought that a paper such as yours would have displayed more sensitivity.
Michael B. Charlton
Eugene
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519
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