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The Top 50 cultural forces in Pittsburgh
Sunday, June 03, 2001 By Caroline Abels, Post-Gazette Cultural Arts Writer
After all was said and done -- or rather, argued and analyzed ad infinitum -- the PG's Arts and Entertainment editor sent an e-mail to the staff.
"As always, folks, the Top 50 process is a comedy, a drama, a debate, a democratic exercise, a dictatorial denouement, an adrenaline rush ... and an expletive."
The staff needed no reminders. Each year, as we sit around a table and choose the most impressive cultural leaders in Pittsburgh, we become stock characters in our own "commedia dell'arte." That 16th-century form of Italian improvisational theater (literally, "artistic comedy," involving set characters) is exactly what's acted out in the handful of meetings in which the list is compiled.
There's the drama critic, Rawsono, pounding his fist for a certain artistic director; Hoovolio, the book editor, lauding the latest local author made famous; Guidro, the jazz writer, who as a new member of the department is mystified by the whole endeavor; Vancheria, film and television writer, who quietly speaks up for Fred Rogers and ultimately gets him elected Numero Uno.
And, of course, there's the director, Waltone, sitting at the head of the conference table and smiling at the fracas he has created.
This year, though, his e-mail could have said something else about the Top 50: It's different. Because this year, we tried to highlight people who made the arts sparkle last season. The list has always, in theory, been about the previous season, but for the first four years we focused more on people's power and influence than on their most recent accomplishments. As a result, the same folks stole the spotlight.
So for the list's fifth incarnation, we ditched the term "cultural power brokers" and called our subjects "cultural forces." The distinction might seem minor, but forces can wax and wane from year to year, while power brokers are entrenched.
With this change in place, we thought of the major artistic events of the past season and then pinpointed who made them possible. Of course, there's never one person who makes anything possible, but we wanted to locate the key people or groups.
Despite the move from power brokers to forces, the criteria from previous years still applied:
Influence: Do you make things happen? Are you a model leader?
Initiative: Have you changed the local arts and entertainment landscape in significant ways?
Artistry: Have you reached the pinnacle of your craft?
Accomplishments: Have you set and met goals and left a lasting legacy?
Audience: Do your programs and projects reach the masses or neglected audiences?
Many on staff were thrilled an artist was chosen for No. 1 again. (August Wilson is the only other artist to hold that position, in 1999.)
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