Online

A Listerv in Your Future?

PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT

STAGE DIRECTIONS

COPYRIGHT 1995 

AUTHOR: Dr. Patrick Finelli 

CATEGORY: Online

TITLE: Listservs for Theatre 

SUBJECT: Guide to on-line discussion groups

One of the most valuable features of the Internet is the ability to send messages to selected individuals or to a group.   Once you have an e-mail address, you can send and receive electronic mail and get in touch with others who have similar interests and specialized knowledge through listserv discussion groups. . Listservs usually require members to subscribe unlike newsgroups, which are available through your server’s news reader (see “Welcome to Cyberspace,” Stage Directions, October 1994).

A listserv works like an electronic mail distribution list, subscribers receive any mail that is posted to the group – most of which is germane to the basic subject matter the group serves.  Members may also send messages to individuals or the entire group, simply by posting a message to the list  

There are hundreds of Listserv discussion groups on the Internet. We will provide some basic information about theatre-related Listservs, tell you how to subscribe and give you some suggestions for future reference.  

Joining a listserv is as simple as e-mailing a subscription message to the listserv address.  For example, you may join the THEATRE Listserv by sending a subscription message to “listserv@pucc.princeton.edu.” All subscription requests follow the same format. Basically, you send a message to the listserv with the following body:   

“subscribe list_name your_first_name your_last_name” (e.g. “subscribe theatre jane doe”). 

Some lists require that you send the subscription message to “listproc” (a computer list processor) and other listservs are subscribed through an individual who screens requests and manages the list. The first time you subscribe to a listserv you will receive a welcome message from the server stating that you have been added to the list and giving you other information about posting messages and unsubscribing.  Often these messages are generated automatically by the listserv or listproc program. I recommend that you save all of your confirmation messages in a folder for future reference. It is a good way to keep track of your listserv subscriptions and other pertinent data, such as how to access each list’s archives and procedures to unsubscribe – especially is you subscribe to more than one list. 

All of this may sound complicated, but once you are officially subscribed, you post a message simply by sending e-mail to the list.  For instance, if you have subscribed to the ACTOR Listserv, you would send a note to the list address “actor@talentnet.com.” This is called "sending mail to the list", because your mail goes to a single address and then the listserv program proceeds to distribute your note to all other subscribers.

Members receive e-mail messages whenever anyone posts a message to the list. You can read your listserv messages along with your other e-mail, save or delete individual postings and respond either to the multiple subscribers on the list or privately to the person who posted the original message. When you post a message to the list, you get it back (unless you have disabled that feature) and everyone else gets a copy as well.  Since each message has an identifier in the subject heading, you can choose to follow selected topics and screen your mail by subject before reading. The message stream can be very interesting.   Usually there are multiple threads woven throughout the listserv discussion.  Readers who want to add their comments to the discussion make follow-up postings.  Often responses go far beyond the original question, which is part of the fun. Most listservs automatically archive the notes for future reference.

There are two main directories of theatre listserv discussion groups and both are available on the University of Michigan’s server: ftp://una.hh.lib.umich.edu/inetdirsstacks/theater:torresmjvk or ftp://una.hh.lib.umich.edu/inetdirsstacks/theater:mccoy)

Both lists include most of the Listservs listed at the end of this column, but when I checked,  McCoy's was updated more recently than Torres' list and also had a section devoted to new groups. I subscribe to several listservs and have created one for a theatre history course I teach.  One of the most active listservs on my subscription list is the one for the American Society for Theatre Research.  It is a primarily for theatre historians and scholars, although quite a few directors and scenographers subscribe.  The range of topics in one recent week included questions about the origin of the "green room" and the "main curtain,” the earliest printed plays, commedia dell’arte conventions, lists of "sea plays" (e.g. early Eugene O'Neill), “American plays of the land” (e.g. Sam Shephard), notices about new drama books and play productions with alternate endings.

It is not unusual to discover a question about a particular theatre artist or topic answered by someone who is either extremely knowledgeable or speaks from personal experience.   The presence of experts on most listserv discussion groups and your ability to contact them without intruding is a valuable resource. 

Depending upon the number of lists you join and their level of activity, you will increase substantially the volume of electronic mail in your inbox each day. Reading news items can be time consuming.  I receive about 50 electronic messages a day, but may only read 40 of them and write about 30 notes back.  Consider joining one or two groups at a time first until you get the hang of it.   Otherwise you will be overwhelmed with lots of messages.

Suppose you have joined a list and want to catch up on previous discussions, or search for a particular topic.  You can either post a note to the list with your question, or query the list processor to find out if archives are available and how far back they keep them.    When you join a list, you will most likely learn if the list has an archive with index, or supports search and queries. 

Here are some helpful guidelines for listserv subscribers:

1.) Familiarize yourself with the discussion topics before jumping in with your own comments.  Think of it as "listening" before "talking";

2.)Keep your message brief and to the point;

3.) Use descriptive titles for an original post; 

4.) Respond to discussion threads using the original header (e.g. "green room");

5.) Limit your number of listserv subscriptions;

6.) Unsubscribe when you are on vacation, otherwise your mailbox will be filled when you return

7.) Remember who your audience is.   Many lists include subscribers who are leading experts in their field. 

The listserv gives you unprecedented access to knowledgeable individuals.  Make the most of this opportunity and remember your netiquette (like requests for help on a term paper). Listservs are a very good way to organize discussions and exchange ideas with others who share your particular interests.  Here is a list of theatre-related Listservs to get you started:

ACTOR (Actor discussion group)

            subscribe: listserv@talentnet.com

            post: actor@talentnet.com

ARS-DIGIT-L (Digital Technology and Performing Arts)

            subscribe: listproc@frank.mtsu.edu

            post: ars-digit-l@frank.mtsu.edu

ARTMGT-L  (Arts Management)

            subscribe: listserv@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu

            post: artmgt-l@bingvmb.cc.binghamton.edu 

ASIANTHEAT-L (Asian Performing Arts)

            subscribe: probert@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu

            post: asianthea-l@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu 

ASTR-L (American Society for Theatre Research)

            subscribe: listserv@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu

            post: astr-l@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu 

ATHE_RT-L (ATHE Religion and Theatre Focus Group)

            subscribe: listserv@mtu.edu

            post: athe_rt-l@ mtu.edu 

CANDRAMA (Canadian Theatre Research)

            subscribe: listserv@unb.ca

            post: candrama@unb.ca 

CERVANTES (Miguel de Cervantes Discussion List)

            subscribe: listserv@listserv.acns.nwu.edu

            post: cervantes@listserv.acns.nwu.edu 

COLLAB-L (On-line Collaboration in Theatre and Musicals)

            subscribe: sas14@psuvm.psu.edu

            post: collab-l@psuvm.psu.edu            

COMEDIA (Spanish Golden Age Theatre)

            subscribe: listserv@listserv.arizona.edu

            post: comedia@listserv.arizona.edu 

F-COSTUME (Fantasy Costume)

            subscribe: majordomo@lunch.asd.sgi.com

            post: f-costume@lunch.asd.sgi.com 

H-COSTUME (Historic Costume)

            subscribe: h-costume-request@andrew.cmu.edu

            post: h-costume@andrew.cmu.edu 

LATHE (Latin American Theatre List)

            subscribe: lathe-request@kutztown.edu

            post: lathe@kutztown.edu 

PERFORM (Medieval Performance)

            subscribe: listserv@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu

            post: perform@@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu 

PERFORM-L (Performance Studies)

            subscribe: listserv@acfcluster.nyu.edu

            post: perform-l@acfcluster.nyu.edu 

PUPTCRIT (Puppetry)

            subscribe: mailserv@odie.ccs.yorku.ca

            post: puptcrit@odie.ccs.yorku.ca 

QUEATRE (International French Theatre Discussion List)

            subscribe: listproc@uqam.ca

            post: queatre@ uqam.ca 

REED-L (Records of Early English Drama)

            subscribe: reed@epas.utoronto.ca

            post: reed-l@epas.utoronto.ca 

SHAKSPER (Shakespeare)

            subscribe: hmcook@boe00.minc.umd.edu

            post: shaksper@vm.utcc.utoronto.ca 

SHOW-FIRE (Special effects/pyrotechnics)

            subscribe: murr@vnet.net

            post: show-fire@vnet.net 

STAGECRAFT (Technical Theatre)

            subscribe: stagecraft-request@zinc.com

            post: stagecraft@zinc.com 

THEATRE (Theatre Discussion List)

            subscribe: listserv@pucc.princeton.edu

            post: theatre@pucc.princeton.edu 

THEATRE-THEORY (Theory of Acting, Movement, Voice)

            subscribe: quijote@mit.edu

            post: theatre-theory@mit.edu 

VASTAVOX (Voice, Speech, Dialects)

            subscribe: listserv@uci.edu

            post: vastavox@uci.edu 

WTP-L (Women and Theatre Program Discussion List)

            subscribe: listserv@uhccvm.hucc.hawaii.edu