Teaterkritikerens 11 bud

Det har tatt lang tid å utarbeide disse 11 budene, IATCs formann, Yun-Cheol Kim, skriver at “this is something we have been working on for quite a long time and something that has been through innumerable drafts. Indeed, in response to concerns by many Sections, we have even changed the name of the document from a Code of Ethics to a Code of Practice to allow more national sections to sign on.”
Nå er endelig de 11 budene blitt godkjent og vedtatt sentralt, og de er blitt sendt til alle de nasjonale kritikerlagene for at de skal ta stilling til dokumentet. innen januar 2010. Det er naturligvis mulig å komme med merknader, men de ansvarlige håper de ikke får altfor mange innspill, for de vil helst gjerne at budene skal bli vedtatt på IATCs 25. Internasjonale Kongress i juni 2010.

“Theatre is among the most interactive of the performing arts. As privileged spectators, theatre critics share with audiences and performers the same time and space, the same individual and collective stimuli, the same immediate and long-term experiences. As working theatre commentators, we seek in our individual ways to articulate these interactions as a frame for discussion and as a meaningful part of the interpretation and significance of theatrical performance. The International Association of Theatre Critics therefore urges its members worldwide to accept as an agreed starting point the core professional guidelines articulated in this document.

1. Theatre critics should respect both artistic and intellectual freedom, and should acknowledge that they themselves are also explorers in the art of theatre.
2. Theatre critics should always act in what they believe to be the best interests of theatrical art as a whole.
3. Theatre critics should recognize that their own imaginative experience and knowledge is often limited and should welcome new ideas, forms, styles and practice.
4. Theatre critics should speak truthfully and appropriately while respecting the personal dignity of the artists they are responding to.
5. Theatre critics should be open-minded and reveal (as appropriate) prejudices – both artistic and personal – as part of their work.
6. Theatre critics should have as one of their goals a desire to motivate discussion of the work.
7. Theatre critics should strive to come to the theatrical performance in their best physical and mental condition, and should remain alert throughout the performance.
8. Theatre critics should try to describe, analyze, and evaluate the work as precisely and specifically as possible, supporting their remarks with concrete examples.
9. Theatre critics should make every possible effort to avoid external pressures and controls, including personal favours and financial enticements.
10. Theatre critics should make every possible effort to avoid situations which are or which can be perceived to be conflicts of interest by declining to review any production with which they are personally connected or by serving on juries with which they are personally connected.
11. Theatre critics should not do anything that would bring into disrepute their profession or practice, their own integrity or that of the art of the theatre.