In completing my ethnographic study on the theatre district in New York City, I have learned more than I ever thought possible. For example, I knew that Broadway was one of the main commercial industries that attracted a large tourist audience every year, but I had no idea of the revenue that the crowds actually brought in. In ticket sales alone, the theatre district made over one billion dollars during the 2010 calendar year. The entire area thrives mostly due to its major tourist draw. The “theatre district” is located between 42nd and 54th Streets, west of 6th Avenue, and east of 8th Avenue. There are a few Broadway theatres that are situated outside of this exact region, and many Off and Off-Off Broadway houses in other parts of the Island of Manhattan. There are forty Broadway theatres that have any number more than 500 seats in them, and countless Off-Broadway theatres that have anywhere from 100 to 499 seats in them. The term Off-Off Broadway refers to any theatre or performance space with 99 seats or less.
Working on an ethnographic study requires a great deal of intimate research and attention to detail. It requires a need for exploration and a thirst for new discoveries. Coming to live in New York for the summer with the Elon in NYC program provided the perfect outlet for a journey of discovery, and was the perfect place for me to perform the role of ethnographer. I have always wanted to spend a significant amount of time gaining a better understanding of the theatre district, and living as much as I could amongst the bright lights of Broadway. I have come to understand now, much better, the role of the ethnographer, and how it is both objective and subjective. In order to be a good ethnographer you have to have a bit of both. It is important to try and be as objective as possible because you want to put the truth out there. You want to say exactly what you observed so that other people can have a better understanding as well. You want to give as much detail as possible and try to offer the most natural impression of whatever it may be that you are studying. Having said that, it is equally important to note that any ethnographer is also a person. It is impossible to completely leave yourself behind, in anything you do, so it is a good thing to accept that a little bit of yourself will be caught in with your ethnographic study. It is through you that the information is coming, through your voice, so people accept that there is also a subjective quality to any ethnography.
The questions of who creates knowledge, and how it is created, also come into play when performing an ethnographic study. The answer to the first one is quite simple: humans create knowledge. We know what we know because other humans have either taught us directly or documented something for us to learn later; or we have made our own observations and discoveries. Either way, it is a human responsibility, and frankly a human desire, to discover knew things, gain knowledge, and pass that knowledge along to other human beings. The second part of that question, how knowledge is created, is a little bit more difficult to answer. On one hand, knowledge is created by humans making observations and then using, primarily language, but any means of communication, to put that new-found knowledge back into the universe. The human mind is creative, so new knowledge is always put from one mind into another, and coming out a little bit differently because everyone has their own individual way of interpreting things. The mind observes with the body’s senses, and then disperses its own version of a fact.
The ethnographer, specifically, is a collector of data regarding a population and culture of a certain district or area or community. The ethnographer makes very detailed observations about stimuli and puts those observations into a report. There are hundreds of data collections methods, including interviews, in-person observation, life experience, etc… But the research, the report, an ethnographic study, is important in relation to an area or community because it brings awareness and life. When people know about something, then it truly exists. So, continuing to complete ethnographies keeps new places from being lost in history. The spreading of knowledge, through ethnography, keeps the world, and our understanding of the world, alive.
In living and breathing and tasting the theatre district this summer, I have learned that ethnography expands our minds to a more complete understanding of the world we live in. I have learned about the development of the area around Times Square as the current theatre district, after its northern shift from Union Square. I have learned about the complete commercialization of Broadway theatre, how it relies so heavily on a tourist population, and how there are still theatres that go against the trend and produce subversive or controversial work for the sake of art. I have learned about what works onstage, and what doesn’t. In completing my own ethnography, I have talked to people who live and work in the theatre district, heard about the passion it takes to lay your life on the line and be a performer, to work for a big time producer, or to work smaller jobs in hopes of making it big one day. The theatre district is the place that people come to follow their dreams, and it is also one of the biggest income businesses in New York. The dichotomy between art and money certainly exists, but I have found that the two come together to make something great in one of the most beautiful places in New York.
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