First Literature Review

First Literature Review:

Dancer says “Four injured contractors is not it strange,” Recovery “Spider-Man,” by Jennifer S. Altman for The New York Times

AND

Arts Beat, The Culture at Large

“Injured Performer Heading Back to Spiderman Early” by Patrick Healy (April 21^st, 2011)

I first came across this story whilst I was searching on the internet.  This story immediately caught my attention, mainly because it had received so much media attention. 

   The first article I found which was written by “Jennifer S. Altman” was one of the earlier articles released on this subject, which included an interview with the person directly involved.  The article was about a man named Christopher Tierney who was a stuntman in the Broadway musical, “Spiderman”.  When a stunt went wrong during a performance, the actor fell 30ft from a ramp when the harness rope snapped.  He suffered extreme injuries including broken rips and three fractured vertebrae.

  This article focuses more on the stage of his current stage of injuries, his overall look on the incident and his aim for the future.

This second article was written to inform the public of the recent major event of the theatre world; however, it will appeal more to lovers of the arts.  The article was published in America and received heavy media attention over there.

    It is clear after studying the style of text that the writers intentions were to reassure the public of their doubts regarding the show, management, procedures and of course to reassure the readers of the injured performer’s stage of recovery.

  The section of the article regarding this man’s progress is what caught my intention when I first read this article.  Mr Tierney was an experienced Professional performer facing a traumatic injury which prevented him from continuing with his job, but did it stop him from continuing with his profession?

   The first article stated that Doctors were unsure as to whether it would take months or years for the actor to recover from his injuries, however, just weeks after the incident, Mr Tierney appeared on “Good morning America” promoting the show.  To me, that shows determination and the fact he was promoting the show that led to his accident shows how determined he was to get back into it.  It also stated in the article that it was his first injury in his 20 years’ experience of dance, he simply stated and I quote “all this good karma cannot last forever” and “You have a lot of time to think, when you are in the course of physical therapy, and all I can think about is my body, where it was, and returning to the show.”

   In the second article it shows the difference to what was originally stated about his future to how he has progressed: “Mr Tierney, who managed to be up and walking two weeks after sustaining four broken ribs and three fractured vertebrae, had the pins taken out two weeks ago and is healthy enough to return to rehearsals for “Spider-Man” on Monday, his father, Tim, said in an interview on Thursday.
“The doctors originally thought he’d have the pins in for another three months, but his physical comeback has gone well and they gave him the O.K. early this week to go back into the cast,”
   From the way Mr Tierney was talking in the first article, it shows he was planning to achieve this right from the start.  Not only did he work hard physically to get his body back into shape but he worked hard mentally too to stay positive and achieve his goal.  This man did not let this injury stop him from continuing with his profession, mainly because of his incredible passion and strictness to staying in a forward thinking state of mind.  However, the Broadway show has a history of accidents/ injuries, so is returning to the show an option for everyone?
   In the second article, it states “A third cast member, Natalie Mendoza, suffered a concussion at the show’s first performance on Nov. 28 when she was struck by a rope backstage; Ms Mendoza, who had played the spider villainess Arachne, quit the show weeks later.”  Upon reading this I became intrigued in knowing the exact reason for why she left the show.  I researched this and found her first comments after the incident, as she refused interviews at first.  She stated “It has been a difficult decision to make, but I regret that I am unable to continue on 'Spider-Man' as I recover from my injury."  I found it interesting that one person was able to return to the stage whilst another could not.
   However, this makes me wonder, was this purely because she was not well enough to return to work, or did her mentality towards the situation affect this outcome.  I also found out she was left rather traumatized not only after her accident but after Mr. Tierney’s too.  Could the shock and distress of the situations cause her to have a negative outlook on the situation?  Her accident alone was traumatic, but to of witnessed yet another accident could of put up a barrier in her mind, that this was not the path for her.  Plus, her head injury left her suffering with headaches and other symptoms, could this of triggered her final decision?
   In the previous module whilst planning my Inquiry, I investigated the possibility that by having a positive outlook on the subject of an injury, this could increase the recovery process.  In this situation, Mr. Tierney’s positive outlook derived from the fact he was determined to get back to work and to continue working in this show.  However, Miss Mendoza did not show any sign of seeking treatment in order to recover for the show, she was given a number of weeks of rest but from that, still decided not to return to the show.  If she had had a positive outlook and a set goal/ recovery plan in mind, could she of returned to the show?  Was she given the support needed?  These two people had very different injuries, 1 more extreme than the other, yet it was the individual who suffered the more traumatic injuries that returned to their job.  In the article, Mr Tierney was pictured with his father “Tim” outside the theatre, his father also gave an interview regarding his sons progress.  This shows he has support around him at this difficult time, he was strong enough to begin walking after 2 weeks to appear on a television show and to go and see the show itself.  He faced his fears head on and because of this positive mentality, was able to conquer his injuries too.
   Although there were different outcomes to the situations, only 1 out of the several who suffered injuries from the show did not return to the production.  In conclusion to this review, I feel that it is good that the media focused so much attention on the recovery of Mr Tierney and his return to the show as it is important for readers, particularly those involved in theatre, to be reminded that anything is possible.  The articles only focused a small amount of attention on Miss Mendoza’s situation; I believe this was done intentionally as it immediately draws negative attention to the show and the theatre industry.  The writers intention was to not only promote the show, but to promote the fact that Performers can continue with their profession, no matter what may come their way and that Mr Tierney is an inspiration to performers everywhere.

http://elec-doll.info/four-injured-contractors-is-not-it-strange-recovery-spider-man-dancer-says/

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/injured-spider-man-performer-heading-back-to-the-show-early/