Going Beyond Beyond

When we launched Third Coast Review in January, we defined the Beyond page this way:
We'll go Beyond. Our focus will clearly be Chicago but occasionally—because of travel or whim—we’ll report on an artist, event or venue beyond Chicago, Cook County and the collar counties. Sometimes that will mean you’ll read about (gasp) a suburb and occasionally another city, state or country. Beyond might also mean a topic that drifts beyond our usual arts and culture coverage.
Our writers cover all aspects of arts and culture in the Chicago area, however you define arts and culture. But because they’re smart, savvy people, their interests go beyond the theater, music, books or art they normally write about. So we decided to redefine Beyond to include topical as well as geographic areas. We’re going to make Beyond a sort of personal blog opportunity for all our writers to rant, rave and emote about their pet topics. Thus, in coming weeks and months, you might see posts and essays from 3CR writers on politics, sports, pop culture or food. Stay tuned. It should be interesting. We’re also interested in posting opinion pieces from new writers. Even if you don't write for Third Coast Review now, if you feel a rant coming on, send a short summary of what you'd like to write to info@thirdcoastreview.com. Typical length would be 400-800 words but we can be flexible. We'll expect you to avoid libelous or otherwise illegal statements, of course. And we'll point out that it' s your opinion, not ours. To start off the Beyond idea, I'll post my own offering next.  
Nancy S Bishop

Nancy S. Bishop is publisher and Stages editor of Third Coast Review. She’s a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and a 2014 Fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. You can read her personal writing on pop culture at nancybishopsjournal.com, and follow her on Twitter @nsbishop. She also writes about film, books, art, architecture and design.