In our last show, we built a proscenium in a black box. Our ‘just
out of school’ SM insisted we build a rail around the front of the stage, as ‘if
an actor fell off, it would ruin her
future career’. (Stupid comment number 4216 in my book.) She threatened to
quit if we didn’t build a railing across the proscenium. We didn’t, and she
didn’t quit – unfortunately.
For the past 6 years, I’ve made myself an advocate, near
martyr for the theatre as a whole. No one wants to give a shit about the
theatre, just their career. (Maybe as I've given up on having a 'career,' I'm free to be the janitor.) What I’ve done, I’ve done willingly and never
asked for a single thank you – though I gotten 2 or 3. I did it freely, at huge risk to my mental
and physical health. Last week, in the ICU,
it didn’t look like I would make it, and I was OK with that. It made me take
note of the things I have and haven’t accomplished. Among those were changes to the 34 year old
Equity Showcase code or the pay-to-play audition scams that pervade our
industry. Yet, I cannot do these things alone, and actors, who feel themselves
minions and not artists, are mostly too afraid to step forward and defend
themselves for fear of repercussion. As
a theatre, we’re worse off than we were 100 years ago. But I cannot fight for
people unwilling to stand up for themselves. We’ve been trained to be talented,
agreeable drones. There’s no art there.
(See the previous column.)
ReGroup is in its 6th year. We’ve never made a single
cent. At this point, it’s understandable, but every time we announce a show, it
gets poached from us by one of 2 theatre companies. HOW RIDICULOUS?! I can
understand this shit happening in Hollywood, where there’s MONEY being made,
but poaching 80 year old forgotten scripts that don’t make money, is just ridiculous.
And Equity doesn’t care. I criticized Madame President, whom
I campaigned heavily for, for being a jock sniff for Hamilton in a multi-page
Variety essay. When there are so many pressing issues ready to tear Equity
apart, she writes a fluff piece promoting Hamilton. Just what the 50,0000 members need!
And as far as Equity protecting its members, a union member
who saw our last production for free – with his union card - interrupted the show, then posted all
kinds of nasty shit about us and me – including he hopes I need more brain surgery,
I’m so fat, etc – online, while blocking us from responding – Equity can’t do
anything about that? (Even though there are whole websites where he’s done the
same to other theatres, yet has NO credits himself.) I wrote Equity about the problem, to which they replied, I need to put my complaint in writing. ?????????????????????
So, maybe, when I’m feeling better, I’ll take the one foot
off the proscenium. Maybe not. I can’t fight battles for drones too weak to
stand up for themselves, even when that means fighting their own union.
We get the theatre we deserve.
Until we breed a braver class; I think I am done.
