The Theatre is a cult. Change my mind.
So I've been watching all of these cult shows.
"The Vow" about Nxivm, "The Aftermath" about Scientology, the HBO doc about the Heaven's Gate cult as well as lady hero Gretchen Carlson's special about Nxivm and I have come to the conclusion that the American Theatre and the systems that support it, is a cult complete with abuse, disconnection and brainwashed members.
My thesis begins with my viewing of the tragic, "One Night On Broadway" where America was supposed to be shown the shining light that is the PINNACLE of theatrical art not just in America, but the world and they gave us nothing but tired ass jukebox musical numbers. It makes me absolutely livid to think of the performers sacrifice and struggle, auditions, workshops, SO MUCH ASS KISSING and then, you finally get your shot and it's??? KARAOKE. And look, I get it, they really thought that those musical numbers were all the general american public could handle, proving that even one of our great artistic pillars will underestimate and prostrate to the greater dumb.
Anyway. Theatre is a cult, Here's my brief story -
You wanna fit in in highschool and you see that drama is a place where you can, it seems inclusive, intelligent and interesting.
To join the International Thespian Society we had to be "initiated". We had a "master" and we were supposed to do anything they said. This all happened at school, so it seemed innocent enough, but we were slaves to a master and all of this was overseen by a powerful drama teacher who suddenly we all just believed in and wanted to impress.
Everything else became somewhat secondary to theatre. Theatre kid became the identity and then Actress became the identity.
We clamored in large group auditions for college programs. These conferences were held in large hotels and college meetings were in hotel rooms.
Children auditioning to go up to hotel rooms to decide their future.
And then college. Total servitude to a program at the expense (literally) of anything else because that is how you SERVE ART. We learned that our sacrifice could SAVE THE WORLD. We kowtowed to adults that had no business being around us. Here you learn that theatre looks and feels inclusive from the outside, but once you get in, you better fit the description and you better roll with the punches because this is ART, and you're here to SERVE it. I was so hell bent on pleasing my professors and my ego that I never questioned their information. I bought all in and I was brainwashed. My first professional role I had to be topless on stage. I didn't want to do it, but it was a big deal that I had been cast professionally and I guess I had a chance to prove my commitment, right? It was classy, my professor was the lighting designer 👀 And then we move on, and we NEVER STOP WORKING and then you reach the next level of cultitude, NYC (LA is a different branch of the cult, but you commit to one of the two if you are a serious cult member) Now you work for FREE and do all the "right" things, workshops, headshots, sitting through terrible broadway plays and being told they're good...you learn lingo and name dropping and you disconnect. (I saw my parents maybe once a year for 20 years) And rolling with the punches didn't just mean long hours and rude comments, it also meant the rolling hands of former broadway leading men and lesser douchebags. AT this point in my journey, I began to really question what the hell I was doing - this work was not satisfying or good half the time, the influencers I met just seemed like well connected hacks, NYC became a shithole to me, a concentration camp built by happy prisoners (Thanks, "My Dinner with Andre")
But If I quit, I'll be a FAILURE and I WILL LOSE ALL MY FRIENDS and here's where the NYC cult comes in..."How will you be an artist outside of New York??" Which is such a joke, like how dare NYC act that way in this big ol' country full of art?
ANYWAY, I went to LA and then to SLC where I finally had an abusive incident that caused me to speak out. The theatre handled it poorly. I finished the run of that show and I did not report the incident to the Union because that was one of the only union houses in the town, so where would other cult members work if I shut it down? I told my friends (of course we were friends, we were in the same cult!) what happened to me and I was quickly shut out of what had been my community. Most people I know still work there.
Oh yeah - and you PAY to be in a UNION that will absolutely give you medical coverage if you are also steadily employed and paying them on the regular which even very successful actors find difficult at times. I kept paying my equity dues for awhile after I left the theatre, mostly because I knew my actor friends would really look down on dropping my equity status and I was unsure of my identity without it.
I could go on and on into specifics on so many levels, but I mostly wanted to articulate just a little of what is going through my head about this. I have good stories about working in the theatre as well, and have met amazing artists along the way, but more often than not, upon reflection, I am deeply troubled.
I want to link this here - it is a worthy call out and long overdue, but honestly, I'm on strike altogether.
WE SEE YOU WHITE AMERICAN THEATRE LINK
I do believe in art and theatre as art. I do not believe the rules I have been taught around it, and I would beg you to question everything you know, why you believe what you believe about art and why and where did you read it or see it? Who built that institution? What were their intentions? Art does not belong to one city or one class of people, so stop believing that and paying to support it.
Performers. If you're going to stay in the cult, demand more, you've certainly earned it.
ART needs to INNOVATE and to help us EVOLVE. The resources are here.
Please explode any crumbling pillars that you find.
-NG-
I worked in professional and educational theatre for YEARS as a costume professional. I dipped into severe anxiety with full on panic attacks because it was never clear what was expected of me. All that was certain was that I was not committed enough because I wanted to see my wife every once in a while and I didn’t want to sit through 7 nights of tech.
ReplyDeleteThis pandemic has given me a lot of clarity. I got a new job. I work 9-5 Monday through Friday. I have health care and when I work more than 40 hours a week, you know what they do? THEY PAY ME TIME AND A HALF! I get to see my wife, we’ve got our credit cards almost paid off and you know what? We’re even planning a vacation that has nothing to do with a gig.
I’m still a passionate sewist. I think learning my craft has value. I still use it everyday professionally and personally. I may even return to theatre at some point. But you know what I don’t have to do? Accept abuse and accept people looking down on me because I do this industry’s “women’s work”. The work we love can happen without the frantic, sleepless, manic environment people have perpetuated for so long. You don’t have to marry the theatre (a grad school professor told me that was a requirement and why at 60 she had never married), it can just be a job.