Datebook: Writing about my fellow Bay Area theater critics poses journalistic challenges. We all see each other all the time at opening nights. I count many of them as friends. But writing about Sam Hurwitt might be an especially tricky subject. He was my boss when we both worked for Theatre Bay Area; he’s the son of my predecessor at The Chronicle, Robert Hurwitt, in addition to regularly freelancing for The Chronicle in the past himself.
3 comments:
The life of a theatre critic seems to be extremely romanticized, as the assumption is this career is all about seeing all the theatre possible, for free, and then having the power to "make or break" a show with what you publish about it. However, as indicated in the article, life as a theatre journalist and critic is extremely difficult. However, with the emergence of new bills such as AB5, could potentially help to create a standard for freelance artists. Many freelancers, like Sam Hurwitt, are choosing to leave this field as he sees the wage is decreasing to a point that is no longer livable. However, AB5 could potentially create a union of sorts to support people like Hurwitt in order to ensure that journalists and artists are paid a fair salary. This could have an extreme effect on theatre companies, as they rely heavily on critics to draw in audience members and advertise their shows.
I thought this was a really interesting article to read because really I know absolutely nothing about the theatre critic industry. I didn’t even know that freelance theatre journalists were a thing. I assumed that every theatre critic was writing for a company already so this was new information to me. I find it really sad that there are laws getting put in place that make it harder for these people to make a living. It seems like so much work to propose and pass a bill that makes so many people’s lives harder. I know this article is written from the eyes of someone negatively impacted by this bill, but I can’t really figure out what the point of this bill was or who it was made to benefit. The author ends the article by saying “if we truly value the arts” and I think the powers that be in this situation probably do not truly value the arts.
This article was very inspiring, because I am not familiar with the political issues, especially in the west of the States. Now knowing that AB5 was initially designed to target drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft in particular, I find the current situation of how it is affecting freelancers in other industries very problematic. Although the government is willing to make further changes, a loss that has already occurred for freelancers is irreparable. However, the approval of the bill could be considered as a good chance for theatre companies and organizations to reconsider the importance of the freelance critics. Yes, working as a freelancer means that one should be aware of the unstable income, but I think there is too much exploitation of them in the current industry. “We rely on freelance writers to contribute the plurality of perspectives that so many of us have sought to reflect on our stages.” Those words stuck with me. If they are the mediators between productions and the audience, the whole industry is responsible for maintaining their working environment.
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