Theatre | The Guardian: Equity, the UK trade union for creative practitioners, has seen a massive upsurge in cases of racism reported across the stage and screen industries. Paul Fleming, the union’s incoming general secretary, said the complaints raised by members include “dignity issues” and racist language used in dressing rooms and auditions.
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It is interesting to see the correlation between Black Lives Matter protests and an increase in reports of racist behaviors. As the article points out, it feels likely that this is a result of people feeling more comfortable with reporting these cases rather than an increase in the actual number of instances, but it is hard to say for sure. I know in my life, I have noticed people becoming more bold with racist rhetoric in response to things like BLM protests. For instance, when Obama was elected, it emboldened many southern whites to start using racial language, including the N word openly in public. This is the type of language that they were using already, just behind closed doors, but after the 2008 election, they became more confident in their ability to be openly racist. I think that this might be a similar case here where people are more likely to act the way they have felt for a long time in response to what they see happening in the world. Either way, I am glad that more of these cases are being reported so that hopefully, there can start to be a greater degree of accountability to hold people to.
I completely agree with Cooper. I find it interesting how culture mirror’s leadership even subconsciously, I notice people adopting more lackadaisical attitudes toward COVID-19 and I have a feeling this has to deal with our president and his political party on the majority being lackadaisical toward Covid-19. Even people who don’t agree with Republican politicians repeat things that disagree with science that I can’t help but think this because our highest political office is also doubting science. So I can imagine this is the same as racism in America. I think the article does seem to make a good point about people having time to reflect while in the stay at home order as well as a comfort in the BLM movement to come forward with their racist complaints. I find it incredible if how far-reaching the American Black Lives Matter movement is and how international the response it. I have been reading a lot of articles about British Equity and theatre in Europe and I find it interesting that they experience very similar issues to America even though they have a very different history. It is also interesting how we are also seeing artists who work in the commercial speaking gout with a new vigor, which is similar to the American Broadway seen.
I agree with my classmates above on a lot of points. The Black Lives Matter movement has reached a global audience and we are seeing that in instances like mentioned in this article. With attention now being focused on racial inequality in institutions, BIPOC are finally feeling as if they can start to speak out against the racism they have experienced within the theatre community. With the theatre industry essentially shut down, it is giving BIPOC artist the opportunity to lead change in our industry. It is giving the already established, typically white, leaders time to reflect on how they can change the institutions that benefit them to benefit all.
It will be interesting to see how this theatre shutdown plays out in terms of seeing which theatre companies actually make changes versus which companies were only saying “Black Lives Matter” and sharing a black square on their Instagram feeds for clout.
Macbeth is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays and to see it get new life in this format is so exciting. Shakespeare, having been around for a while and being so overproduced, there is some burn out from all the ways you can “re-invent” his play. With adaptations spanning from Romeo & Juliet with gnomes to The Tempest but in space, it feels like every permutation has been covered. However, I think 1860s New York feels like a new take on Macbeth. With its supernatural element, it seems to be one of his plays that most resist modernization. However, this middle ground of historical fiction feels great and ingenious. I am slightly concerned by how much it has been cut down. The article claims the edit was educational purposes, and I’m not sure what that means. As someone who enjoys podcast and watching long-form unedited D&D campaigns, I don’t think Macbeth needed to be cut down that much, but honestly it’s been a while since I read it so maybe that’s not much editing. Overall, looking forward to listening to this and hopefully more Shakespeare and classic plays can become podcasts or radio plays.
It is refreshing to see more and more institutions acknowledge that there is a underlying racism in our society that fundamentally creates an uneven playing field at any opportunity. Additionally, it is welcomed to see such institutions like Equity acknowledge that any work to dismantle racism needs to start from within and that every group needs to set itself up as an anti-racist organization, and not just start calling out other organizations or society at large as racist. I do wish that this movement was being lead by an actual BIPOC who understood the struggles of being a BIPOC. While Fleming’s focus on dismantling the class barrier will go far to address inequality because patriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalism are all linked, only fixing one without addressing the others will prove much more difficult than if he just acknowledge that even within classes there is still racism that needs to be fixed. I’m sure he would need to look no further than those upticks in dignity complaints. I bet most of those comments made in dressing rooms were made by “class peers,” but sharing class isn’t going to stop people from being racist.
Reading this article (and they even mentioned it) reminds me of the uprise iin sexual harassment complaints during the #MeToo movement. However, it also reminds me in the rise of people refusing to believe that women were lying for selfish reasons, and only came out at that time because it was "trendy". I feel like this always happens when there is a concentrated rise in any phenomenon, even people coming out as LGBTQ+, and I can't stop thinking about how much of a disgusting mindset it is. It is absolutely a good thing that more people are speaking up about their experiences, and it makes sense that they are. People who have never experienced any kind of discrimination or shame in self-identity do not understand how hard these things are to talk about in a world that consistently tells you that you are undesirable, and an anomaly. I'm so happy that people's voices are finally being heard!
I'm really hoping that more than signing a pledge is being done here. By all means, that looks great on the surface- they're acknowledging it. But it's just that- surface treatment. I hope that there are people, genuine people, behind the scenes working at these issues. I hope that they are hearing these complaints in their entirety, attempting to understand them, addressing them head on, and finding ways to fix them and prevent them from occurring again, whilst dealing with the source of the issues. Opening up the doors to people of color is a great start (and it definitely ups the diversity points for companies) but it means absolutely nothing if these people's worth and sense of value are not being acknowledged and they are not being treated as equals in the industry. It means absolutely nothing if these people are going to have to be within the company fighting for themselves to belong and have a voice... I also hope that people are truly understanding what it means to be anti-racist, rather than thinking it simply means letting people unlike themselves into a space.
People are speaking out against unfair and racist treatment. Now it’s Equity’s turn to stand up for all of the members. This includes not talking but listening and doing more than just making a pledge. All too often, groups make public statements and then fall back into the same routines as before. They pay lip service and then nothing happens. I am glad that voices are speaking up and that they are being heard, but what I really hope is that this signifies real change. It will really come down to these theatres to not only sign the pledge but to actively implement the changes and recommendations that are being called for. Apologies are a start, but they go nowhere if they are not followed up by real substantial and long-lasting change both within Equity membership and within the entire performing arts community. Some people need to stop talking and just listen, acknowledge the wrong committed and then find a path forward with everyone together to make theatre better both for the people on stage and for the people in the audience.
As everyone has said above me, it is interesting and empowering to see how global Black Lives Matter’s impact is. But I think what people are failing to realize if that reporting happens, but rarely are artists of color listened to. I have been through tons of shows, CMU Drama and before, where black artists have to do their own hair because hair & makeup has either fucked it up or they feel the person is too uneducated. I would also like to know what they’re doing to make themselves “anti-racist”? The label sounds good but nothing is really elaborated on other than there is more reporting happening. Equity is inevitably a racist organization with how actors and managers of colors are treated in the business. Having conversations with stage managers of color of the racism they had to “tough out” just to get their equity card completely turned me and other young managers away from theatre. I’m glad the attention is finally there but I can’t really believe it until I see steps taken towards becoming anti-racist.
This article proves just how important raising awareness and protesting truly is. Hearing of people speaking up inspires others, encouraging them to voice their problems within a deeply flawed industry. Often, I lose hope and I feel like the awareness others and I are creating is not doing anything, but this article is a direct result of just that. Reporting problems, however, is only the first small step in the grand scheme of things. These reports must all be considered, investigated, and real change must come out of every one for them to be effective. Although reporting these problems is a step forward, the real change must come from the systems the report addresses. If reports are ignored, this is only a superficial step toward equity so the industry can say it is more accepting when in truth it has barely changed at its core; therefore, I would like to hear about more substantial change before I become too hopeful.
While I think the fact that it took waves of protests sparked by the unjust deaths of innocent people for people to feel comfortable even reporting instances of racial discrimination in the workplace is completely unacceptable to begin with, I do think that this is a sign for the better. Let me clarify that point: I personally think that it is amazing that recognition is finally being given to the inequity that is fostered in our communities, but I still think the fact that it took so long for it to reach that point is appalling. Sometimes change takes a long time, but when it's a matter of feeling safe and respected in someone's workplace, especially in an industry where the workplace feels more akin to a second home due to the amount of dedication that goes into it, that change is long overdue. What I'm especially happy about is the fact that this change is receiving active support and endorsement from larger organizations and their leadership, because that is perhaps one of the most promising signs we could get that improvement is in our future.
The tone of this article is quite “surprised,” which annoys me because it signifies an ignorant author. I do agree with the commercial theatre producer that the author spoke to, however. To assume that zero cases of racism reported means zero cases of racism is foolish and dismissive. Simply boosting diversity and inclusion efforts will not erase the issue of racism, either. People of color will feel less excluded, but none of that has anything directly to do with stopping racist acts from others. Theatre unions and organizations need to be proactive in removing individuals guilty of racism from these artist’s workspaces and lives. When this pandemic is over, artists around the globe cannot go back to conditions like this. It is the job of these theatre associations to put protections in place that will keep racism and oppression out of these creative workspaces. Failure to do this successfully is simply unacceptable.
I agree with other comments here, that it’s good that people feel more comfortable in reporting incidents of racism and discrimination, and it’s good that people are at least stating a desire to promote anti-racist practices in the industry, and frustrating that this is still something that POC have to deal with, and frustrating that simply making a statement that ‘we will address this’ is not the same thing as actually addressing it. Has the ‘enormous rise’ in complaints actually led to any improvement? I’ve seen people talking online about how maybe the lockdown should act as a reset button, and that when we do finally return in full force it should be with a new understanding of anti-racism and a commitment to actually addressing issues rather than talking about them endlessly. It’s encouraging to see that the effects of the BLM movement this summer have spread not just through America but to other countries as well, and encouraging that if nothing else, people feel safer to report issues rather than staying silent about them.
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