Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Monday, September 27, 2021
‘Jagged Little Pill’ Dispute Sparks Actors’ Equity Investigation
www.thewrap.com: Actors’ Equity Association is launching an investigation into the workplace environment of Broadway show “Jagged Little Pill,” the union for actors and stage managers announced Sunday.
I read Nora Schell’s statement on Twitter, and was genuinely appalled. Medical problems in people assigned female at birth are never, ever taken seriously, especially in the workplace. There seems to be some assumption that we are over dramatic about everything, as though every AFAB person is lying about their personal pain or problems that should never have been necessary to share or explain in the first place. I am sad to hear how horribly Schell was treated, and I hope they are able to heal and find a much more supportive workplace in the future. In their case they were experiencing the side effects of PCOS, and this is genuinely one of the most uncomfortable, scary, and painful versions of illness that a person with ovaries could have. Surgery, medication, and major lifestyle changes are needed to correct it. When the majority of the population (of all genders, in my experience) doesn’t even know what PCOS is, the experience of the person suffering from it becomes even more uncomfortable given how much they would have to explain their pain to others. If we could all exercise empathy and also properly educate ourselves on basic pieces of reproductive health, perhaps this would not have happened to Schell.
I’m aware that “Jagged Little Pill” has had many issues with the environment that it creates for trans and nonbinary people. But this is something very serious. I think that often we just expect actors to harm their bodies just for the sake of the show. This is a serious medical issue though, which cannot be ignored or dismissed by those in power, even if they want the show to go on. It’s sad that it became so bad of a workplace that Schell had to drop out. In addition, although not talked about in this article, this show has also received backlash for having a cis actor play a nonbinary character and then never addressing it. To further it this actress won a Tony for the role and will continue to tell a story that is so personal for many others who actually have that identity. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first show to treat trans actors and characters and certainly won’t be the last until the industry stops so viciously embracing only the cis binary.
Jagged Little Pill, in it’s commercialized Broadway form, has consistently done more harm than good. Whenever I hear that there’s news about JLP, I just think “what did the producers do again?”, which is not a reputation you want to have for your show. The non-binary plot line was reduced going from off-Broadway to Broadway, so to hear them be hypercritical of those communities who work on their show is disappointing but not surprising. Forcing a cast member to put off live-saving surgery for the sake of the show and not offering them medical leave is inhumane and would not happen in most other industries. That’s why I’m glad the union is doing a thorough investigation into these abuses. We have unions to protect workers in all industries (for us technicians thank you IATSE!) and the union has long needed to use its power to investigate this show and how they run their operation. Down with JLP! Treat your people better.
I have had my quite rocky, or should I say jagged, journey with Jagged Little Pill since it had come to Broadway. I am a big believer that trans roles should be played by trans actors. The excuse of “there wasn’t a trans performer that fit the role” is absurd. Because if there wasn’t a trans performer that fit your vision of the character, it says more about what you, as a cis writer, think being trans is. And this also does not apply for Jagged Little Pill since they had hired multiple non-binary people anyways. For example the incredibly talented Iris Menas. Iris being the first cover for the character of Jo. This makes it even more revealing the extent of Jagged Little Pill’s progressiveness. If the creative vision’s transphobia is already so transparent, what does it say about what goes on behind the curtain. All this to say I was surprised at this news but not as much as I should have been. To use a position of power to pressure someone to perform despite having a condition that needed surgery is downright unethical. The cherry on the top is how this dealt with the actor’s ovaries. A more direct parallel, or rather juxtaposition could not be made. I would call it a perfect example of a show not understanding the simple concept of “practice what you preach”.
4 comments:
I read Nora Schell’s statement on Twitter, and was genuinely appalled. Medical problems in people assigned female at birth are never, ever taken seriously, especially in the workplace. There seems to be some assumption that we are over dramatic about everything, as though every AFAB person is lying about their personal pain or problems that should never have been necessary to share or explain in the first place. I am sad to hear how horribly Schell was treated, and I hope they are able to heal and find a much more supportive workplace in the future. In their case they were experiencing the side effects of PCOS, and this is genuinely one of the most uncomfortable, scary, and painful versions of illness that a person with ovaries could have. Surgery, medication, and major lifestyle changes are needed to correct it. When the majority of the population (of all genders, in my experience) doesn’t even know what PCOS is, the experience of the person suffering from it becomes even more uncomfortable given how much they would have to explain their pain to others. If we could all exercise empathy and also properly educate ourselves on basic pieces of reproductive health, perhaps this would not have happened to Schell.
I’m aware that “Jagged Little Pill” has had many issues with the environment that it creates for trans and nonbinary people. But this is something very serious. I think that often we just expect actors to harm their bodies just for the sake of the show. This is a serious medical issue though, which cannot be ignored or dismissed by those in power, even if they want the show to go on. It’s sad that it became so bad of a workplace that Schell had to drop out. In addition, although not talked about in this article, this show has also received backlash for having a cis actor play a nonbinary character and then never addressing it. To further it this actress won a Tony for the role and will continue to tell a story that is so personal for many others who actually have that identity. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first show to treat trans actors and characters and certainly won’t be the last until the industry stops so viciously embracing only the cis binary.
Jagged Little Pill, in it’s commercialized Broadway form, has consistently done more harm than good. Whenever I hear that there’s news about JLP, I just think “what did the producers do again?”, which is not a reputation you want to have for your show. The non-binary plot line was reduced going from off-Broadway to Broadway, so to hear them be hypercritical of those communities who work on their show is disappointing but not surprising. Forcing a cast member to put off live-saving surgery for the sake of the show and not offering them medical leave is inhumane and would not happen in most other industries. That’s why I’m glad the union is doing a thorough investigation into these abuses. We have unions to protect workers in all industries (for us technicians thank you IATSE!) and the union has long needed to use its power to investigate this show and how they run their operation. Down with JLP! Treat your people better.
I have had my quite rocky, or should I say jagged, journey with Jagged Little Pill since it had come to Broadway. I am a big believer that trans roles should be played by trans actors. The excuse of “there wasn’t a trans performer that fit the role” is absurd. Because if there wasn’t a trans performer that fit your vision of the character, it says more about what you, as a cis writer, think being trans is. And this also does not apply for Jagged Little Pill since they had hired multiple non-binary people anyways. For example the incredibly talented Iris Menas. Iris being the first cover for the character of Jo. This makes it even more revealing the extent of Jagged Little Pill’s progressiveness. If the creative vision’s transphobia is already so transparent, what does it say about what goes on behind the curtain.
All this to say I was surprised at this news but not as much as I should have been. To use a position of power to pressure someone to perform despite having a condition that needed surgery is downright unethical. The cherry on the top is how this dealt with the actor’s ovaries. A more direct parallel, or rather juxtaposition could not be made. I would call it a perfect example of a show not understanding the simple concept of “practice what you preach”.
Post a Comment