NPR: Recently, Baltimore Center Stage had to cancel its first preview of the season. There was a problem with the giant moon in the background and the lights didn't come in time to be thoroughly tested. For artistic director Stephanie Ybarra, it was ultimately a safety issue.
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There have been a lot of changes happening in theater recently, but I don’t think we’re at a point yet where can say that “theater is not a grind”. Things have been improving; more attention to work culture and massive changes in scheduling are a couple of the bigger ones. But the change has been slow. There are still a lot of professionals who left the industry with no plans are coming back (which sidenote more power to them), and though they won’t be here to experience what is to come, I think they serve as a cautionary tale for the industry to continue changing their practices. Had changes not started to be implemented, I doubt there would be enough willing participants to keep this whole operation going. I still hope that more theaters change into the 5 day work week and abolishing 10 out of 12s, but just like the article mentioned it is a promising start.
The idea of what theater can you make with as little time and money as possible has been glamorized as the idea of “the grind” in the theater world for decades and though that idea is changing “the grind” culture is still relevant and a part of today's world in theater. Steps have been made through getting rid of 10 out of 12s, shortening seasons and paying actors more all of which are steps that were taken by Center Stage which is the company talked about in this article. All too often artists are asked to work ridiculous hours for little or no pay doing crazy things for the sake of their art which is not sustainable or equitable though this practice is changing it is far from over yet. Art should be valued just as much as other carriers and the idea of having a healthy work life balance and a line of what you can sacrifice for your art should carry over into the arts and be taught to new and emerging artists.
Theo
1. I am so glad that the idea of “suffering for your art” is finally dying. It is truly an unhealthy pattern and I am shocked it has taken so long to get to this point of reckoning with that fact. It doesn’t align with so many of the values theaters claim to hold. I am glad to see so many changes happening to re-align the practice of theater with its values. Eliminating the 10 out of 12 is really just the tip of the iceberg. I think being financially transparent is a great way to prevent exploitation. Theaters have to be honest about what they can afford and can be held accountable if they are underpaying their employees. Another thing I think more theaters need to take seriously is labor allocation. When working professionally, I have found a lot of theaters don’t pay nearly enough attention to how long something will take to build. It leads to ballooning hours which creates toxic work environments. We can get to a place where both the process and the product is good. As my therapist says, don’t let perfect ruin good.
I'm happy that more and more theatres are realizing that the standards that the industry as a whole has been keeping for decades are not sustainable and that some are finally starting to change them for the better. But really, this work is just starting. Not every place is undergoing these changes, and I'm sure some have no intention of doing so. Hopefully, as more and more people call for change and more and more theatres actually take the steps to implement it, we will finally see the gears turning on a wider scale. For now though, even the small victories are important to celebrate. Especially in this case, since the sheer amount of time spent, burnout, and lack of adequate pay are some of the biggest issues (at least on the logistical side, obviously there are also loads more equitability and diversity issues to work out) facing the theatre industry, and to make theatre more sustainable for the long term, they have to be fixed.
I do think it’s a really dangerous mindset that just because theatre is considered an industry driven by passion, it’s okay to work people into the ground. Although people are often drawn to theatre because they love it and feel a sense of purpose in it, it’s still a job and still important to have regard for employees’ mental and physical health. It takes so much effort and emotional energy to put up a show, and I think it’s absolutely right for this theater to take a step back and have a more reasonable version of the constant “grind.” While the “show must go on” mindset seems like an integral part of theatre, and it’s true that theatre artists are used to making the impossible possible, there is a limit to at what point personal health is simply more important than avoiding a delay or extension. It’s time to stop working ourselves to death for our art.
For a show to shut down because of the amount of man power that they were putting into it is a very eye opening event. I feel like for someone to acknowledge the amount of work that techies put into a show is amazing to me because I feel like usually in the industry, they are over worked and not respected for actually how much they do. Now, of course I don’t have a lot of experience in “the industry” but so far, everyone else in the shows get more recognition. The actors, the pit, even the stage managers. I really feel as though the bottom of the ladder is the programmers, technical directors, media operators, light, sound, and fly operators. While it really is a shame this show was shut down, its nice to see someone doing something for the well being of workers putting the show together.
What is this? A theater is prioritizing the health and wellbeing of its employees over an arbitrary deadline of when the show must go on? It is vey refreshing to see that Center Stage is willing to lose a preview in order to get the production they want in a safe manner. I feel like there’s this notion that technicians do not care about the quality of the art they are helping produce and that they just want to get home as quickly as they can. However, speaking for myself, I take pride in producing a quality product and want to have the final production be the best it can. Unfortunately, historically that has meant unreasonable hours for the technical team for very little pay because they “love what they do” and that was an excuse to not treat people fairly. There is also this unfortunate idea that how things have historically been done is the right way to do them and so there has been little pondering about better business practices. Its great that Center Stage is starting to change that.
This title definitely did catch the eyes of most of us here at CMU. Yes, theatre often feels like you are so busy and there’s never a break. In one of my classes a few days ago, we just had to sit down and vent about how tired and overworked we felt and wondered if the rest of our lives in theatre was going to feel this way. It’s a deep thought for us, and for 18-year old’s, we don’t want to work so hard 24/7 because we’re eventually going to burn out, and most of us realize our worth and how much we can give and take before it’s time to say no. This movement to have sustainable theatre and a life that is livable while working in theatre is one I’m fully behind. I am grateful for places like Center Stage who are leading the way for us to have a sustainable job. We do theatre because we love it and can’t imagine ourselves doing anything else, but it shouldn’t suck the life right out of us.
It’s nice to see a company that genuinely took a look at their resources and then decided to scale back in any capacity once realizing that their current structure was unattainable. Reducing hours is great and cutting the number of shows seems like a smart move. I was surprised to hear that Center Stage cut their internship program, but it is a relief to read about. It feels as though most people have a summer stock or internship/apprenticeship horror story to tell you, myself included. A weekly stipend and housing covered is usually just not enough for individuals to be able to comfortably work during an internship, apprenticeship, or even regular summer stock jobs. It was also great to read about the financial transparency, it’s just not something you often hear about unfortunately. I see the change coming and I’m glad that I get the chance to be working at this time when these shifts are happening.
It’s really awesome to see that shifts are being made to the theater industry everywhere. Obviously, we as theatermakers must hit certain deadlines in order to be successful, but there are times when we don’t necessarily have to be “grinding” all the time to create a successful production. In my freshman year of high school, I was a huge victim of the “grindset”. I would go to school from 8-3, have dance classes from 3:30-6:30, and be in tech from 6:30 until as late as 11 PM, still having to find time to do homework, and balance a social life. I was constantly stressed out and feeling overworked, and overall just did not have a great time mentally. My sophomore year, this changed drastically, especially going into covid where my school rethought a lot of its policies regarding schoolwork and extracurriculars, resulting in me developing healthy working habits.
As a Baltimore native that got into theatre largely because I worked right near centerstage for 2 decades and encountered it's staff often through osmosis..this makes me happy. Center Stage has always been an incredible organization and to see them putting health and safety and resources in a positive and humane way is very refreshing. I'm interested in asking my contact there about how they feel about all of this, I hadn't things had gotten out of hand as Center Stage is a fairly well funded organization. But I guess mponey can only go so far without incurring a very real human cost. I've always had a very buried hope that I can work for them should I decide to return to my hometown after grad school so it's good to see that, in a world of terrible organizations making terrible decisions for the people working within it, there are still companies willing to make the right choice for it's people.
I LOVE this article. No one should need to die for their art or give up most of their life for it. At the end of the day this is a job. Jobs are meant to support you in your life, not make you have no life. I am a big advocate for getting rid of ten out of twelves. Those days are brutal and not as productive as everyone wants them to be. It is actually more productive to do more eight out of tens and be able to make decisions and problem solve with full brain capacity. I like the honesty around pay and explotation in this article. I hope more theatres take notice and keep pushing each other to increase pay so ALL can have a living wage. Working in theatre shouldn’t be a grind. One day I hope we surpass other industries in how we treat workers. Theatre has such a big emphasis on making social change through it’s art, why don’t we flip the focus to also making change through supporting its creators and workers.
This is such an important topic that needs to be more thoroughly discussed within the theatrical industry. Their is no reason why theater should be such a difficult and straining path at times in which we must constantly weigh how important our mental health is. I liked how this article states that our love for theater is usually what keeps us in it due to the low pay in which the career receives. It depicts that people are willing to risk their financial stability and emotional and mental well-being in order to be apart of what they love and continue the legacy of theater. Therefore, I agree with the article that theater is in fact a grind, but shouldn't have to be as hard as the industry makes it out to be. Love for the theatrical industry can only take you so far. If the industry continues to be this rigorous and lacking in pay I fear that the admiration and legacy of theater may deteriorate. Thus its great to see companies that are attempting to prevent this from happening and improve the working conditions of those within theater.
I am so glad this is being talked about and genuinely there are many people that I wish I could send this to because they are perpetuating really dated ideas of what is expected from someone working in theater. Not killing yourself for theater can be a difficult stance to take when up against those specific people. Even in 2022, I have been told that even though I am paid hourly and there are very specific guidelines I agreed to with the LA County Arts Program I am expected to always be on call and to drop everything to get things done. Additionally, they said in order to be successful I will have to work many hours that I am not paid for just like they do. No, that is not my problem. I specifically really resonated with the sentiment that my identity won’t just go away if I just stop. I know my worth and I am more than just a show.
Shoutout to Center Stage for apparently really trying in a way other theaters haven’t. It’s pretty funny to me that theater is only now realizing that it’s a heck of a lot more expensive to lose all your employees and re-train them all the time than it is just to pay a living wage and make people actually want to live there. It may not feel like it up front, but of course it’s cheaper and easier for everyone in the long run. They don’t mention salaries, which is not that surprising - but it’s so sad that at any point staff members were unable to pay for groceries. A quick search on propublica reveals that the executive director is paid almost $200,000 while the artistic director is paid about $175,000 - all both still inside a reasonable scope. Their public finances also indicate that out of their $8 Million budget, only about $21% come from ticket sales.
What else can be said about how our industry is like systemically known for burning out people and not caring about their time or well being as long as they feel like they’re doing something they love then they’re okay. Like the article said, it doesn’t have to be a grind. If doesn’t have to break out backs and make us cry over the silliest of things. We’re supposed to be here because we can’t see ourselves doing anything else right? Because we could learn how to make clothes and how to build houses and run wire through things but we’re playing make believe for a school play. Isn’t that a little bonkers? What is it about all of this that makes us masochists and continue to do it every day? What’s in a theater that keeps us coming back for more? I think it has to be the people, otherwise this would be a very sad place.
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