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Monday, September 16, 2024
Broadway Swing Joanna Carpenter Wants to Make One of Theatre's Hardest Jobs a Little Bit Easier
Playbill: On Broadway, there are few jobs as difficult as being a swing. Stars play their one single role, while ensemble members tend to stick to their one single track and might understudy a principal character or two. Swings, on the other hand, are the Swiss army knives of Broadway.
2 comments:
Carly Tamborello
said...
I am totally on board that swings have one of the most difficult jobs in theatre, having to keep so many tracks in their head that are often only slightly different, or that may have a wide variety of expectations, not to mention choreo/lines/notes to memorize. I would definitely never be able to live with that much unpredictability. However I feel like I have more questions than answers about SwingNation. I’m curious what “infrastructure,” as Johnson puts it, will be beneficial to swings, and how SwingNation can make that happen. I guess most of the information coming at swings on a contract is show-specific, so while the directing/SM teams and cast may be experts in the show, they may not necessarily have tools and resources for how to be a swing in general. I wonder what changes or updates would need to happen in the industry to make this job less rigorous––although the rigor is probably part of the appeal of the job in the first place.
I think that this program is an incredible idea and will serve as an amazing resource to the amazing swings who keep our industry running. To be honest, I’m surprised a program like this one hasn’t existed until now. Without swings, shows would have to cancel performances left and right. Especially during the months (and years) following the reopening after the pandemic, swings were needed nearly every day for many shows. Without them, there’s no way shows would’ve been able to survive and yet they’re so often overlooked and not given the respect they deserve and the resources they need. I once read an article that said a swing could save a production 6 figures in one night by preventing a performance from being canceled. If they are this important to what we do, they definitely need to be supported like they’re this important so I’m very glad this program is going to be in place to help current and future swings.
2 comments:
I am totally on board that swings have one of the most difficult jobs in theatre, having to keep so many tracks in their head that are often only slightly different, or that may have a wide variety of expectations, not to mention choreo/lines/notes to memorize. I would definitely never be able to live with that much unpredictability. However I feel like I have more questions than answers about SwingNation. I’m curious what “infrastructure,” as Johnson puts it, will be beneficial to swings, and how SwingNation can make that happen. I guess most of the information coming at swings on a contract is show-specific, so while the directing/SM teams and cast may be experts in the show, they may not necessarily have tools and resources for how to be a swing in general. I wonder what changes or updates would need to happen in the industry to make this job less rigorous––although the rigor is probably part of the appeal of the job in the first place.
I think that this program is an incredible idea and will serve as an amazing resource to the amazing swings who keep our industry running. To be honest, I’m surprised a program like this one hasn’t existed until now. Without swings, shows would have to cancel performances left and right. Especially during the months (and years) following the reopening after the pandemic, swings were needed nearly every day for many shows. Without them, there’s no way shows would’ve been able to survive and yet they’re so often overlooked and not given the respect they deserve and the resources they need. I once read an article that said a swing could save a production 6 figures in one night by preventing a performance from being canceled. If they are this important to what we do, they definitely need to be supported like they’re this important so I’m very glad this program is going to be in place to help current and future swings.
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