DC Theater Arts: The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has always been a part of my life. Growing up just outside of Washington, D.C., in the 2000s, I always saw its large marble building as integral to my city’s landscape, just as much as the Washington Monument. I came of age in the building, seeing Theater for Young Audiences as a kid, national tours of Broadway musicals as a middle schooler, and music concerts as a high schooler.
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Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center is a feeble attempt to assert his power. Theater, especially the Kennedy Center, has been a way for queer people to see themselves represented in different ways. One of the students I worked with last year who is a very talented drummer had applied to work with the Kennedy Center over the summer. When he had first applied, it was before Trump had taken over and I was very excited for him. However, a few months later when it was announced that Trump would be in charge of the Kennedy Center I became more worried about this student if he eventually got the job. While it would have hopefully been a good opportunity and would have looked great on a resume, he is a transman and I worried for his safety if he were to work there. The fact that people now have to worry about their safety if they express themselves the way they want to makes me incredibly upset.
I do not agree with everything this administration has done to the Kennedy Center. It’s completely destroyed the spirit of this theatre, all for Trump’s assertive power trip. The fact that the first thing Trump did was come in and start firing people- rather than looking back and being like “hey lets see what they’re accomplishing, and what they actually do” is very offending to the entire industry. You should never have a new CEO of a company come in and immediately start firing people because he doesn’t appreciate them doing what they’re supposed to, which is introduce people to theatre. You do not force values onto art, everyone comes in with their own interpretations on pieces and express themself through their acting or designs. You do not ever change an entire way of something functioning in order to make it more “patriotic”, especially something like theatre where its all human expressive. This is a gross misuse of authority that I strongly believe is morally wrong, as you are preventing expression, and I am very sad it’s come to this.
As Trump continues his decimation of Washington, I anticipate more of this will continue to happen. I talked about this in another article last week, and it comes at no surprise to me that employees are leaving the Kennedy Center alongside their audiences. I hope that all of the people who are leaving the Kennedy Center are able to find jobs elsewhere, and that employers will not hold their previous experience at the Kennedy Center against them. I’ve written about the Kennedy Center a few times now, and the theme of potentially irreversible damage continues to come up time and time again. The silver lining I’m hoping for here is that DC independent theatre can see a boost, in part because of the audiences and employees leaving the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center was such a massive institution, it’s loss will create a ripple effect throughout DC and the surrounding areas.
It’s so sad to read these stories. Especially when the Kennedy Center is a special place to someone. The fact that the writer has been going there since being in elementary school to then end up working at the Kennedy Center 50 years later really shows how important this venue really is to people. While the president selects the board members, the board should not be fired just because Trump dislikes what’s being produced there. The abuse of power is really getting out of hand, I never thought it was going to go so far as to ruin a place like the Kennedy Center for the people. I would really hate to see everything related to this venue keep going downhill, and instead, hope this problem can get resolved soon. Not only is it a great performance place that people enjoy working at, it’s also a historical site dedicated to John F. Kennedy.
In continuing to keep up with the discourse surrounding the state of the Kennedy Center as a resident nearby Washington DC, many of the claims brought to light in this opinion piece didn’t surprise me. I can relate so heavily to this author, Nathan Pugh, in the sorrowful shift in view of how the Kennedy Center seemed before Trump’s declaration over it. The powerlessness of Pugh in seeing everything unfold from within the Kennedy Center itself heavily parallels the general public’s opinion of the Kennedy Center as well. However, hearing first-hand how tragic and drastic many of the measures taken actually were really allows us as a community to recognize the harm being done from within ourselves. I was especially struck by the overall practices of the Kennedy Center now and the general incompetence of leadership as told from Pugh, “Take politics out of this for a second. Imagine I were working for a Fortune 500 company and that, over five days, half of its board were fired, under-qualified management came in, and I were expected to carry on with no dissent or critique. You’d probably call that a toxic workplace.” I’m glad Pugh took the step in leaving on his own volition, but it’s disheartening to hear and how there are many others like him who feel trapped to stay. It goes to show how directing blame towards individuals in situations such as this only makes us more divided, when the people in leadership and power are really the ones responsible.
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