*taps the mic* Hey... this thing still on…?
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Hamil-weekend!
Once upon a time, I'd thought that I'd return here if a big event happened. Something like, say, the release of a movie.
I never imagined that said big event would be entirely overshadowed by a pandemic incapacitating the country, which had in turn allowed for a long-overdue reckoning with the U.S.'s foundational racism to burst forth, and, individually, being just a week out from being surrounded by the police who, it turns out, would attack the queer liberation march literally on the day of Pride while I was taking a breather on the steps of the Public Theater, which was just one more incident in an ever-growing litany of bald-faced police overstep beyond the usual racial inequity, to the point of snatching a well-known musical theater composer from her own front stoop for having the audacity to cheer in support of protesters.
There are still parts of Hamilton that are amazing.
It's also amazing and wonderful that so much of Hamilton is NOT revolutionary. The cultural conversation is on the move. And the arts play such a huge role in that movement.
On Friday the 13th of March of this year, the NYC theater industry closed for the foreseeable future. Theaters elsewhere in the country have followed. On a human level, almost everyone involved in the industry is unemployed: actors, dancers, singers, musicians, stage managers, backstage crew, electricians, carpenters, stitchers, props artisans, designers, writers, directors, choreographers, box office staff, ushers, janitors, security, marketing, scenery building shops, and more. Adjacent businesses, whose clients are theatre workers and theater audiences, are affected as well: restaurants, bars, the bodegas with the cute cats, materials suppliers, and more. On a cultural level, even if there were enough "other jobs" for everyone to go to, what will be left when performance is able to resume? I fear that the "unpaid internship" will become writ even larger than normal: the people who will have the means to stay in the industry will be reduced down to an even more exclusive class than they are currently.
This has not been the case globally. In some countries, the pandemic is sufficiently under control for even professional productions in big cities to continue with safety measures in place (e.g., The Phantom of the Opera in Seoul). In some countries, the government is giving robust financial support to the arts (e.g., Britain announcing a nearly $2 billion stimulus for the industry).
The Arts in the U.S. need your support. If you can donate, then donate. But perhaps even more important: contact your senators and other officials to encourage them to support measures that will keep artists and the arts going. And be the change within your own families and communities to help fight the view that the arts are disposable. If someone has read a book or listened to music or Netflix-and-chilled or watched a Marvel movie, then they are benefiting from the arts – not just the material that they are directly consuming, but the community theater or PBS broadcast that led that movie star to start acting in the first place. (To say nothing of: remember all of the tweets of people saying that the Watchmen series was how they learned about the Tulsa Massacre?)
& I’m sure that A.Ham would appreciate the fact that the Arts & Entertainment industry accounts for $877.8 BILLION in value and 4.5% of U.S. GDP.
ExtendPUA.org/entertainment is a good place to start. You can find information on more ways to be an #ArtsHero here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tJFHBXZYZfHG86l4jr2dFFS-KBtUkdcfewHDl9iVUyI/edit (And remember, try to personalize the subject line and at least a couple sentences of any auto-generated emails so that they don't get flagged as spam!)
Check out See Lighting Foundation to support immigrant theatre artists, who are particularly vulnerable right now. Between their specific risks/futility in applying for government benefits, the increasingly onerous visa processes, & the simple fact that theatres in other countries are not facing the shitshow faced by theatres here, many immigrant theatre artists are looking at leaving the U.S.. It will be, truly, our loss.
There is a lot of work happening within the industry right now that isn't a product for immediate public purchase. Grassroots groups organizing for more equitable labor practices. Forums hosted to root out and start healing the racism within the industry. (The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, of which Hamilton alum Amber Iman is a co-founder, has been doing great work.) Works in the early stages of creation that hopefully have actual stages ready for them when the time comes. Be proud to support all of this.
Also: if you are a young BIPOC stage manager (or even just stage management curious!), please feel free to reach out to me if you’d like to chat about the profession, including grad school and NYC specifics.
Black lives matter. This land is stolen from Indigenous people who are still here. Stonewall was a riot. Wear a fucking mask.
