Many of us got into the theatre because we found a safe haven of fellow weirdos who “got us.”
Then over the years discovered that we’d entered a space of shitty boundaries, predatory behavior, body shaming, arrogance, egos, gossip, and disrespect. Many of us had our humanity slowly eaten away at. Many of us said and did things we regret. Many of us experienced things we would rather forget about. And we realized that this wasn’t a safe haven, after all—not unless you’d reached a certain level of power that protected you and isolated you.
It could be a better, safer, more inclusive, environment for everyone—but instead it’s a space where only a lucky few have the chance to make their work without being dehumanized.
This is true in the “professional” as well as “community” spaces. (“Not all,” I hear you saying. Maybe. But far too many.)
I hope that the theatre will collectively decide to do better, to atone for exclusivity and toxicity, to make it our mission to do better. People should not feel erased by this art form; they should feel more human. They should feel seen. And heard. And there are too many spaces where the opposite is true, and worse this behavior is being picked up by young generations indoctrinated into this world of exclusivity.
Please, if you’re reading this and you have any influence, make the spaces better, safer, kinder, more generous—more filled with empathy and love for the true joy (and essential human need) of telling stories. Give the world a fat, femme Romeo; a butch, tough Evita; a non-binary Fiyero. Give the world stories that are imperfectly told by writers no one has heard of and produce them as with the same gusto as the imperfect stories by writers everyone has heard of. Be actively anti-racist. Re-discover the joys of all different body shapes. And please treat people like fucking humans, not as props, robots, or inconveniences. And if you have something to say about someone, say it to THEM and give them the chance to evolve. Accept the feedback your given. And, above all, listen to the people who are telling you how you can be better. Ignore the people who tell you what you want to hear.
It can be a beautiful art form. I hope it will be one again.
Time will tell.
At this time, the only of my plays available for production is GIRL ON A WHITE ELEPHANT which can be licensed through Next Stage Press.
Then over the years discovered that we’d entered a space of shitty boundaries, predatory behavior, body shaming, arrogance, egos, gossip, and disrespect. Many of us had our humanity slowly eaten away at. Many of us said and did things we regret. Many of us experienced things we would rather forget about. And we realized that this wasn’t a safe haven, after all—not unless you’d reached a certain level of power that protected you and isolated you.
It could be a better, safer, more inclusive, environment for everyone—but instead it’s a space where only a lucky few have the chance to make their work without being dehumanized.
This is true in the “professional” as well as “community” spaces. (“Not all,” I hear you saying. Maybe. But far too many.)
I hope that the theatre will collectively decide to do better, to atone for exclusivity and toxicity, to make it our mission to do better. People should not feel erased by this art form; they should feel more human. They should feel seen. And heard. And there are too many spaces where the opposite is true, and worse this behavior is being picked up by young generations indoctrinated into this world of exclusivity.
Please, if you’re reading this and you have any influence, make the spaces better, safer, kinder, more generous—more filled with empathy and love for the true joy (and essential human need) of telling stories. Give the world a fat, femme Romeo; a butch, tough Evita; a non-binary Fiyero. Give the world stories that are imperfectly told by writers no one has heard of and produce them as with the same gusto as the imperfect stories by writers everyone has heard of. Be actively anti-racist. Re-discover the joys of all different body shapes. And please treat people like fucking humans, not as props, robots, or inconveniences. And if you have something to say about someone, say it to THEM and give them the chance to evolve. Accept the feedback your given. And, above all, listen to the people who are telling you how you can be better. Ignore the people who tell you what you want to hear.
It can be a beautiful art form. I hope it will be one again.
Time will tell.
At this time, the only of my plays available for production is GIRL ON A WHITE ELEPHANT which can be licensed through Next Stage Press.
