What The Theatre Industry Can Learn from 2020

STAFF EDITORIAL

I think we can all agree that 2020 was not our year. From the global pandemic to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, every day has brought some new kind of nightmare.

And now, we have finally reached 2021. I’m certain that many of us breathed a sigh of relief as the clock struck midnight. Of course, I don’t believe that the arbitrary date of January 1 can reset the world and fix all of our problems. In fact, based on the storming of the Capitol on January 6, I think we can all agree on that point. But I do think that the end of 2020 can still be meaningful for all of us.

This past year has taught us quite a bit, whether we wanted it to or not. As I reflect on this past year and look toward the future, I hope that the theatre industry remembers what has happened and learns from it. What can we keep from 2020 and what do we want to leave behind?

Calling out toxic work environments

When the “MeToo” movement hit Hollywood, it felt as though the theatre industry was slow to catch up. In 2020, when the pandemic hit and we were forced to take a step back and look at how our organizations were structured and run, some painful truths came to light.

Let’s look at the Signature Theatre in the DC area. In 2020, Eric Schaeffer, the longtime Artistic Director of this organization was accused of sexual assault after years of toxic behavior. Young male actors were preyed upon by a man in power in an environment in which many people knew what was happening and did nothing. Using the power of social media, the truth finally came out. And, unsurprisingly, this was just one of many theatrical organizations across the country to experience these revelations.

We also saw a massive resistance to the way that internship and apprenticeship programs have used and abused their young workforce. A fight against unpaid and underpaid internships is making headway in an industry that has always viewed those jobs as the norm. Theatres are being held accountable for their programs and are being challenged to do better.

What can we leave behind in 2020? Let’s leave the toxic work environments of the theatre industry and abuses by longtime structures of power behind. What can we take with us? Let’s take the knowledge that organizations can do better and the courage to call them out when necessary. Let’s support those that come forward, and work towards an industry in which people aren’t afraid of losing their jobs for telling the truth.

 Racial justice

Black Lives Matter has been around for quite a while. I’m sure we all remember the Ferguson protests and the tragic death of Michael Brown. But it’s obvious that in 2020, the fight for racial justice in every facet of society has reached a whole new level. Incredible Black activists have continued to lead a movement that is gaining traction in a new way, likely because during this pandemic, we have been able to take the time to really examine systems of power and our own place in those systems.

I think that the theatre industry often gets a free pass. What I mean by that is that theatre has long been known as an inclusive art form. Theatre is supposed to be a safe haven for people who are not accepted in mainstream society. But in a lot of ways, I believe that this has allowed the industry to get away with a lot of problematic behavior without being called out for it.

Amidst and following the protests of 2020, theatrical organizations across the country have been forced to examine both what appears on their stages and how they operate. We are finally seeing a massive push for equity, diversity, and inclusion in an industry that has remained painfully behind.

Do we still have a long way to go? Absolutely. Are there still toxic theatres out there that do not create a safe environment for BIPOC artists and administrators? Yes. But the industry at large is moving in the right direction, and we are now seeing a raising of the bar. Theatres are holding each other accountable and I for one, hope they continue to do so.

I want to be clear that 2020 was not a sudden about-face as far as racial justice is concerned. Years of hard work by BIPOC activists have led us to this moment. But it was certainly pivotal. Let’s leave behind the outdated white-centered theatre hierarchies behind. Let’s leave our own ignorance behind. Instead, we should bring with us the desire to do better, the drive to learn and improve, and the high expectations for racial equity and inclusion that 2020 has set.

Collaborative and crowd-sourced work

Alright, let’s talk about Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical. It may be silly, it may make you laugh, but it truly is revolutionary. I know that I have certainly never seen anything like it before. An entirely crowd-sourced musical created by incredibly talented fans of a wonderful movie all using TikTok? Remarkable.

When the pandemic hit, we all felt a certain level of isolation. There was clearly a desperate need for human connection in a world in which we had to remain six feet apart. At the same time, TikTok surged in popularity and unexpectedly became an incubator for creative endeavors. Suddenly, human connection and the sharing of ideas was made possible in a whole new way simply by using a virtual platform.

Sharing art, creating collaboratively, and crossing all boundaries of age, experience, and geography, I think that Ratatouille is only the beginning of what can come of this kind of work. What a beautiful way for artists to share their work and gain inspiration! What an accessible and encouraging environment for the development of new art!

Let’s leave behind the exclusivity of the theatrical world and keep this new, crowd-sourced, joy-filled form of art creation. Let’s leave behind the theatrical creation methods we thought we knew and open ourselves up to a whole new way of collaborating. Let’s take with us this idea that technology can help us and that we can use it hand in hand with art to create things that are new and exciting.

The arts mattering

Throughout this pandemic, how many of us managed to keep our heads above water with the help of Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, TikTok, and more? What would we have done without movies, theatre, television, music, and our personal creative outlets? I’m certain that I would’ve spiraled.

We’ve learned two things from 2020 in this regard. For one, the arts matter and are crucial to our humanity. And two, that the arts clearly do not get their due in this country. With the closure of in-person theatre, concert venues, museums, and so much more, artists are suffering. We’ve lost our income and our ability to do what we love, and we have gotten very little in government support.

And then there’s the expectation that we can just switch careers and do something else. After studying and training for years on end in highly specialized fields, this is more than a big ask. Finding ourselves struggling alongside many other industries, it is clear that we will continue to face many challenges beyond 2020.

I hope that we can take with us the idea that the arts are important and that they truly do matter. And we can surely take with us the steps forward brought about by the Save Our Stages movement and the work of other arts activists.

Let’s leave behind this idea that artists are not meaningful contributors to our society and the idea that artists don’t deserve to be paid for the work that they make.

In 2021, I look forward to continuing the fight for support during these times of struggle. I also look forward to the artistic innovation that I’m sure we will see as artists continue to interact with technology and virtual creation.

Let’s leave behind as much of the bad as we can and focus on the good. Let’s move forward.