Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2022 - 18

Following the murder of George Floyd
while in the custody of the Minneapolis
Police, social justice embers in the
United States were reignited (Aratani
2020). Seemingly, every business and organization
began to put out public statements
about equality and anti-racism
agendas. The arts were no exception
and were, perhaps, leaders in doing so.
In the American theatre, more than 300
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
(BIPOC) gathered to discuss what actions
could or should be taken in the industry
to revolutionize the way BIPOC
are represented, employed, and heard. In
doing so, they created a list of " demands, "
which covered topics such as cultural
competency, press, compensation, board
of directors make-up, curatorial practices,
commercial theatre, and funding
(We See You WAT 2020). While their
intentions were to drive a movement for
white American theatre makers to make
room for and improve the opportunities
and representation for the BIPOC theatre-maker
community, which is known
because the demands are entitled, " We
See You, White American Theatre "
(WeSeeYouWAT), many of the demands,
if implemented, would improve the industry
for everyone, not just the BIPOC
contingency.
One of the demands of WeSeeYouWAT
is titled " Working Conditions and Hiring
Practices. " Working conditions in the entertainment
industry are notorious for
being long, and physically grueling (Loar
2020). " The usual response to any complaints
about working conditions is that
our industry is glamorous, and that the
sheer excitement of working in entertainment
must surely offset any negative
impacts, " Josh Loar, senior AV consultant
and principal for social responsibility
at CharcoalBlue, contends (2020).
Likewise, Brian Smallwood, production
manager at James Madison University,
observes " Many of us believe that the
price to pay for working in theatre is to
be a starving artist. To this day, I discuss
whether or not one can work in theatre
and attend weddings, or have a spouse,
or start a family. It seems that the 'starving
artist' must be starved not only of
food, but also of time and love " (2020, p.
ix).
Studies in other industries discuss
how changing the culture of a company
by offering work-life balance programs,
any complaints
about working
conditions
is that our
" The usual
response to
glamorous, and
that the sheer
excitement
industry is
of working in
entertainment
must surely
offset any
negative
impacts. "
-Josh Loar
CharcoalBlue
shortening hours, or restructuring the
workweek, has affected the bottom-line
and well-being of the workers. Working
conditions must similarly change
throughout the theatre industry, and
these changes appear to have been most
accessible in the regional or League
of Resident Theatre (LORT) theatres
across the country, by shortening the longest
workdays.
A Long Road to Unionization
The Industrial Revolution hit the United
States in the 1800s, bringing with it
new technology that changed the labor
needs from artisan to unskilled worker
(Shane 2006, 65). In her Ph.D. dissertation
Negotiating the Creative Sector:
Understanding the Role and Impact of
an Artistic Union in a Cultural Industry,
Rachel Shane paints this picture about
how the changes in industrial labor
18 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | SUMMER 2022
processes affected the workers:
" Workers were frustrated with
the demands of factory work which
were characterized by long hours,
poor wages, and unsafe and unsanitary
work conditions. These workers
fought for their right to formally organize
in order to bargain with employers
over such conditions " (2006,
65).
While unionization often directly
conflicted with the needs and goals of
management to keep costs down and efficiency
up, in 1842, the U.S. Supreme
Court upheld the legality of labor unions
in the case State of Massachusetts v.
Hunt (Shane 2006, 65). There were 24
unions across the United States by 1869
(Shane 2006, 66). The labor movement
was contentious and, throughout this
time, many members of the federal government
were looking for ways to quell
its activities. It wasn't until 1913 that the
Department of Labor was hesitantly established
by President William Howard
Taft (Shane 2006, 72).
At the same time, the country was
also undergoing a cultural shift concerning
leisure activities. Workers were
finding themselves with more free time
than before, thanks to work-hour regulations
protected by the unions, and they
were looking for ways to fill the vacancy.
Minstrel shows, theatre, and vaudeville
found a new niche and began forming
into an industry of their own (Shane
2006, 62). And like nearly all industries of
this period, entertainment workers were
beginning to question the labor practices
in which they were finding themselves.
In the mid-1890s six theatrical producers
came together to create the
" Theatrical Syndicate " (Shane 2006,
73). The Theatrical Syndicate became
something of a monopoly in both New
York and nationwide and over a decade
was responsible for booking more than
700 productions into theatres across the
country (Shane 2006, 75). In the early
1900s, the Shubert brothers entered the
producing and management picture and
began building more theatres in New
York City. By 1906, they had built 50 theatres
and, using a slightly different business
model, became a key competitor of
the Theatrical Syndicate (Shane 2006,
78). The Shuberts and the Theatrical
Syndicate briefly merged, but it was
unsuccessful and was bought outright
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