Diversity on Stage

The theater I work at announced its season for the next year on Monday and immediately there was a knee jerk reaction from the local theater community about the lack of diversity in the season.

The new season offers so much for theater goers including an all male Shakespeare company from London, the chance to see a play by Tony Award Winner Mark Rylance. I'm not sure that I'd trade a play written or directed by a woman in place of the opportunities to see these shows.

The argument that the season lacks diversity ignores two plays in the season Appomattox by Christopher Hampton (a new work about the Civil War and the Civil Rights movement) and Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris. Clybourne Park is a play written in response to Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun(a play written by a woman) . I think these two plays will offer opportunities for audience discussion on race.

I feel like saying the theater isn't diverse based on one season ignores previous seasons. In the last year the theater did many shows with many chances for women to shine on stage. Time Stands Still- A play about a woman photojournalist recovering from a roadside bomb and waiting to return to the work she loves. End of the Rainbow- a play about Judy Garland's struggles at the end of her life. The Birds- a play based on a story by a woman with a woman in the leading role. All these plays come to mind.  Maybe they weren't written or directed by women but I feel like they tell women's stories.

Several plays in recent years have come from London or New York bringing new fresh stories to the theater and new ways to tell them. Creating memorable theater, affecting audiences and creating discussion.  

The reaction ignores the diverse theater companies the theater hosts in both the smaller and larger spaces and the partnerships that have been formed with these companies. It ignores the fact that the theater, the director of the theater and many people associated with the theater support other smaller theaters who produce diverse work.

The theater also employs many women in all areas of the theater.  Women who are able to earn a living wage and pursue a passion for theater because of all the work the theater does.

The current director spends time seeing shows in London, Dublin, and New York in an effort to bring new work to the theater. Creating and nurturing these relationships takes time.

As a woman I don't feel under represented. I don't feel like my stories aren't being told. I feel much of the reaction comes from fear and concern over competition for a limited number of roles.

As a writer and a reader I feel the books that stick with me are the ones where the writers wrote the book they wanted to read. I encourage women feeling left out of the theater to write the plays they want to see, direct and perform in.  Create new work. Start new theater companies and explore new ways to look at work. Read old books and old stories and write new plays.

Theater people watching shows about theater

As a theater person I totally get sucked into shows about my profession. Glee is one of those shows. Despite the fact that it is technically about a high school glee club lets face it, those characters are going to grow up and do musical theater.

It doesn't surprise me that I got sucked into Smash on NBC.  This TV show about all the drama that goes into a show on broadway was right up my alley. As a matter of fact I couldn't believe I was getting sucked into this show because of how similar it was to what I was working on. There was an episode of Smash where the writers are working on a song about what the characters of Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio and they decide these two want to run away and get married and be out of the limelight. This was so much like a scene in End of the Rainbow where Judy says she and Mickey Deans should just run away and get married.  

After a while my realistic theater person comes out when I watch these shows and it becomes hard for me to suspend my disbelief on certain things.  For example I'm amazed at the sets the William McKinley High School scene shop builds week to week. For some reason I was completely unable to suspend my disbelief during Smash this week. Katherine McPhee's character, Karen  drops by Megan Hilty's (Ivy's) show to drop off a pair of expensive sunglasses and get her cheap sunglasses back.  She just walks up to stage door and the attendant tells her to go on backstage find the ASM(assistant stage Manager) Maybe we do things differently in the Twin Cities but I'm not sure I'd just be able to go to the stage door of one of the theaters here and be told to just go backstage and find the ASM.  I'm not sure I'd just go backstage on a set I didn't know and a show I didn't know to drop off sunglasses.

Later as these two characters walked through Times Square the wardrobe/costume girl in me couldn't figure out why everyone else had coats on while Ivy was dressed in her angel costume and didn't seem to be affected by the cold at all.

Maybe detectives and police officers watch Law and Order and think "Oh that would never happen in real life."
 

Audience ettiquite

I confess I don't get to go see as much theater as I'd like mostly because I am working at the theater when all these wonderful performances are going on.
But I go see shows when I can and I have to say there are some things that need to be addressed.

1. Turn off your cell phones, pagers, iPods that notify you when someone plays in your Words With Friends game. If it makes noise, turn it off.  Yeah, I can still hear your phone when it vibrates so turn it off. Oh yeah when you look at the phone during a show it lights up and that is distracting too.  It is distracting to the audience around you and the actors.

2. Sometimes talking to your neighbor is more distracting than that annoying noise they just made with their water bottle. Talking is loud and it requires response.

3. 90 minutes is not a long time to sit still. A lot of shows these days are made for the busy theater goer. The theater I work at has done several 90 minute no intermission plays in the last season. Here's the thing, this isn't the movies. The people around you have paid $30-60 for tickets. Do you think they want to have you get up in the middle of the play to use the restroom and then disturb them a second time when you come back? No they don't so go before and watch those pre show drinks. A 90 minute show gives you plenty of time to drink afterwards, hello.


If you think my rules of etiquette for theater are harsh you should make sure we don't sit together at a baseball game. Once at a Twins game a guy in my row heard me complaining about the people in front of us who apparently came to the game to get up and go to the bar/bathroom/hot dog stand every five minutes.  He assured me his kids would only be allowed to exit and return once. He was true to his word. I also don't let my friends leave when the Twins are up to bat.
Friend: I think I want a hot dog.
Me: Really? Now? Cause we're up to bat.
Friend: OK yeah, I guess I can wait.

Black nail polish, not just for goths

Patent leather shoes get used a lot in theater especially for those formal wear party scenes. The problem is sometimes they crack or get scuffed and torn up on the set.

My favorite trick for patent leather shoes is black nail polish.  It is great for covering up scuffs and cracks that may happen but unlike regular black shoe paint it is also has some shine.

Moving in circles

Last night the show I'd been working on for the last six weeks closed its run here in Minneapolis and we packed it up to send it off to Broadway.

In my work I've been incredibly lucky to work on a few shows that are headed to Broadway.

Packing up a show that is headed to Broadway and saying our goodbyes or rather our see-you-soons feels different than our regular closings.

Closing nights with our regular company members there are these conversations "What are you working on next?" "When are you back here?" We see each other frequently outside of the theater and run in the same social circles. Even people from out of town who are in shows often return maybe once every year or two for a show.

Packing up a show that is headed to Broadway feels different. First it is a different system and requires a different kind of organization to make sure all the pieces are accounted for and all the information is passed on. There is also excitement and energy.  Happiness for the cast and hope for a successful Broadway run mixed with a little sadness of letting go of something you've been working on.  Wishing you could go and see something you've worked on to its exciting destination but knowing that when the alarm clock goes off in the morning it is on to a new show or project.

In theater it is easy to remember that we move in circles and that our paths cross often because they are always crossing on this great round earth.

Being Prepared

I haven't updated this blog in forever but I've been thinking about using this blog to share some of the tips and tricks I've learned from all these years of being a wardrobe girl.

The other day I had a nintern following me for the day.  She is working as a wardrobe supervisor at a summer stock theater this summer so she wanted to follow and see how things were done.

She was asking about about what to do in wardrobe emergencies. I explained that a lot of this job is thinking on your feet and being prepared to spring into action.

During that performance a pair of pants shredded down the center back and then crossways across the seat.  I had to stitch up the rip during a two song musical interlude then do a better fix during the intermission.  The intern got to watch the excitement.

Stuff like that doesn't happen every day but it is the part of the job that is really hard to teach.  The being prepared, staying calm and thinking quick when things like that happen.

Powderhorn Love

The last week the neighborhood I live in has been in the news. Basically some teenagers attacked a woman in the park by my house. They were in the process of attacking two girls in a garage just down the alley from where I live. The kids were apprehended.

I have to say I am amazed by my neighborhood. I am blessed and lucky to live where I live.

First of all let me say that my neighborhood is a great place to live. The park by my house hosts all these great events throughout the year like The May Day Parade and the Art Fair . People enjoy the park on a daily basis. People fish in the lake, walk on paths, have outdoor theater performances. In the winter there is ice skating and people cross country ski and snow shoe in the park. In the winter I skate in the park at least once a week. I actually can't wait until skating opens up for the season.

There are fireworks in the park for the 4th of July. Not big sparkley Downtown fireworks but fireworks over the lake with neighbors and friends.

There is an Art Sled Rally in the winter where people slide down the hill home made sleds that look like Speeders from Star Wars.

A group of neighborhood photographers have been running a 365 neighborhood photo project for two years. Check it out here.

I am proud of my neighborhood. In response to these attacks neighbors have organized a peace vigil in the park tonight. It's BYOFire Pit (if you have one) or Hot Beverage to share.

The mother who was attacked wrote a letter encouraging compassion and love for the kids who did this.

Another neighbor wrote an essay for MPR

I bought a condo in the Powderhorn neighborhood six years ago. Some days I wish I'd waited when I see how cheap real estate is now. But then I walk a half a block to the park and I am reminded again why I love where I live.