This post was originally published on Caylin's personal Substack, In Balance. In this piece, our ED shares an introduction of how we can rebuild better infrastructure for power and accountability in the theatre industry.
Art is a catalyst for change, a lens into another world, another someone’s experience. It holds the power to change minds and hearts, to hold empathy for what you may have previously not understood. Art challenges the status quo and when done successfully, creates meaningful dialogue challenging those in power.
But how does this type of artistic performance exist in actuality when it operates within the same systems it demands accountability from? How can a performance demand accountability while upholding the same value-set of the systems* it operates within? (*for systems read: sexism, racism, capitalism, ableism, etc.)
If we want performance spaces to be more than performative in their righteous demands for change, we must re-examine the longstanding operating norms that permeate the industry. Take for example the common theatrical phrase “the show must go on.” It wasn’t until the pandemic brought the entertainment sector to a grinding halt that many stopped to consider why, exactly, the show must go on at all costs.
And maybe the answer is right there at the end of my last sentence: costs. For, despite the fact that the art and entertainment industry aims to tell human stories that catalyze change – and it often does just that, don’t get me wrong – it still needs financial success in order to sustain itself, at least within the parameters of the society we currently live in. And I’m not saying financial success is a bad thing, but when you live in a world driven by wealth, where greed and grandiosity are the indicators of success rather than security and sustainability, it leaves the door wide open to act in the best interest of more rather than enough.
And when your focus is on more money, more productivity, and lower cost, then the show goes on at the expense of the humans working tirelessly to activate change. So how do we start to not just re-examine these systems, but also rebuild them in a way that drives sustainability both for the individuals and for the industry writ large?
Well, my first thought is that we need to re-center the humans: the humans telling the stories, the humans rigging the lights, the humans working in the offices writing the grants to tell the stories, the humans thinking strategically about what stories need to be heard right now and why. And to do this, I think we need to have a stronger sense of the value of the work being done in our industry, from the ticket takers to the executive directors. Every role is vital. And when we deem every person an integral part of the whole, we can begin to build enough for everyone, rather than more for some.
If we want the performing arts to be the catalyst for change, we must hold ourselves to the same expectations for accountability and transparency as we demand from those in power. For do we not also hold power ourselves when we work collectively to create change and justice within our industry?