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| The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: dbdbdb 11:16 am EST 12/06/20 | |
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| "The company states that it intends to implement new programs and organizational designs—ones where 'anti-oppression will be the rubric'—in 2021. That promise, however, is met with skepticism by the artists, with news of their dismissal arriving on the heels of a public reckoning; in the past six months, former and current artists have united to speak out about a culture of racial inequality and intimidation at the institution." Sounds like The Flea has a tough road ahead of it.. It'll be interesting to see what happens next. I'm a little surprised by all this because the company has a Black artistic director and a number of the productions in the last season or two highlighted the work of BIPOC writers and performers. |
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| Link | https://www.playbill.com/article/months-after-inequity-reckoning-flea-theater-discontinues-the-bats-and-other-resident-artist-groups |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: LFeat 05:19 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: The Flea kills off the Bats - dbdbdb 11:16 am EST 12/06/20 | |
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| I'm sorry but every young actor in NY starts off doing non equity work What's wrong with a theatre company offering space for actors who receive productions values - press - and most importantly audience What actor or actress doesn't use sweat equity at points to create work . I think the members of the bats are missguide in their anger . That said if the Flea was an unsafe -toxic place to work that I believe should be addressed either by not choosing to work there or bringing charges to the powers that be to effect change |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: AC126748 12:02 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: The Flea kills off the Bats - dbdbdb 11:16 am EST 12/06/20 | |
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| I have no sympathy for the institution. They have profited for years off of unpaid labor and exploitation. They're in a hell of their own making. And BIPOC people can perpetuate systems of oppression just as keenly as white folks, one of the reasons we need to focus less on cosmetics (how diverse or liberal an organization seems on paper) and more on how things are actually being run. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: ryhog 03:20 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - AC126748 12:02 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| I wrote them off several years ago when I got wind of what they were doing (and have not been there since) but I am not sure I understand what is being perpetuated. They jettisoned the offending programs and say they are going to rebuild themselves in a just way. They may not have handled the terminations well, but surely no one thinks they could keep on all of the former slaves as paid employees. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: dlevy 04:41 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - ryhog 03:20 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| The leadership had been engaged in a months-long process involving (and really led by) many of those artists who have poured their unpaid labor into the company over the years, and then decided to unilaterally discard them with a vague promise of creating something new and just, despite no evidence that they've ever moved even an inch toward justice without being pulled that way by the artists they have just, once again, showed exactly how little they are valued. This is not just about the termination of anyone's relationship with the company, but the shrugging off a process they ahd agreed to take part in before it came to anything resembling a conclusion. |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: ryhog 07:28 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - dlevy 04:41 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| That may be; I don't know. I also am not familiar with the timeline for the current leadership, or what you are reading about what these people are proposing. I wouldn't mind knowing more but the bit of messaging I looked at (on both sides) seems very muddled. I think if the unpaids have a clear message that people like me can understand it would further their cause. Likewise, if the leadership has a prayer of redeeming itself, they need to be putting something clear out there as well. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: joerialto 02:22 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - AC126748 12:02 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| Weird situation. Hundreds of young actors fought for the chance to work there - for free - for more than 20 years. They did do great work in large cast epic plays that could never be produced off off Broadway with union actors - especially ‘The Mysteries.’ |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 03:16 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - joerialto 02:22 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| Hoping they received Equity points for work done understudying/behind the scenes on the mainstage shows....Well, look at summer theatre companies like Williamstown & NY Stage & Film, where young artists PAY quite a heft amount to combine crew work, etc, etc, etc with artistic work. In a lot of ways, quite an enviable opportunity for the members of the BATS, especially those who could juggle survival jobs, considering the cost of producing work off-off Broadway in pre-CoVid 2020; the cost alone of renting theatre space is huge now, & the cost of securing a spot in the Fringe, Midtown International Festival, etc, etc is hefty...BUT I was very, very sorry to have read in at least one public Facebook thread of toxic activity by some management at the Flea, & felt disgust at people in power elsewhere who listened when this management tried to destroy the careers of certain artists over the years, according to one post. That seems to go on a lot in this business. Shameful. Complex situation indeed. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: joerialto 09:44 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - Snowgrace 03:16 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| I think a bigger scandal than The Flea is the dismal wage scale for actors at The Signature Theatre which also put the cost of a splashy new facility ahead of the wages of those who toil there. The Flea exploited non union labor, the Signature asks Equity performers to work for peanuts in their new-ish Frank Gehry designed home. |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: Billhaven 12:15 am EST 12/07/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - joerialto 09:44 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| The Signature keeps it ticket prices at $25. Much lower than any other comparable theater in town. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: ryhog 09:47 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - joerialto 09:44 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| Huh? Signature is a signatory to the same agreement as everyone else. What are you talking about? | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Last Edit: joerialto 11:47 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| Posted by: joerialto 11:31 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - ryhog 09:47 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:49 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - joerialto 11:31 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| what low wages? they paid the applicable wage scale in the CBA. And I don't think you know much about the financing of the space, do you? I gather you have some agenda here but maybe flesh it out a bit more. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 09:57 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - ryhog 09:47 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| The problems of The Flea are the problems of the entire New York theater industry, just more nakedly on display. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: ryhog 11:20 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - Singapore/Fling 09:57 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| some are, some aren't. I am not sure how it serves any progressive interest to lump everyone into one pile. In the past (meaning a number of years ago), when I had occasion to look at this a bit, I saw things at the Flea that I have never seen anywhere else in New York. At the time, I questioned the legality of some of the things I observed, maybe here. | |
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| re: The Flea kills off the Bats | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 11:14 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
| In reply to: re: The Flea kills off the Bats - Singapore/Fling 09:57 pm EST 12/06/20 | |
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| Yup. | |
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