#102: No more agents giving you opinions
Tuesday 11/19/24
There are currently two bits of discourse happening over on TikTok that I want to share with you! I don’t engage in discourse simply because I try to stay out of controversies lol but I wanted to get some of my ideas out on paper.
The two items are:
An actor from the Finding Neverland tour (many years ago) posted a video she took when she was ON STAGE in the show. She was pushing a baby stroller/carriage and had the phone in the carriage filming herself as she made a cross. The controversy is - is this ok?
An actor posted a video stating that we have to stop calling any national tour a “broadway” national tour. The controversy is that he was a bit mean-spirited but also what does the word “broadway” do. People are definitely sharing opinions on this!
Let’s start with #1: taking your phone ON stage to film while the show is actively happening. For me, as long as there is permission I’m ok. It seems like there may have been because a stage hand is seen at the end waving into the phone as if he was in on it. But, who knows. I do think there are some other issues that COULD arise - could the phone interfere with sound, could an alarm go off, could the phone fall and create a safety issue… blah blah blah. Yes, there are some complicated, yet unlikely, things. I’m a rule follower through and through so i’d definitely have to get permission but I can’t imagine myself feeling comfy to do this! I do think it’s a cool POV to see for people who may not be actors. But overarching for me is that - as actor we all have to feel safe. Now, i do not think a phone on stage poses a physical safety hazard. But I do think that it would make me feel, as another actor in the show, that we are being watched/filmed all the time and that, to me, is unsafe. Unless everyone agrees, cast and crew - it’s a no.
Re: #2: this is a bit more complex to me. I think language is important but I also think people should do/say whatever they want to feel good. I think, literally, a Broadway National Tour in terms of contracts, is a production contract that is just on tour. It’s like the Hamilton tours, Wicked, etc. Come from Away comes to mind- it was on broadway, then toured equity and now tours non-eq but it is the same tour essentially. I do NOT think a Broadway National Tour is the current Shrek tour. That tour came out of nowhere and is not linked to the broadway show from 2007. However, i think for marketing, theatres across the country use the word BROADWAY to denote “it was a musical/play that was on broadway at some point” lol.
This reminds me of the “regional” credit topic as well. A REGIONAL theatre is technically a list of theatres that are denoted by specific contract types. Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre. But Vanguard Theatre Company, another professional theatre company in NJ that uses equity contracts, is not. However, some people may say that my 2 shows at Vanguard are “regional” credits. I guess it can be denoted as such, but there are only a handful of actual regional houses. All “regional” houses are professional, but not all professional houses are regional. Another way to think about it is that a Broadway tour would be IBDB-able - a regional theatre would be eligible for the REGIONAL tony award. I think it’s fine to call things what you want, whatever makes you feel good works, but there are classifications and language/context is important!
My two cents for what it’s worth :)
Dreams Don’t Die
Julie