"You get off on the manic energy of creation-just-in-the nick-of-time." "It's been a transition moving from a certain way of thinking, a certain high," she said. She wonders if the long hours and high-stress situations in the theater industry are worth it. Allen for NPR Rachael Erichsen is the props manager at Center Stage. The decision got a lot of blowback with people asking: Why not?įor Erichsen, who's on her sixth season at Center Stage, the move challenged the rise-and-grind culture that she and so many theater workers come up in. Ybarra said she looked at the labor market and the budget and concluded that, especially post-pandemic shutdowns, the theater simply couldn't do as much. Artistic directors are looking at everything from increasing diversity backstage and onstage and better health insurance, to child care supplements for parents and shorter work weeks.Īt Center Stage, where a normal season might offer six shows, there will be four in the 2022-2023 season. "And once you realize that, then you do start to weigh those options - are the long hours, is the stress worth it for me?"Īcross the country, regional theaters like Center Stage are trying to tip those scales in theater's favor by making big changes. "A lot of people realized that their identity didn't disappear when they left theater for a year," said Rachael Erichsen, props manager at Center Stage. But the shutdowns from the pandemic forced theater workers to ask if theater loved them back. The hours can be long and the pay isn't great. You need carpenters, lighting designers, costumers and more. It takes a big team of people to get a show going at a regional theater. NPR Baltimore Center Stage in Maryland recently had to cancel its first preview of the season.
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