🙄 Seriously...

Today, I feel compelled to share my experience with a recent production, where my contract was unjustly terminated under the pretense of "scheduling conflicts". This decision not only feels personal but also highlights deeper organisational issues on how this process was handled.  

 

I was not informed about major changes, such as canceled rehearsals in December, nor was I given the final rehearsal schedule in a timely manner. Clear and proactive communication should be the foundation of any successful production, and its absence here created unnecessary confusion and stress. My one actual conflict (outiside those already stated at auditions) with my car was unexpected and I reached out to production team for support because in past productions, stage management facilitated connections between cast members to address logistical challenges like transportation. This time, I was left to navigate these issues alone, with no effort made to foster collaboration or offer solutions. I also faced surprising issues with the director, whom I know (not super well, but we've worked together previously and I respect them a lot) and was totally shocked by how noncommittal, brusque and uncaring they acted. I don't need a pity party or to be coddled but life be lifing and I think everyone understands that. However, the director’s role is to lead and support their cast, yet I felt dismissed and unsupported throughout this ENTIRE process. Instead of fostering a productive and encouraging environment, the lack of support from leadership created barriers that could have been avoided. 

  

The termination of my contract was abrupt, disproportionate, and did not involve a fair discussion of potential solutions. I was not given the opportunity to address or resolve the alleged issues before this decision was made.  Moreover, I was looking forward to this show. It's SO IMPORTANT, especially now, especially here in North Carolina. 

 

This experience has been deeply disappointing, but I’m sharing it to advocate for change. Every artist deserves to be treated with respect, fairness, and dignity. Leadership in the arts must commit to fostering inclusive, supportive environments where creativity and collaboration can thrive.  

To those who have supported me, thank you. To those in leadership, I hope you take this feedback to heart and strive to do better for future productions. We all deserve better.  

Finally, I will ALWAYS speak up for artist and the ways we should be treated AND how organizations can improve. You need my qualifications to do so I can shoot you my CV. 😘

The Arts is often bottlenecked by barriers to entry unfairly. I literally wrote my thesis on this very issue. Sometimes those barriers are circumstances, systemic issues, organization disorganization or sometimes it's people. Regardless? When we know better, we can do better. And we SHOULD be doing better, especially after all of this time. There is no reason that there shouldn't be adequate support within theatre organizations, and there isn't any reason that we shouldn't be always leading with empathy and compassion to all of those artisans who put their bodies, lives and truth on the line to create art.

See y'all in the next production. 🤟🏾💃🏾💕

#TheaterCommunity #SupportArtists #AccountabilityInTheArts #LeadershipMatters