Profile for stageleftreport

Hi folks! I'm a NYC backstage worker and writer. I release a biweekly newsletter covering Broadway and the nonprofit theatre industry, and I'm currently working on an archival project of moments that have changed the industry over the years.

I'm working on a longform archival project to document the impact of the Black Lives Matter protests and Anti-Racism Movement on the industry during the summer of 2020, archiving the good, the unexpected, and the weird/bad/backlash.

I would love to know what the community is interested in recollecting, and I'm looking to gather some personal accounts/vibes of what it was like working across the industry during this time, especially May - August 2020. (I know a lot of people were not working during this time due to the shutdown, so also open to hearing about the first 3 months back whenever you were working again '20-'21)

I’m looking to document:

• The pledges & programming changes made vs discussions/actions behind the scenes by theatres/institutions

• The labor organizing, leadership change, and other unexpected activist momentum sparked by the movement

• DEI or anti-racism departments created at an org you worked at, and what happened to them/what is their status now?

• How YOU were personally impacted as artists, workers, and community members in the moment, and how you feel about that time now?

Feel free to comment, DM, or share links or notes from that time. Thank you in advance!

Also included some fun facts about the history + construction of the Center because I'm a nonprofit admin nerd. Enjoy + please comment anything I've forgotten!

NY TIMES: Trump’s Kennedy Center Would Get $257 Million in House Republican Plan, for “necessary expenses for capital repair and restoration of the building and site,” along with $7.7 million for “operation, maintenance and security” and $7.2 million for “administrative expenses.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/...

 CNN: Some ‘Les Mis’ cast members plan to boycott Trump’s attendance at Kennedy Center performance next month https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/07/...

Richard Grennell, current Trump-appointed president of the Kennedy Center, responded to this news as follows: “Any performer who isn’t professional enough to perform for patrons of all backgrounds, regardless of political affiliation, won’t be welcomed … In fact, we think it would be important to out those vapid and intolerant artists to ensure producers know who they shouldn’t hire - and that the public knows which shows have political litmus tests to sit in the audience.”

 USA TODAY: CNN commentator blasts 'Les Mis' cast who will sit out Trump show: 'Shut up and sing' https://www.usatoday.com/story/...

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BUDGET & EXPANSION HISTORY AT THE KENNEDY CENTER:

CONSTRUCTION IN THE 60s: Throughout the process of construction, the Kennedy Center received many gifts from foreign countries, including approximately 3,700 tons of marble from Italy to use for the interior and exterior of the building. https://www.kennedy-center.org/our-story/blog?p=on-this-day-in-1964-construction-on-the-kennedy-center-began

2012 EXPANSION: On June 8, 2012, bipartisan legislation was signed into law (P.L. 112-131) authorizing the construction of an expansion project at the Center using private funding … David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and managing director of The Carlyle Group, pledged $50 million as the lead gift for the Kennedy Center's Expansion Project, called the REACH https://www.kennedy-center.org/our-story/history/

FORMER TRUSTEE RUBENSTEIN ON PRE-2025 BUDGET: The US government provides funding only for the maintenance and security of the Center's buildings, and that is now about 18% of the budget (NOTE: According to this report, they requested around $43.03M in 2024.)

About 47% of the budget comes from tickets sales, and about 35% comes from contributions … Currently, the Center has a budget of about $268 million a year. https://www.carlyle.com/from-davids-desk/the-kennedy-center-a-history

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I wonder if part of the budget increases is to cover the lack of ticket sales and contributions they are expecting for the next couple years as they're expecting boycotts.

Also, the 'Shut up and sing' line was so reminiscent of The Chicks + George Bush cancellation drama from decades past-- Anyone else catch that?

(Lastly, time for the shameless plug-- I cover this news and other theatre +arts news concerning labor rights, equity and justice every other week, and if you liked this breakdown you can read more at this link! stageleftreport.substack.com )

Has anyone had the chance to do a deep read of the new AEA Hiring Bias and Wage Gap Report, any interesting finds? So far the coverage I've seen has basically boiled it down to 'more jobs for POC, less jobs for women', but I would love to hear if anyone data-minded has any other critical thoughts on what was released. And, how relevant 2022-2023 data is to today's landscape.

https://cdn.actorsequity.org/docs/Hiring%20Bias%20and%20Wage%20Gap%20Report%20-%202022-2023.pdf

 

Exactly-- The downplaying and omission of key details is so insane throughout. This quote stuck out to me from the Hollywood Reporter piece in 2021--

• Per a knowledgeable legal source, bullying claims against Rudin never see the light of day and are settled quietly. Fear of reprisals has kept many from speaking out. Employees typically sign a non-disparagement agreement. And several sources for this piece consulted with an attorney before proceeding, even off the record.

Hi theatre folks!

I've been running a theatre newsletter for the past couple of months, and was pretty unimpressed by the recent puff piece Michael Paulson released on Scott Rudin. For this week, I decided to quote directly from this article, and add some context from the great series of pieces that the Hollywood Reporter, multiple Rudin Collaborators, and even the NY Times himself put out about the abuse allegations.

I hope this additional context is helpful for the community! Let's fight collective #MeToo amnesia together!

https://open.substack.com/pub/stageleftreport/p/scott-rudins-comeback-some-context?r=54fo5w&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

I decided to go through the article and add some annotations with direct quotes on some of the abuse allegations in the sections of the article I felt didn't dive into them adequately. I hope this is helpful for other theatre industry folks who don't want to suffer from collective amnesia like the NYTimes seems to!

https://open.substack.com/pub/stageleftreport/p/scott-rudins-comeback-some-context

https://iatse.net/iatse-applauds-ny-elected-officials-for-urging-atlantic-theater-company-to-resume-good-faith-negotiations/

What do we think about the state of the strike? I'm going to contact my NY state reps to urge them to stand in solidarity with the union workers, it's crazy that Management has been stalling on them this long after they voted last February to unionize.

Interested in other theatre workers' perspective on this-- I feel like so much of the coverage I have been seeing in NYTimes, Playbill, etc. on the IATSE Atlantic strikes has been focusing on the act of the 'stagehands walking out' instead of the months of stalled negotiations and Management walking away from the negotiation table. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/theater/atlantic-theater-stagehands-strike.html

Quote-- "The theater issued its own statement, describing itself as “pro-union” and saying it had made generous offers, but warning that the union’s demands could weaken Off-Broadway institutions."

This just feels like such anti-worker propaganda, especially hearing that Atlantic hired Littler Mendelson, famously anti-union law firm. What do you guys think?