[NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater Community

[LNehring at aol.com]

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 I have spent a large portion of this evening  trying to craft a letter in 
support of what Randy Rollison wrote in his open  letter today and I am a bit 
dismayed by the "from the hip" response by an  unsigned email address. I do not 
believe that Randy was getting on a soapbox or  lecturing inappropriately.  He 
wrote the letter as the Executive/Artistic  Director of Cleveland Public 
Theatre, as I respond now as the Artistic Director  of the Cleveland Shakespeare 
Festival.  I think it is unfortunate that _dafio at msn.com_ 
(mailto:dafio at msn.com)  has chosen to be offended by  Randy's statements and observations. I 
respect Mr. Rollison and trust that he  would only post such an open letter if he 
feels that this problem is serious  enough that we, as a community, must put a 
stop to it or, at the very least,  reduce its frequency.  
 

In the eleven years since I moved here, I have seen numerous occasions  where 
the irresponsible behavior of an individual has almost killed the  production 
of a show.  I have been involved with shows where a fellow actor  was too 
drunk to perform. I have replaced actors who dropped out in the  middle of the 
run.  Been forced to replace tech staff at the last  minute because they had 
over-committed their time and were not getting the work  done. I am envious of 
anyone who has not experienced these types of  eleventh hour nightmares.
 
As a producing director, I have had many discussions with other  producers 
and directors about this specific problem. So far it has been  handled 
one-on-one, with a director speaking with an actor, or a producer  talking with a staff 
member, but perhaps the time has come to deal with  this as a community.  
More and more theatres are bringing in guest artists  and directors from out of 
town. This presents a great opportunity for us to show  that Cleveland is a 
city with talented and skilled theatre artists and  technicians. However, when 
one of these guests sees unprofessional behavior  cause a disruption, it is that 
behavior which they remember, despite all  the other professionals with whom 
they have worked. Ultimately it is not  the responsibility of the director to 
straighten out the individual problem. It  is the responsibility of the 
individual to behave in a professional manner, and  "do your job."  This is not some 
college theatre challenge to see  how drunk is too drunk to perform, or some 
manner of proving that a person can  do their job perfectly well with a buzz. 
That is a dangerous gamble and not  fair to your fellow actors or techies.
 
Every director I know has a list in their head of people with whom they  will 
not work. From experience they know that the names on that list are  
untrustworthy. If another director calls seeking a reference, they have to be  honest. 
This is a slow and imperfect process, not meant to be a kind of black  list, 
but a cautionary filter to prevent problems before they can begin. When  the 
fate of a theatre depends on the income from each show produced, there is  
little room for mistakes. In the current economy, a theatre can take no chances  
that a foundation representative, corporate sponsor, or individual patron will  
witness this kind of problem and decide that it directly reflects the  
professionalism of the theatre and discontinue funding.
 
I will freely admit that I have not always been the most prepared actor,  and 
have over-committed myself at times in my career. I am not taking a  
"holier-than-thou" stance by any means. However I am completely responsible for  my 
own choices and actions and pay the price of my mistakes. This is also  not an 
attempt to condemn people who have been forced to step out of a  commitment for 
legitimate, serious reasons.  Family emergencies happen, and  we must all be 
supportive when they do.  In the same vein we can all  respect when more 
lucrative opportunities arise, and cheer for a fellow artist  who gets a shot at 
earning a living in this difficult profession.  We must  keep in mind, though, 
that every production is a team effort. When one person  succeeds, we all 
benefit, and when one person drops the ball, we all  suffer.
 
As a final thought, I respect the fact that Randy has brought up an  
important challenge we face if we wish to be seen nationally as a talented and  
skilled arts community. He signed his name to a challenging letter and presented  it 
in a widely-read forum. He is intelligent enough to know that many who would  
read it would not need to change their behavior, but he is also dedicated 
enough  to local artists to want an open discussion on this serious issue. 
Cleveland  Public Theatre is a leader in bringing artists to Cleveland in order to 
help our  art scene grow. He sees first-hand the impressions with which those 
artists  leave. If he feels we are not presenting ourselves in the best way, 
then I  believe him and want to thank him for calling our attention to it.
 
Respectfully,
Lawrence  Nehring
Artistic Director
The Cleveland Shakespeare  Festival
www.cleveshakes.org
"Be safe; act  dangerous."


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<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=3DGENERATOR><FONT id=3Drolx_doc=
ument=20
face=3DArial color=3D#000000 size=3D2>I have spent a large portion of this e=
vening=20
trying to craft a letter in support of what Randy Rollison wrote in his open=
=20
letter today and I am a bit dismayed by the "from the hip" response by an=20
unsigned email address. I do not believe that Randy was getting on a soapbox=
 or=20
lecturing inappropriately.  He wrote the letter as the Executive/Artist=
ic=20
Director of Cleveland Public Theatre, as I respond now as the Artistic Direc=
tor=20
of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival.  I think it is unfortunate that=20=
<A=20
title=3Dmailto:dafio at msn.com=20
href=3D"mailto:dafio at msn.com">dafio at msn.com</A> has chosen to be offend=
ed by=20
Randy's statements and observations. I respect Mr. Rollison and trust that h=
e=20
would only post such an open letter if he feels that this problem is serious=
=20
enough that we, as a community, must put a stop to it or, at the very least,=
=20
reduce its frequency.  </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In the eleven years since I moved here, I have seen numerous occasions=20
where the irresponsible behavior of an individual has almost killed the=20
production of a show.  I have been involved with shows where a fellow a=
ctor=20
was too drunk to perform. I have replaced actors who dropped out in the=
=20
middle of the run.  Been forced to replace tech staff at the last=20
minute because they had over-committed their time and were not getting the w=
ork=20
done. I am envious of anyone who has not experienced these types of=20
eleventh hour nightmares.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As a producing director, I have had many discussions with other=20
producers and directors about this specific problem. So far it has been=
=20
handled one-on-one, with a director speaking with an actor, or a producer=20
talking with a staff member, but perhaps the time has come to deal with=
=20
this as a community.  More and more theatres are bringing in guest arti=
sts=20
and directors from out of town. This presents a great opportunity for us to=20=
show=20
that Cleveland is a city with talented and skilled theatre artists and=20
technicians. However, when one of these guests sees unprofessional beha=
vior=20
cause a disruption, it is that behavior which they remember, despite al=
l=20
the other professionals with whom they have worked. Ultimately it is no=
t=20
the responsibility of the director to straighten out the individual problem.=
 It=20
is the responsibility of the individual to behave in a professional manner,=20=
and=20
"do your job."  This is not some college theatre challenge to=
 see=20
how drunk is too drunk to perform, or some manner of proving that a person c=
an=20
do their job perfectly well with a buzz. That is a dangerous gamble and=
 not=20
fair to your fellow actors or techies.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Every director I know has a list in their head of people with whom they=
=20
will not work. From experience they know that the names on that list are=20
untrustworthy. If another director calls seeking a reference, they have to b=
e=20
honest. This is a slow and imperfect process, not meant to be a kind of blac=
k=20
list, but a cautionary filter to prevent problems before they can begin. Whe=
n=20
the fate of a theatre depends on the income from each show produced, there i=
s=20
little room for mistakes. In the current economy, a theatre can take no chan=
ces=20
that a foundation representative, corporate sponsor, or individual patron wi=
ll=20
witness this kind of problem and decide that it directly reflects the=20
professionalism of the theatre and discontinue funding.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I will freely admit that I have not always been the most prepared actor=
,=20
and have over-committed myself at times in my career. I am not taking a=20
"holier-than-thou" stance by any means. However I am completely responsible=20=
for=20
my own choices and actions and pay the price of my mistakes. This is also=20
not an attempt to condemn people who have been forced to step out of a=20
commitment for legitimate, serious reasons.  Family emergencies happen,=
 and=20
we must all be supportive when they do.  In the same vein we can all=20
respect when more lucrative opportunities arise, and cheer for a fellow arti=
st=20
who gets a shot at earning a living in this difficult profession.  We m=
ust=20
keep in mind, though, that every production is a team effort. When one perso=
n=20
succeeds, we all benefit, and when one person drops the ball, we all=20
suffer.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As a final thought, I respect the fact that Randy has brought up an=20
important challenge we face if we wish to be seen nationally as a talented a=
nd=20
skilled arts community. He signed his name to a challenging letter and prese=
nted=20
it in a widely-read forum. He is intelligent enough to know that many who wo=
uld=20
read it would not need to change their behavior, but he is also dedicated en=
ough=20
to local artists to want an open discussion on this serious issue. Cleveland=
=20
Public Theatre is a leader in bringing artists to Cleveland in order to help=
 our=20
art scene grow. He sees first-hand the impressions with which those artists=20
leave. If he feels we are not presenting ourselves in the best way, then I=20
believe him and want to thank him for calling our attention to it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Respectfully,</DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=3D0 face=3DArial size=3D2 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" PTSIZE=3D"10"=
>Lawrence=20
Nehring<BR>Artistic Director<BR>The Cleveland Shakespeare=20
Festival<BR>www.cleveshakes.org<BR>"Be safe; act=20
dangerous."</FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>

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