[NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater Community
CVActor
cverbelun at core.com
Sat Jan 29 15:03:26 PST 2005
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-----Original Message-----
From: CVActor [mailto:cverbelun at core.com]
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2005 12:53 PM
To: 'neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com'
Subject: RE: [NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater Community
Thank you Larry and Randy,
I agree with both of you. Whoever HYPERLINK
"mailto:dafio at msn.com"dafio at msn.com is, that person must have been lucky
enough to never have been in any situations that were difficult while
working in a show. I have been pretty lucky that way myself, but I have
been party to a few things, and one show in particular stands out in my mind
as being particularly difficult, but I will not go into that here. It is
good to know what some of our directors feel about things that happen here.
This way we can fix them, and we can be on the lookout so that they don't
happen again. If we are each responsible for our own behavior, and are
given the chance to show that we can be responsible, things will go off
better, and everyoine will be happy. I'm glad both of you spoke up. Those
who weren't aware, are now, and those who were, well - they had to know, so
now they can fix their own disruptive behavior and then everyone will be
better off.
Thanks again,
Cindi Verbelun
-----Original Message-----
From: neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com
[mailto:neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com]On Behalf Of
LNehring at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2005 3:41 AM
To: neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com
Subject: Re: [NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater Community
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 HYPERLINK
"mailto:dafio at msn.com"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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<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT =
face=3DTahoma=20
size=3D2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> CVActor=20
[mailto:cverbelun at core.com]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 29, 2005 =
12:53=20
PM<BR><B>To:</B> =
'neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com'<BR><B>Subject:</B>=20
RE: [NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater =
Community<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005>Thank you Larry and =
Randy,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005>I agree with both of you. =
Whoever <A=20
href=3D"mailto:dafio at msn.com">dafio at msn.com</A> is, that person must =
have been=20
lucky enough to never have been in any situations that were difficult =
while=20
working in a show. I have been pretty lucky that way myself, but I =
have=20
been party to a few things, and one show in particular stands out in my =
mind as=20
being particularly difficult, but I will not go into that here. It =
is good=20
to know what some of our directors feel about things that happen =
here. =20
This way we can fix them, and we can be on the lookout so that they =
don't happen=20
again. If we are each responsible for our own behavior, <EM>and =
are given=20
the chance to show that we can be responsible</EM>, things will go off =
better,=20
and everyoine will be happy. I'm glad both of you spoke =
up. =20
Those who weren't aware, are now, and those who were, well - they had to =
know,=20
so now they can fix their own disruptive behavior and then everyone will =
be=20
better off.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005>Thanks again,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005>Cindi Verbelun</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=3D217444617-29012005></SPAN> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=3Dltr style=3D"MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft><FONT=20
face=3DTahoma>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>=20
neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com=20
[mailto:neohiopal-admin at lists.fredsternfeld.com]<B>On Behalf Of=20
</B>LNehring at aol.com<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, January 29, 2005 3:41=20
AM<BR><B>To:</B> neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> =
Re:=20
[NEohioPAL]An Open Letter to the Theater =
Community<BR><BR></FONT></DIV><FONT=20
id=3Drole_document face=3DArial color=3D#000000>
<DIV>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 6.00.2900.2523" name=3DGENERATOR><FONT =
id=3Drolx_document=20
face=3DArial color=3D#000000>I have spent a large portion of this =
evening trying=20
to craft a letter in support of what Randy Rollison wrote in his open =
letter=20
today and I am a bit dismayed by the "from the hip" response by an =
unsigned=20
email address. I do not believe that Randy was getting on a soapbox or =
lecturing inappropriately. He wrote the letter as the =
Executive/Artistic=20
Director of Cleveland Public Theatre, as I respond now as the Artistic =
Director of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival. I think it is=20
unfortunate that <A title=3Dmailto:dafio at msn.com=20
href=3D"mailto:dafio at msn.com">dafio at msn.com</A> has chosen to be =
offended=20
by Randy's statements and observations. I respect Mr. Rollison and =
trust that=20
he would only post such an open letter if he feels that this problem =
is=20
serious enough that we, as a community, must put a stop to it or, at =
the very=20
least, 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=20
actor was too drunk to perform. I have replaced actors who =
dropped out in=20
the middle of the run. Been forced to replace tech staff at =
the=20
last minute because they had over-committed their time and were not =
getting=20
the work done. I am envious of anyone who has not experienced =
these types=20
of 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=20
artists and directors from out of town. This presents a great =
opportunity for=20
us to show that Cleveland is a city with talented and skilled theatre =
artists=20
and technicians. However, when one of these guests sees =
unprofessional=20
behavior cause a disruption, it is that behavior which they =
remember,=20
despite all the other professionals with whom they have=20
worked. Ultimately it is not the responsibility of the director =
to=20
straighten out the individual problem. It is the responsibility of the =
individual to behave in a professional manner, and "do your =
job." This=20
is not some college theatre challenge to see how drunk is =
too drunk=20
to perform, or some manner of proving that a person can do their job =
perfectly=20
well with a buzz. That is a dangerous gamble and not fair to your =
fellow=20
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 be=20
honest. This is a slow and imperfect process, not meant to be a kind =
of black=20
list, but a cautionary filter to prevent problems before they can =
begin. When=20
the fate of a theatre depends on the income from each show produced, =
there is=20
little room for mistakes. In the current economy, a theatre can take =
no=20
chances that a foundation representative, corporate sponsor, or =
individual=20
patron will witness this kind of problem and decide that it directly =
reflects=20
the 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 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,=20
and 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 artist=20
who gets a shot at earning a living in this difficult =
profession. We=20
must keep in mind, though, that every production is a team effort. =
When one=20
person succeeds, we all benefit, and when one person drops the =
ball, we=20
all 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 and=20
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=20
many who would read it would not need to change their behavior, but he =
is also=20
dedicated enough to local artists to want an open discussion on this =
serious=20
issue. Cleveland Public Theatre is a leader in bringing artists to =
Cleveland=20
in order to help our art scene grow. He sees first-hand the =
impressions with=20
which those artists leave. If he feels we are not presenting ourselves =
in the=20
best way, then I believe him and want to thank him for calling our =
attention=20
to it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Respectfully,</DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=3D0 face=3DArial 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>
<DIV><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D1></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
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<DIV align=3Dleft><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D1>This message scanned =
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