Steps in Incremental Activism

Abstract

Steps in Incremental Activism Elizabeth A. Osborne (bio) In early 2022, I published an essay in TDR that advocated for a twenty-first-century Federal Theatre Project. In "The Promise of the Green New Deal: A 21st-Century Federal Theatre Project," I argued that a reimagined Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was a necessary response to the multiple crises faced by the field: 1) ongoing lack of equity in funding across race, gender, and geography; 2) racism, misogyny, ableism, transphobia, and other forms of bias that cause ongoing harm; 3) abusive and exploitative labor practices; and, of course, 4) COVID-19's widespread devastation of the theatre. I suggested we use Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey's (D-MA) Green New Deal as a catalyst for imagining a new way of practicing the arts in the United States, centering on values of equity, accessibility, sustainability, and inclusion.1 Many others have mirrored my urgency. Collective works, such as We See You, White American Theater and The Living Document of BIPOC Experiences in Bay Area Theatre Companies: BIPOC Equity Action Plan, call attention to field-wide problems and demand dramatic and immediate action (The Ground We Stand On; Living Document). More recently, Dominique Morisseau pulled her play Paradise Blue from what promised to be a successful run at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. As she explained, Black womxn on her creative team had been "verbally abused and diminished," and the Geffen, when notified, failed to intervene in an effective way. In her Facebook announcement, Morisseau explained that the Geffen's failures reinforced the field-wide abuses that so many were fighting to change: The Geffen Theatre is a necessary institution in our field. … But it will not be in service to our field until it recognizes the root of what went wrong here. To blame anything but the culture of misogyny and abuse that has been allowed to run rampant in our field for generations, is to lie to themselves and the rest of us.2 Morisseau's statement, like many recent calls for action, points to the need for a foundational reevaluation of the profession's ways of working and systemic change. Deploying a form of crisis rhetoric, my TDR essay provided a historical analysis of two promising FTP structures. It then expanded on those models to create a manifesto for a reimagined twenty-first-century Federal Theatre. Drawing from urgent demands for significant change, my manifesto called for more than a billion dollars in federal funding to create a massive federation of theatres prioritizing BIPOC, women, LGBTQ+, and disabled artists, administrators, and scholars. This federation would center frequently ignored voices in new work and be dedicated to antiracism and equity across race, gender, class, and ability. It would shun the "starving artist" ideal by providing artists with a living wage and benefits and moving away from the gig economy. It would model sustainable practices that combat climate change, train artists to work in frequently underserved communities, and advocate for the place of theatre in US society. Finally, it would serve as a communications resource center for professional, community, and academic theatre, thus enabling us to share information and resources with other theatres and community, religious, and civic organizations. [End Page 45] While I believe our field has reached a moment of reckoning, I also recognize that my manifesto asked for the sun, moon, stars, and neighboring galaxies—particularly in the contemporary US political and social climate. Framing the manifesto within multiple crises shaped my suggestions and their scope. At the same time, operating within a constant state of crisis is unsustainable. In their analysis of crisis rhetoric in right-wing populist politics, Corina Lacatus and Gustav Meibauer argue that a crisis has three primary components: "(perceptions of) threat to key values, institutions and everyday life; the urgency to 'do something' quickly against this (perceived) threat; and pervasive uncertainty about how it evolves and should be handled" (4). "Crises" demand immediate, dramatic change—and in the process, they create a specific narrative that those in power can leverage for their own devices. The moment's urgency justifies the suspension of typical governing procedures. The...