Theater People Need Your Help: Here's How to Lend a (Virtual) Hand
It takes a lot of people to make a Broadway show, no matter how many are in the spotlight: stage hands, technicians, wardrobe supervisors, ushers, marketers, choreographers, company managers, composers, dance captains, house managers, we could go on and on. The current Broadway and off-Broadway shutdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak has put all of these members of our community in peril.
Theater is all about community: It's a group of people coming together to create a show for a live audience. It's an artform that depends on bodies gathering into a room together, the very thing that is dangerous right now. That doesn't mean audiences can't help keep the theater going. Just as many actors are turning to social media to perform and keep our spirits up, we can show our appreciation by sending some assistance their way. Yes, live theater is postponed, but that doesn't mean we all can't come together (albeit virtually) and help each other. Below are some ways you can give a (virtual) hand to the artists that you love.
DONATE TO A CHARITY
The Actors Fund may sound like it's just for actors, but it's actually for anyone who works in entertainment. Its resources include mental health counseling, emergency financial assistance and primary medical care through The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. In the past five days, the Fund has received more than 3,600 requests for financial help because of the coronavirus. For anyone who wants to help, please make a tax-deductible donation. "We are challenged at this time because of the coronavirus pandemic," said The Actors Fund Chairman, Tony winner Brian Stokes Mitchell. "The work of the entire entertainment community is built on collaboration, and we have never needed one another more than we do now." Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has also launched the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund with The Actors Fund to help artists with coronavirus-related expenses. You can donate here. You can also give in anticipation of The Rosie O’Donnell Show special on Sunday. It's going to be big!
Another place to donate is to the Dramatists Guild Foundation. “Writers don't qualify for unemployment and aren't covered by union health care,” according to Tina Fallon, executive director of the Dramatists Guild. The Guild advocates for playwrights, composers and lyricists, who are not in a union due to their unique status in the industry as creators earning residuals from their work. No performances means no pay for many of these show creators. Fallon encourages anyone who wants to support writers to donate to the Dramatists Guild Foundation emergency grants.
Other places you can donate include the Indie Theater Fund (to benefit small theater companies), the League of Professional Theatre Women Emergency Loan Fund, or any non-profit theater that you love. Let's not forget London: Here’s a list of charities that support the U.K. theater community.
WRITE YOUR REPS
What if you're also financially unstable and can't afford to give money away? Good news: here's something else you can do to help that requires only a few minutes. You can call or email your congressional representatives to give assistance to freelance and contract workers, who do not qualify for paid sick leave in the recently signed relief plan. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, which represents backstage workers, has created a page that lets you send a letter to your reps telling them to provide financial relief to entertainment professionals, who are mostly freelancers. In the words of Patti LuPone, who shared the page on her Twitter account, “Dolls, please sign. Tell Congress to include displaced entertainment workers in relief packages. My heart breaks for not only my fellow actors and stage managers, but for all our beloved theater colleagues.” Who are we to say to no to Patti LuPone?
Many of us can point to a formative moment we've had in the theater. During this tough time, the people who make the shows we love need our help more than ever. In the words of Mitchell, "Keep the faith. Lets keep supporting each other. Together, we will help our entertainment community get through this, as well as our nation and our world. Let's help each other."