We Need Artists They Need You Too

i dread going to my hometown

my anxiety goes through the roof because

i can anticipate seeing a great deal of

people

who don’t know much about me yet always

ask without fail

what’s your major then i have to prepare

myself to see their face

visibly drop when i say that i am a

creative writing

and theater double major i admit

i’m dreading it more than ever because

this year

i have to tell them that my theater

department has been cut the worst part

is that i’m not alone

across the nation arts programs have

been on a steady decline since the 2008

recession

only expedited by the kovid 19 pandemic

since last march the arts community have

suffered an estimated

15.2 billion dollars in financial losses

leaving about 63 percent of professional

working artists unemployed

eleven months ago we were all locked

inside and the one thing we turned to

for comfort was

art it was movies television

books despite the comfort art brought us

over a worldwide lockdown

advocacy for the performing arts is

currently at an all-time low

high school seniors have had their last

concerts and musicals stolen from them

broadway once an overactive hub of

culture

is still shut down with no plans to

reopen until the fall of 2021

the upright citizens brigade comedy

studio that has existed since 1990

and produced such talents as tina fey

and amy poehler

has permanently closed its doors

if we truly believe that performing arts

are going to be waiting for us

once it’s safe to go out again then we

need to reform what arts advocacy

actually looks like at a national level

to maintain and protect the future of

the industry

picture this a government designated

ally

in a cabinet level position who serves

as an ambassador to arts and culture

in the united states theater critic

peter marks refers to this role as a

dr fauci for the arts an appointed

representative who protects arts and

their funding

but also works to ensure the future of

the

industry this position exists in slight

variation in 50 other countries

worldwide petitions are emerging online

asking that we implement this role into

joe biden’s cabinet

arts and culture contribute over 877

billion dollars to the united states

gross domestic product

congress wants to protect that revenue

in december of 2020 congress passed the

save our stages act a bill

that guarantees 15 billion dollars in

grants

will be allocated to live performance

venues to help with pandemic recovery

now artists are grateful for this bill

but they had to wait nine months for it

and will continue to wait for funding to

be dispersed

in fact the save our stages website that

got the movement off the ground

is still asking for donations to keep

venues afloat

as we wait for funding to roll out

officially

this massive amount of grant funding

needs to be in the safe hands

of a national advocate with industry

knowledge who can be trusted to allocate

those funds appropriately and

efficiently such a position can ensure

that funding for the arts doesn’t

disappear when kovid does

now the save our stages act will likely

allot most of its funding to

independently owned theaters

this means our national advocate will

need to take extra steps

to ensure that art is protected at a

local level especially when it comes to

art education

young people’s exposure to art should

not only be protected

but implemented into schools curriculums

typically school boards cut the theater

program

to reallocate those funds to core

subjects

in an effort to boost test scores

yet when those schools do offer a

theater program

their students outperform their peers

scoring an average of

65 and a half more points on the s.a.t

imagine if our national advocate

could implement a performing arts

requirement at every grade level

students would gain essential skills

such as

public speaking being quick on your feet

teamwork building confidence and oral

communication

skills that will serve them well in any

profession

members of local school boards should be

aware of the true importance of an arts

education for their constituency

we need young people to bring us into

the future rather than remaining stuck

in the past now let’s assume history

repeats itself

the bubonic plague in italy ultimately

led to the renaissance

but only the elite benefited as they

were the only ones who could afford to

view the creations of the renaissance

in a post-coveted world if only

upper-class individuals

can afford to support live theater and

live performances

that will lead to a spike in ticket

prices keeping even more people out of

the theater

how can we support and consume

entertainment

when we can’t even go see a movie let

alone a touring broadway

musical if we are televising live

sporting events with empty stands

where players are safe by adhering to

cdc guidelines

what is stopping broadway from doing the

same saturday night live

has taken a similar approach in their

46th

season our national advocate

could propose federal administrative

rules to encourage and require

licensing companies make scripts

available

for performance in a virtual platform if

broadway actors follow these same

health procedures we can film live

theatrical productions

made accessible to the general public

via streaming services

we saw the massive success of hamilton

on disney plus

with 2.7 million families and households

watching

the potential for streaming copyrighted

material at convenient times for an

audience offers

mainstream exposure to productions

and benefits artists when they need it

more than ever

the show will go on we shouldn’t have to

wait any longer

for a world in which artists are

recognized

and thanked for their efforts

thank you

you