DOES THE SHOW GO ON? It is the final scene of Elektra at San Francisco Opera. You are standing next to the mezzo as she “dies” in a pool of stage fog. Suddenly, she goes into real life convulsions. What do you do? Do you stop the show or continue to perform around this problem?
ARE SINGERS REALLY POWERLESS?
Recently, a company spent two weeks painting sets during rehearsal, on a stage with no ventilation. One singer suffered asthma attacks each time he left the stage. Two came down with bronchitis. A fourth got laryngitis each time he entered the theater.
Despite all the grumbling backstage, only one singer brought up the problem during rehearsal. The colleagues were present, but stayed silent, hoping for change but afraid of being labeled “difficult.” The result? Management laughed at the complaining singer’s “hypersensitivity” and nothing was done. Singers’ rights — and basic safety — were belittled and ignored, to the detriment of cast morale. But what might have happened if the singers stood together and brought the problem to the attention of management as a group?
SAFETY is our topic this month. There is a point where singing conditions change from “low budget” or “realistic” to just plain dangerous. Singers should not be expected to perform under conditions which jeopardize their health in any way. The key is to define those limits up front as an individual and as a cast.
We are grateful to the many singers who contributed to this issue. No one wants to be pegged a problem singer, an ill singer, or an accident-prone singer; but these artists have shared their stories so the rest of us can learn from them. What could happen if casts began to discuss their problems and bring them to management as a group? Or get involved in making the union rules that apply to all union houses? The message we heard while working on this issue is that the stage is NOT a land of make-believe. Injuries happen and they end careers, and sometimes lives. Singers need to stand together to request, and insist, on basic safe conditions. We want you singing a long, long, time!
