Klarinet Archive - Posting 000368.txt from 2003/03

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Letter to Actor's Equity
Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2003 09:09:16 -0500

Richard Bush wrote,
>Thought I would share a letter i just sent to Actor's Equity which
>expresses my thoughts regarding LIVE musical theater.
>
>As a pit musician, a woodwind player and doubler, I cannot express
>enough my gratitude to Actors' Equity for standing with the
>professional musicians of local 802. Thank you.
[snip]

Well said, Richard. Looking at the news footage of the picket lines, I
think the story would last longer in the media, and the strikers would get
more and better press, with more creative use of street theater. The
picketers I saw wore business attire and carried dignified, restrained
little signs, with small, black block lettering on white. I guess the
musicians want to make sure people respect them and take them seriously,
but catchier slogans and more interesting-looking signs would express the
point of view more memorably on TV--something like, "Just Say No to
Muzak-Culls!" (Or would Muzak sue?)

As long as Actors' Equity is supporting this strike, a few obnoxious mimes
at a time might show up on the sidewalk in costumes, and demonstrate,
literally--demonstrate the problem, by dancing and lip-synching to
something something familiar that's excellent when done well but that's
easy to send up, such as "Cell Block Tango" from "Chicago." The
accompaniment would be one real musician and a tinny-sounding boom-box with
an obviously computer-synthesized score that quickly gets out of synch with
the musician and the mimes. Everybody's scrambling to get back together
with the boom box. Dancers start bumping into each other. Finally, one of
the mimes shuts off the boom-box, yanks out the CD, snaps it in half,
throws the pieces on the ground and jumps up and down on them. Make the
performance ridiculous, to encourage management to howl about the
unfairness of it all. Management will almost have to protest that things
never go anywhere near that wrong on Broadway; theatrical sound systems
have digital synch; yadda yadda. Of course the denial will get the
strikers at least one more news broadcast--and, perversely, the denial
itself will help make the strikers' point. (Look at the way the public
reacts when an accused politician waxes outraged and innocent to Baba
Wawa.) Meanwhile, the demonstrations might catch on as entertainment and
start drawing crowds.

Lelia Loban
lelialoban@-----.net
New address!

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