“The way the day is being structured doesn’t allow for proper rest and MS fatigue is very real. When I experience it I am THAT tired. Sometimes I even fall asleep instantaneously. Again, I am being perceived as lazy and indifferent. Also, MS fatigue usually occurs in the middle of the day, which means I get to start my day in tech utterly exhausted.”
Female Designer
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Male BIPOC Admin/DesignMale BIPOC Admin/Design
“…The issues highlighted by the 10/12 tech rehearsal – would come into clear focus when, at age 36, I decided to enter a “soft retirement” of the robust regional theatre career I’d cultivated. It was the year my first child was born. I simply couldn’t afford to maintain a lifestyle that required my regular absence from the home for extensive day and night hours, while sharing with my wife (who also has a full-time career) the responsibilities of raising a child. The extent that I had succeeded to that point already felt, in fact, like an extension of privilege unavailable to artists with a different background.”
Female DesignerFemale Designer
“Having to be in an environment where there is constant and intense communication is intimidating. Some chronic diseases come with cognitive degeneration and in my case it is loss of words. People with MS tend to lose their words and for me this happens when I have to speak too much. Usually this is being perceived by other people as language incompetence, lack of communication skills, and sometimes even low levels of intelligence and lack of skills.”
Male BIPOC Admin/Design – WestMale BIPOC Admin/Design – West
“I accepted a tenure-track position and taught for nearly seven years at a public university with a majority BIPOC student body, and moreover, a significant percentage of underprivileged students, first-generation college students, and DACA recipients. It was saddening, then, to see students immersed in a theatre-making culture which reinforced damaging, self-sacrificing practices… unpaid sessions occurring during class hours, throughout the night… The spirit of volunteerism can be fiery and wonderful, but for many – especially for young BIPOC artists – the approach ultimately discourages engaging theatre as a meaningful profession. The exploitation begins early.”