I think I need to put this as plainly as I can, and I apologize for shouting: PEOPLE WHO WORK IN THE LIVE PERFORMING ARTS AREN'T JUST 'NOT WORKING' – THEY ARE *PREVENTED* FROM ENGAGING IN THE WORK AND CAREERS FOR WHICH THEY WERE TRAINED.
YES, THERE IS ONLINE CREATIVITY, BUT MUCH OF THAT IS VOLUNTEER, CREATIVE ARTISTS LITERALLY BURSTING TO SHARE THEIR WORK WITH YOU AS BEST THEY CAN, MOSTLY FOR FREE. UNTIL SUMMER 2021, THEY HAVE TO TRY TO GET WORK IN OTHER FIELDS TO PAY BILLS AND FEED THEIR FAMILIES.
THE ARTS ARE NOT EXPENDABLE, NOR ARE THE TENS OF THOUSANDS WHO WORK IN THE LIVE PERFORMING ARTS AROUND THE COUNTRY. MAKE NO MISTAKE, THIS IS AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY, LIKE AIRLINES, LIKE LIKE PRO SPORTS. OTHER INDUSTRIES RELY ON THE ARTS TO DRIVE THEIR BUSINESSES.
ASK ANYONE WHO OWNS A RESTAURANT OR A PARKING GARAGE OR A SHOP NEAR A THEATRE HOW THIS HAS AFFECTED THEIR BUSINESS, EVEN IF THEY'VE BEEN ALLOWED TO REOPEN. THEY'LL TELL YOU HOW HARD IT IS TO STAY AFLOAT WITHOUT THE ARTS DRIVING TRAFFIC TO THEM.
THOSE WHO WORK IN THE ARTS ARE NOT SECOND CLASS CITIZENS. THEY ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS, THEY ARE RESIDENTS OF THE CITIES AND TOWN IN WHICH THEY WORK AND LIVE, PUMPING DOLLARS INTO THE ECONOMY AND OFFERING THEIR TALENTS TO ENRICH THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY.
WE DON'T NEED PICTURES OF DARK MARQUEES – THOSE ARE BUILDINGS. WE NEED OUR POLITICIANS, OUR LEADERS, OUR MEDIA TO MAKE THIS NOT ABOUT EMPTY REAL ESTATE, BUT ABOUT WORKERS IN CRISIS. NO GLITZ, NO GLAMOR, NO GREASEPAINT. PARENTS, CHILDREN, CAREGIVERS, WHO ARE LEFT HIGH AND DRY.
IT'S NOT AS IF THEY CAN JUST SHIFT TO OTHER FIELDS, ESPECIALLY AT A TIME WHEN UNEMPLOYMENT IS HIGH. KEEP IN MIND: WITHOUT WORK, THEY LOSE HEALTH INSURANCE, JUST WHEN IT IS PERHAPS MOST NEEDED. IF THEY CAN KEEP IT, IT COSTS A LOT, WHEN THEIR INCOME HAS DROPPED TO NOTHING.
I will return to my normal voice to say that everyone, whether they love the live performing arts or not, must recognize that this is no small industry, no frivolity. We are just like everyone else in this country, we work for our livings, we have regular lives.
As Shakespeare wrote, "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" We are all in this together, we are all fundamentally the same, no matter how we have chosen to make our way, our lives, in this world. The arts need compassion – and help.
This is not about shows shutting down. This is about people fighting to stay afloat, like so many others in the country, in the world. I'm not saying to elevate us above others in need, but please remember that those in the live performing arts have the same needs. And we hurt.
The live performing arts will, eventually be back, but without targeted, meaningful support, that return will be ever harder, ever slower. And how many people might we lose in the interim? Not just in the field, but in this life. The arts are, always, about people. Thanks.
And by the way: the people who may survive this best are people of greater or independent means, and consequently elitism within the field will be further privileged at a time when we are poised to truly embrace equality and representation in the field.
If everyone in the live arts don't get meaningful support to make it through this, they will return even more stratified and exclusionary than before. I'll go into that further in another thread. Thx again.
And by the way: 
If you share this thread, perhaps you can quote tweet it and put in the twitter names of media people, locally or nationally. Not the arts writers, they already understand. We have to get this message beyond the arts bubble. @LesterHoltNBC @GayleKing @NorahODonnell @DavidMuir
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