One of you lovely FringeFamous readers forwarded an email to me last night. The email was from Bloomington Civic Theatre’s new Executive Director, Terry Lynn Carlson. It was titled “Bloomington Civic Theatre to Evolve Creative and Outreach Programs”. Here’s a bit of what the release had to say:

The nonprofit community theatre, known for bringing the Best of Broadway to the area, experienced a record-breaking season, which, along with several strategic initiatives that were reached, allows it to take these steps and grow for the future.

BCT will be expanding its creative format and its place in the Bloomington community in the following ways:

• Featuring six to seven productions a year. In addition to the usual four productions in the Schneider Theatre, BCT is looking into the possibility of an outdoor summer musical program in conjunction with the Bloomington schools and the city of Bloomington, smaller scale musicals, and plays performed in more intimate settings.
• Pursuing greater educational outreach by providing classes, creative assistance, and mentoring for performing arts programs at Bloomington schools and other area institutions.
• Beginning an initiative to further develop and expand staff and board membership.
• Developing relationships with other area theatres and fine arts organizations. As part of this change, BCT will be bringing on a variety of guest artists and directors to expand and diversify its audience and talent pool as well as to maintain the artistic integrity that audiences have come to expect at BCT.

It’s fantastic to see that BCT is doing so well, and it’s much deserved. Those areas of improvement will no doubt help the city of Bloomington become a richer and fuller artistic community.

But wouldn’t it be neat if one of those bullet points said something like “BCT will now start paying its performing artists more than $200 for 8 weeks of work”? Somebody please correct me if I’m wrong, but last I checked, a majority of the cast of every single show put up at BCT consists of actors who would call themselves “professionals”. Last time I saw a show at BCT, I don’t recall seeing a cast full of area dentists, lawyers, farmers, and school teachers. Nope…they were pretty much all local actors from the local acting community — working hard to tack together a career in the theatre…while getting paid a $200 stipend.

After sending out this email, there’s really no excuse anymore. We know they’re spending more money on two or three additional shows. We know they’re spending more money on additional staff. They’re probably spending more money on a few more union actors and more expensive directors. So where’s the love for the non-union actor who has been the backbone of BCT during the last several years? Why are they not rewarded for their role in this most recent “record-breaking” season?

Here’s a thought: BCT is not a community theatre. It’s a professional theatre that uses the “community” title as an excuse to not adequately compensate its artists. Disagree? Then try comparing Minneapolis Musical Theatre and BCT. I’d say the difference is about 14 miles.