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Flea Theater to Shut Down Programs for Emerging Artists
Leaders say economic challenges prompted the move, and they promise a new residency program that pays. Artists who urged change feel betrayed.
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Months after promising to radically revamp how it treats actors and other affiliated artists, the Flea Theater announced on Thursday that it would do just that, but not in the way those artists expected. The theater, a notable Off Off Broadway company that recently moved into a new multimillion-dollar home, will eliminate its three most prominent programs for emerging actors, directors and writers as part of plans to “embark on a new mission.”
The announcement, in a letter from the Flea’s board of directors, comes on the heels of the theater vowing to begin paying all of its artists — addressing a longstanding criticism of its labor practices — as well as complaints of racism and sexism that swelled this summer. The theater has long relied on volunteers who sometimes receive meager stipends.
The news did not go down well with artists.
The move “feels directly related to our collective organization and attempts to hold the institution accountable for exploitation of labor and a toxic culture, where harm often fell on the shoulders of BIPOC bodies,” Adam Coy, a resident artist and a member of the theater’s acting company, the Bats, said in a statement.
The Flea’s letter said that the move was a necessary response to the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Flea has a responsibility to act in recognition of the economic realities of the moment, which have a serious impact on programming, the breadth of our next season (whenever that may be), the number of artists we are able to support and every other aspect of our operation,” the board wrote, noting that the theater now has just three employees.
As a result, three initiatives will end as of Dec. 15: the Bats, with some 100 members; a residency program for directors; and a “writers’ room” where playwrights contribute to the ongoing and popular series called “Serials.”
The board noted that it hopes to develop a new, smaller artists’ residency program. Nona Hendryx, a musician and the interim chair of the Flea’s board, further explained the plan in an email on Thursday night.
“We’re working to create a new vision and purpose for The Flea through a residency program in which artists will be paid,” Hendryx wrote. “This new program will provide a venue for artist-driven ideas and provide financial support and other resources directly to participating artists.”
The board’s letter framed the moves as part of efforts to transform the theater into a more equitable institution. But many artists, for whom the announcement came as a shock, viewed it as a betrayal instead.
“For months artists of all disciplines have been serving on committees, working on proposals and negotiating with leadership about changes at the institution, including artist representation on the board, a living wage, and artist representation in season programming,” Coy, the resident artist, said in his statement.
Founded in 1996, the Flea has presented work by A.R. Gurney, Qui Nguyen and Thomas Bradshaw, among others. Since 2017, it has operated out of a new, three-theater building in TriBeCa that was estimated to cost $25 million. Niegel Smith, its artistic director, is one of the few Black artistic directors at a prominent New York theater. He didn’t answer a request for comment on Thursday; the theater’s producing director, Carol Ostrow, recently retired.
The Flea’s largest performing space holds about 100 seats, though all in-person performances have been on hiatus since the pandemic began. While the theater hires and pays actors for some shows, it often casts volunteer members of the Bats, contending that the experience helps boost careers.
Brandon Lorenz, a spokesman for Actors’ Equity Association, the labor union that represents some 51,000 theater actors and stage managers, noted that the Flea’s new building has proved a symbolic liability, as leaders try to demonstrate they are making good on pledges of fairness and inclusivity.
“I hope that a new fund-raising plan for fair pay, fair treatment and a diverse workplace will be pursued with the same vigor used to raise $25 million for a new theater building,” Lorenz wrote. “All actors and stage managers deserve an inclusive workplace and fair pay. We’ll be watching.”
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