Zak said that the financial problems have snowballed in "the past 12 months." He said that the perception was that things were going smoothly all along. "Our sense was that everyone thought we were fine. [ Even ] the foundation community thought we were fine. . .
Lots of things are blamed in the article, including the usual suspects: Broadway in Chicago, Tivo, Netflix, Real Estate.
Longtime Bailiwick Artistic Director David Zak is quoted as saying:
"It's a cultural change, People have their TiVos and Netflix, so they have their never ending supply at home of gay and lesbian television programming. In the old days, our subscribers would announce a new show and people would trot out to see [ it ] , and then with Broadway, everything assimilated; I mean, Hairspray is about as gay as it gets. So it's an interesting cultural change, where young people don't seem to be going to gay theaters; young people don't seem to identify with coming-out plays—it seems they were born out!"Also some newcomers get their share of blame: The Gay Games, and The Center on Halsted.
Truthfully, I'm not sure how I feel about this. The one potential recipient for blame that is notably absent is the Bailiwick itself. At the bottom of the article it discussed writers who have not been paid for the rights. It's a fairly open secret. I know quite a few people that had to hunt them down for a check. I don't know a single person who has been paid on time by them. I'm sure they're out there, I just haven't heard of them, and they're probably not technicians.
I had a friend once who was hired to oversee a strike on the main stage that they wanted a 24 hour turnaround for, so they'd have to work overnight to get it done. The one problem was Naked Boys Singing was playing next door, so they were told they could not use power tools. No problem. A guy from the Bailiwick showed up with a bucket of screwdrivers for them to use. Yes, screwdrivers. By hand. 24-hour strike and load-in.
They also do their directors festival, of which I have never been a fan. It has always seemed to be a scam. Directors have to pay to apply, pay for costumes, props, any scenic pieces and find/pay for rehearsal space. The Bailiwick keeps all the box office. Under the guise of exposure it has always seemed more to be taking advantage of hungry young artists, for some boost at the box office.
In short, for years the Bailiwick has been horribly run.
I am conflicted though. Being that I'm not a total asshole, I am never happy about a company (potentially) going under. And year after year, the Bailiwick tends to do one fabulous production.
However, there is the problem of the rest of the year. It seems that for every great show, the do ten variations of My Life With the Porn Star and the endless Naked People Singing Because They're Naked--Get It: The Musical. Nudity sells some tickets. But really if nudity is the main selling point, strip clubs and dvd's are far cheaper and have booze available. Theatres have a lot of competition. Nudity in itself isn't enough to keep a company afloat. It seems they never got that memo. Sure it brings in bachelorette parties, and some revenue, but the long term effects have been damaging, as for many that is what the Bailiwick is known for. Not the great shows, but for the crap they continually put up to keep the lights on.
This predates me a bit. But my understanding was that for a long time they were the only GLBT theatre of note in town. That is no longer the case, and companies like About Face long ago eclipsed them, also gay themed works are far more mainstream then they once were, so simply being a gay theatre is not enough to keep folks coming. Relying on pandering, cheap nudity and sheer luck to keep the building afloat is not the best option.
But they do do one amazing show each year. I can't help but think that phoning in the rest of the year has more to do with any potential problems than any of the issues mentioned in the article. Hopefully, they will take this opportunity to really look at what they do, and right the ship, but only they can do that. And Naked Singing or whatever they're calling the spin-off ain't gonna do it.
They've shown time and time again that they are capable of greatness. Striving for greatness can keep a company alive and kicking. But you can't phone in ten months of the year and expect to keep the lights on.
2 comments:
It is absolutely awful, deceitful, or even blind to write an article about the financial woes of the Bailiwick and not talk about the poor or at least misguided financial leadership of David Zak. I can't believe Windy City did that. I have four friends of vastly different ages and eras who all worked at the Bailiwick, and they are all unpaid or unreimbursed for work completed long ago - a lighting designer who put up his own money for the lights of a giant cash cow musical, numerous other designers and actors - myself included, even a friend who helped install the roof and ceiling in their mainstage space decades ago.
This is clearly a systematic problem here. Sometimes you need to jigger the books and prioritize bill payments to run a theater. I understand that. But David Zak sacrifices the financial well being of new artists and artists new to town on a regular basis. He orders work to be done and then when it is complete, he argues with the artist and convinces them that he never the work to be done, and refuses to pay them. It is frankly part of his business plan, and that is unacceptable to me, and it shouldn't be acceptable to the community. Very few other companies operate that way - if they can't afford work or materials, they don't order them. At the Bailiwick, you are convinced to become a donor against your will.
I see the validity of their mission and even the quality of their work as totally beside the point here - The Bailiwick was the first theater I worked at as a designer in this town. I was happy for the opportunity, and yes, Tony, they are capable of wonderful work. But they have a history of sacrificing the small guy to get there.
This is being posted anonymously because I interact with people connected to Bailiwick regularly and don't want those bridges burned.
The reason Bailiwick's been alive for 25 years is David Zak. It's also the reason they're in deep trouble.
Zak wouldn't have been able to do the things Nick describes in his post if he had a good MD partnering with him who could effectively help channel his creative energies and not overextend the company, as he has so often done. But while Bob Falls had Jeff Ortmann and Roche and Barbara Gaines has Criss Henderson, Zak has seemed to have had a different MD almost every year of Bailiwick's existence and too many of them seem to have gotten the job only for being his current lover. When he has had someone with arts management experience as MD like Debra Hatchett or Pat Acerra, they get chased off for one reason or another after a year or two and Zak goes back to his same old bad habits.
And while Zak has been giving the shaft to the people who work for him and putting on too many half-baked productions with no sets, crappy lighting and barely any costumes (even if they aren't Boys in Underwear or Less or gay porn star shows), About Face has done almost everything right, consistently puts out better artistic product, is well-funded and made the leap to Equity. If BIC wasn't the easier target, I'm surprised Zak didn't attack About Face for being assimilating sellouts.
And forgive me for being cynical, put I suspect the kid gloves treatment WCT gave Zak is because he has schmoozed the gay media effectively ever since "Jerker" put the company into gay theater. If you're the WCT writer who did the article and can see Tracy Baim's Bailiwick Trailblazer award in the office, you know damn well not to be rough with Bailiwick.
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