My Word Is My Bond?

This post and the ensuing comments started me thinking again about keeping one's word in this business we call show. I feel as badly as anyone about what happened to Karl, but it should be remembered that he also pulled out of a project he had committed to, and left the company to recast the show without a lot of time, in order to take part in the New York Theatre Workshop production.

There seems to be an accepted convention among those working freelance, that we sign on to a project with the understanding that we may dump it if something bigger/higher profile/better money comes along. In some cases, such as columbinus, the issue is more complicated because a project may have a life farther than we are able to forsee. I don't know how you balance those commitments. I believe that Karl, and the other artists involved were acting on that impulse, and not simply because the show is being done in a high profile venue in NY.

Let's face it. There are rarely real consequences for pulling out of a show. First, we are all struggling, and though it may be a pain in the ass for us at the time, I think most of us want to see our fellow artists succeed. And if we do harbour ill will, it's not terribly likely we are going to go through the trouble of suing over breach of contract. Not for the kind of money most of us are talking about. At most what we will say is "I won't work with/ for that person/ company again."

And really. Who is not going to cast Karl Miller in a role he is suited for?

But is there a point where our word, or even our signature on a contract, stops being something that can be trusted? And if that trust goes, what happens to the trust neccessary to have a true and successful collaboration? This is a business built on personal relationships. We tend to work with the same people over and over again, mostly because we share a similar aesthetic, but also becasue we trust them.

I do not want to seem as if I am criticising Karl, or anyone else. It would be hypocritical of me in any case. Last season I bailed on assisting on Romeo and Juliet at the Folger so I could go design Hedwig at Perseverance, although it was done with the designer's blessing. I have also gotten two design gigs in the last two seasons because the original designers had to bow out to take other projects, so I am certainly benefitting from this tendency in the business.

I don't have any answers, I am afraid. Theatre is a complicated business, one that is extremely tough to make a living in, so sometimes choices must be made. Still it is largely a business where we truly are only as good as our word, so we should maybe think carefully about who we break our word to, and perhaps more importantly, who we give it to.