The Met Is Out Through The End Of 2021

by
LinkedInCopyPrint

Among the unions The Metropolitan Opera’s executive leadership is waging war, is International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local One. While all of the Met’s union employees require lead time to adequately prepare, IATSE deadlines are firmest.

The union employees, which include stagehands, technicians, and skilled craftspeople, actually build everything you see on stage. That’s not something you can rush without risking injury and throughout negotiations the Union representatives have made it clear that in order to get a production up and running before the end of 2021, there are clear deadlines.

One of those just passed and in what should come as a shock to no one, IATSE reps indicated there was no way they could make the deadline for the planned September 27, 2021 production of “Fire Shut up in my Bones” so the Met cancelled it.

Happy Friday everyone.

About Drew McManus

"I hear that every time you show up to work with an orchestra, people get fired." Those were the first words out of an executive's mouth after her board chair introduced us. That executive is now a dear colleague and friend but the day that consulting contract began with her orchestra, she was convinced I was a hatchet-man brought in by the board to clean house.

I understand where the trepidation comes from as a great deal of my consulting and technology provider work for arts organizations involves due diligence, separating fact from fiction, interpreting spin, as well as performance review and oversight. So yes, sometimes that work results in one or two individuals "aggressively embracing career change" but far more often than not, it reinforces and clarifies exactly what works and why.

In short, it doesn't matter if you know where all the bodies are buried if you can't keep your own clients out of the ground, and I'm fortunate enough to say that for more than 15 years, I've done exactly that for groups of all budget size from Qatar to Kathmandu.

For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, keep track of what people in this business get paid, help write a satirical cartoon about orchestra life, hack the arts, and love a good coffee drink.

View all posts by Drew McManus | Website

LinkedInCopyPrint

Related Posts