The Drama Merchant

*A follow-up thought to my last post — same topic, sharper edge.* Every time I hear "government needs to fund the arts more," I find myself asking the same thing back: fund which part of it, and who gets left out of that ask? There's a pattern worth naming in the "government needs to fund the arts more" conversation: it's almost always coming from the professional side of the industry, and it's been going on a lot longer than any recent headline suggests. Actors' Equity has b

I don't think community creativity is any less of a career than the professional kind — even though most of the noise around "saving the arts" would have you believe otherwise. Every time times get tough for the professional creative arts scene, I see the same call from paid actors, producers and performers: government needs to put more money in, or the culture dies. And I understand where it comes from. I'd love a full-time career as a producer, director or actor. Genuinely