What do you do?
Which reminds me. I know the person who developed the app to help trans people find comfortable public restrooms. But I've been thinking to what point can this system be abused, or to what degree DO people need to be comfortable with all of this. I mean you can really make this point about anything, but most of us, us theatre folk, advocate all kinds of acceptance but when are we "forcing our ideas on someone else" just like we accuse others of.
To turn that around a little, though, I think we're very much creatures of our environment.
One of the things I don't like about our industry (and I know I'm not alone in this!) is that, as individuals, we're disposable.
If every single Stage Manager was to quit tomorrow and decide to become cosmeticians instead, the theatrical world would grind to a halt.
But any given individual SM? Okay, some of us become Ents ("I've been with this company for 26 years. I'm the only one who knows where the lightswitches are. Go ahead: fire me. Go on. You just try it."), and some of us get Equity cards which give us access to periods of stable employment, but a lot of us are employed very, very precariously. You piss off the wrong person, effective midnight tonight you'll never work in this town again--and they
mean it.
And yet there's a rose in this thicket, because it means that we heavily prioritize people who get along and tolerate one another and adjust their behaviour to work around other people.
You won't work on the Sabbath? There are literally thousands of wannabe SMs who
will.
You refuse to work with a lesbian? Too bad. She's the producer. Get over it or get out of the building.
You can't resist the urge to crack obnoxious, sexist jokes? If the wrong person overhears you, you'll be cracking them all you like--from the comfort of your data-entry cubicle.
While this phenomenon isn't entirely honorable--again, it's down in large part to insecurity in labour--it also means that we, as a profession, recognize that it takes all kinds to make theatre. We can work with anyone, we
will work with anyone, and we will respect and treat them as we would anyone else.
And I think, in turn, that this makes theatre a richer art form. We can go places and include people who aren't necessarily incorporated into other communities. There's a reason theatre is a "gay thing" and a "jewish thing": not that long ago, we had opportunities for members of these communities that they'd never get anywhere else. (You wanted to be an openly-gay accountant in the 1940s? No dice. You wanted to be an openly-gay chorus boy? Well, if you aren't
too overt about it...)
None of this is to say that we ever deserve a gold start for inclusion. (Actors of colour, and especially female actors of colour, will cheerfully tell you how lousy their job market is. And they're right.) But I think we do better than most, and I think it's less to do with "forcing our ideas" of tolerance onto others and more to do with circumstance.
You're going to work with this actor whether you like it or not. Get over it.
We're doing this script whether you like it or not. Deal.
Your producer is a transdude. If you don't like it, find a new job. Good luck with that.