Not sure if everyone is aware but a few weeks ago, the NY Times stopped publishing the creative staff alongside reviews. Depending on the producer, SMs were often listed as well. There was a huge outcry in the industry with a huge letter-writing campaign, and the Times reversed their decision. I've pasted the body of the letter drafted and signed by lots of famous playwrights because of their inclusion of SMs in this fight. Not shockingly, it's very eloquent and a beautiful tribute to the many folks who work backstage with us.
"We are reaching out because we'd like to talk to you about the recent elimination of the full credit box in your theater listings and reviews.
We playwrights are always mentioned in the listings and reviews. This is not about us. We think the stage managers and sound and lighting and set and costume designers we work with are just as important as we are when it comes to making theater.
These people are so often overlooked, even though our medium is, literally, coordinating moving bodies, in clothing, with accompanying sound, through light and architectural space. The credits at the end of the reviews and listings are often the only way designers and stage managers are recognized at all. And these people are real artists. They're not helpers. They're our collaborators. They're the show itself.
It's also important for your readers to be able to find out days, months, years later, who created the shows they saw and read about. There are so many theater artists who aren't writers and directors and actors whose careers should be followed and documented, regardless of the writers and directors and actors they're working with, simply because they make extraordinary work.
We need talented artists in New York City to continue to want to pursue these fields. And if they're unnamed and uncredited in the Times it's bad for all of us. Their names are as important to the future of American theater as the names below.
Please restore the original credit box to your reviews and listings, online and in print."
