With the midterms coming up, and especially with so many democratic socialists winning their primaries — and generals (for the record: Mamdani is definitively showing us the way forward) — I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing a lot about capitalism. And anti-capitalism. In all their forms. And it’s got me thinking… I’ve asked this question before: what is the opposite of capitalism? The best answer I’ve been able to come up with is this: The opposite of Capitalism is not democratic socialism. It’s not even communism.

The opposite of Capitalism is Art.

And, while we’re at it, though I assert that it is possible to make money from art, or indeed to be a capitalist who creates popular, and even objectively good, output (there are so many examples of this, but I won’t name names here…), I believe capitalist and Artist are mutually exclusive

Yet lately, I feel like everywhere I turn, capitalism is trying to subsume art (and eat our souls, and desecrate our planet). Not just by stealing all of the artifacts of our collective humanity, a.k.a. AI scraping, but also (like so much of the world) through VC annexation — degrading art to commerce, and rendering creation merely transactional

I know similar trends are developing across other art forms as well, but where I see it most plainly, and where I can understand it best, is in my own back yard

The American Theatre

A career in the theatre should come with its own 501c3 because every dollar brought in (often few and likely far-between), that is not already accounted for by the cost of living, goes right back out to feed the career itself: classes, coaches, shoes, headshots, union dues, representation/management, the list goes on…

And not a day goes by anymore, that I don’t hear some version of the Broadway shows are too expensive to produce argument (and, it’s worth noting here that I don’t disagree). I’ve seen pretty heavy discourse on The Jellicle Ball, in particular. It won Tonys. It played to nearly-full houses every night. But the numbers seemed to be against it from the start. And I must say, it was incredibly disheartening to hear one of the top titans of our industry — of our art form — seem to lay the blame for this unsustainable financial model (at least partially) at the feet of the actors, dancers, and crew — the actual laborers in this labor of love — especially while the livability of union wages remains debatable, at best

Broadway companies are comprised of journeyed, union professionals operating at the literal top of their field — there is no higher stage. They bear the standard against which all other theatre is compared (and with which other theatre occasionally becomes conflated). They are living the dream — and yet very many of them struggle to make ends meet

Let’s retire the trope of the Starving Artist

But, Kate — you just said artists are not capitalists!! I did. And I meant it. I maintain that between a heart set on making the world a better place for all of us through art, and one set solely on collecting dollars, no matter the cost, there lies a vast and tempestuous gulf. And while there are, no doubt, myriad shades and degrees between the two, the contrast is pretty easily distinguishable. Moreover, I assert that the ability to afford a happy, healthy life in a comfortable home, with a few little luxuries to enjoy and maybe even, now and then, a vacation, should be the standard, in exchange for lifelong training, brutal sacrifice, indefatigable passion, and maybe even, now and then, world-class talent

Shows not recouping is not a new phenomenon. What I think is new (in addition to more expensive everything), and what seems to be on the rise, is an attitude that there is no value in producing a show outside of recouping. That the artistic and social value of a critical and popular success with a loud, unapologetic, and joyful voice calling us to reexamine our history and reimagine where we can go from here, is not inherently worthwhile. That it should be closed. And then, that it should be closed early.

Perhaps it’s naive to daydream of a hybrid structure, combining the non-profit and commercial models, where the art itself, its very existence in the world, is the ROI, and the chance to make money on the venture is something of a cherry on top (no investment is risk-free, after all)

But Oskar Eustis himself declared that the American non-profit theatre movement is over (I prefer to call it metamorphosing), so maybe some kind of hybridization is just the ticket, because I can’t help but think the American commercial theatre is following closely in its footsteps. And then, of course, I can’t help but think of Bebe Benzenheimer, and a line written 50 years ago, that remains so woefully relevent

I don’t want to hear about how Broadway is dying, I just got here!!

The older I get the more often I wonder if a feeling, a fear, an idea is unique to me, to my generation, to our time — or if it’s just part of the human condition. If every person in every generation has felt this same anxiety, this exact hope

Maybe this is just part of the experience of being an artist, throughout the ages (though to read about the lives of the white male authors of 100 years ago, who were so lauded for their greatness, which seems increasingly questionable, you might not think so): to be always climbing uphill, and wrestling. With big questions. With funding. With literal survival — both your own and your institutions’

Putting it Together

I don’t know, of course, what will happen — what will become of the theatre, what will become of the artist in the capitalist’s world (what will become of those looming midterms). I pray that we can adapt, and quickly. Or instead that we can rise up and create a new system, a new structure, a new home for ourselves. It certainly does feel like the path we’re on now is, to quote a titan, “unsustainable.” Exactly how much straw can you place on a camel’s back? We may just find out

“Capitalism is the idea of unlimited growth in a closed system. In biology we call that cancer.” That’s it. That’s the post. That I saw once, some 4 or 6 years ago, and that I still think about, all the time. I don’t know to whom to attribute the quote, I’ve tried looking it up, but no joy. So if you’re reading this and you know who it was (or if it was you!!), shoot me a message here and let me know, or drop it in the comments