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Mickey Jo Theatre
So there are a couple of conversation topics which get reignited periodically within the theatre industry and one of those is the conversation around bootlegs and the ethics of bootlegs and the financial implication of bootlegs and the accessibility of bootlegs. And I decided the other day to make a TikTok about this particular topic because I guess nobody had at me and my phone for a couple of days. And foolishly I shared a hasty hot take about this complicated issue which merits, like almost everything else, a more nuanced discussion which we're gonna have right now. Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you. If you're listening to this on podcast platforms, you don't get to enjoy my lovely Gutenberg the musical hat, which I'm only wearing at 11pm at night inside my own home because my hair today, not unlike the Red Sea prior to Moses. Saying a few nice words to it is really just refusing to part. Which is fine. I'm among friends, at least for now, because I'm about to share with you my complicated feelings about bootlegs. Complicated because it's a complicated issue with objective pros and cons, with things that I don't think anyone can contravene in either direction, and a lot of other stuff that we can objectively disagree on, almost all of which I'm going to attempt to outline for you today. If anyone is completely confused coming into this conversation and thinks I'm talking about alcohol in the 1920s, I'm not. I am talking about the illegal video recording. There's also audio recording, but that's not as acutely a part of this conversation. I'm particularly talking about the illegal video recording of theatrical productions, productions that don't allow you to film during the show, which is the vast majority of them. And then subsequently the uploading, sale and propagation of these online and these days across social media. You may also hear these bootlegs referred to as slime tutorials. I don't know when that started, but it was after my day, kids. Anyway, the reason that we're having this conversation right now is because the recently opened Off Broadway production of Heather's the Musical, which has returned to its original Broadway New World Stages after a lot of success on the other side of the Atlantic here in the uk, recently shared via their social media a polite request that audience members not illegally film the show when they were attending, which, to absolutely nobody's surprise, has been met with a little bit of backlash and controversy. It's not the first time that Heather's the Musical has found itself alongside controversy. It may be the first time that, you know, this is absolutely not its fault. But we are going to talk about why, and I'm going to talk about the general concept of bootlegs and every different facet of this conversation. Because we can talk about marketing and we can talk about bootlegs as a historical record and we can talk about them as a tool for greater theatrical accessibility. But I'm also going to highlight the fascinating specificity of the relationship between Heather's the Musical and bootlegs. It being one of a handful of shows that has become really embedded within the consciousness of the musical theatre community because of recordings made of its original Off Broadway run. But I'm getting ahead of myself for now. I want to acknowledge that you are all going to have strong feelings about bootlegs. Feel free to share all of those as I am talking through this in the comments sect as I'm going along. And if you haven't already, make sure to subscribe to my theatre themed YouTube channel if you still like me at the end of this. Or go follow me on podcast platforms in the meantime. Said with only a little bit of regret, let's talk about bootlegs, shall we? Now I feel satisfied that I've explained thoroughly enough to you what bootlegs are. If you're not completely aware of this, what you might not know is just how widespread bootlegs can be. And I feel even more so in the TikTok Times now than they were a few years ago. And I do want to acknowledge that in my earlier musical theater loving teens I was very involved in the bootleg trading community. I never went into a theater and filmed anything. I never had the gumption for one thing, and I was too afraid of the concept of like a lifetime ban from the theater. But I did have something of a collection of a lot of bootlegs. And so any negative thoughts that I am going to share here and about bootlegs are to a certain extent hypocritical. But like Alanis Morissette of the musical Jagged Little Pill has taught us, you live, you learn. And the first angle of all of this that I want to begin with is the conversation around bootlegs and accessibility. And this is a conversation that I preempted when I made my first TikTok about this a few days ago. Because I suggested a little, little clumsily, more than a little clumsily in fact, that anyone still asking for Heather's bootlegs, or still making Heather's bootlegs, or still complaining that Heathers would even deign to ask that they not make illegal recordings of the show, is no longer actually advocating for accessibility, and that the idea of accessibility was being hijacked a little as a justification for young fans, usually young fans, just wanting to see a recording of the show that they want to see, but can't necessarily afford to travel to, or can't necessarily afford tickets to, which is part of the accessibility conversation. But it gets harder when a pro shot exists. And once again, I'm putting the cart before the horse. Let's talk about theatrical accessibility and inaccessibility. So when we talk about this, perhaps the first thing that springs to mind is the disabled community and all of the many barriers which are in place in terms of being able to go and enjoy a theatrical experience for them. There are many old and inaccessible venues, particularly in London's West End, but I think, sadly, also on Broadway, and that's on a handful of fronts. That's in terms of standard wheelchair access, but also access for power chair users, which is a different type of wheelchair. There are some theatres, devastatingly, which have spent an extraordinary sum of money on refurbishment, but haven't included in their consideration power chair users. So there are some newly installed lifts in certain theatres within the last decade that power chair users can't utilize, and a lot of theatrical spaces where some wheelchair users are precluded from entry because of just a couple of steps. It's incredibly frustrating. Then we have to consider all of the other disabilities, including invisible disabilities that exist alongside that, and the incredibly limited number of relaxed performances, if any. And that is just one type of theatrical inaccessibility, because you also have to consider geographical inaccessibility. You know, people can't go to the theater in a country that they don't live in if they can't afford to travel to that country in the first place, or even a different part of the country that they do live in. I hear constantly that people aren't able to go and see shows that they like in London because they can't afford the ever increasing train prices to travel down or travel up from a different part of the country. And they're just hoping against hope that that show will eventually go on tour to wherever it is that they live. Which brings us immediately into a conversation about financial inaccessibility and the inability to go and see a particular production at the theater because you can't afford the ticket prices. And this is something that we have been talking about more and more and more as the world is experiencing more. More financial crises, as ticket prices seem to be ever on the increase. And I talk about all of this, I realize from a position of enormous privilege, because I have access to a great many complimentary theatre tickets as part of the work that I do as a theatre critic here on social media. I also recall the days when I saw as much theatre as I could afford to with the money that I was making on a Saturday morning when I was 16, and I booked every, like, upper back corner, last row of every West End theater that I could, if I had enough money to travel into London that particular week. I used all of the young person's discount schemes that were available, which is why I still champion those and think that they are incredibly important. But in the face of all of this, something like a bootleg which brings a version of that show to those people who can't necessarily travel, can't physically gain access to the building, or can't afford to buy a ticket, is seen in that context as a great thing. It allows those people access to the show that they love, or at least some version of it, because, you know, even an extraordinarily well filmed bootleg is rarely as good as a pro shot recording, which in and of itself is still not a perfect substitute for the live theatrical experience. There is something about theatre, and I'll conclude by talking about this all again at the end of the video, but it is about that communal exchange, it's about being in the room, and there is no perfect substitute for that, even with some brilliant live broadcasts of theatrical productions, and even with some very impressive bootleg recordings. And one of the questions that arises, especially when bootlegs get held up as an access alternative, is why can't we just stream Broadway performances or western performances? Why can't we just stream them every single night? People say, I would absolutely buy a streaming ticket if I could. And the problem with this, particularly on Broadway, is the expense of the whole thing. For one thing, everyone always says, oh, I would be very happy with just like one static camera in the back of the house. I've watched a lot of those and I can promise you that you would. They are really difficult, like, almost impossible to emotionally engage with in any kind of a substantial way. But also there are huge financial barriers in place even for that. And a lot of that comes from the unions that exist around Broadway theater. The unions for the actors, the unions for the musicians. Which is why in the past, certain shows have prohibited even filming the curtain call if the band is playing during this time. And so, sadly at the moment, the expense of the whole thing of streaming a Broadway production just isn't justifiable. And I hope that that is a conversation which evolves down the line, because I think, you know, this appetite isn't going to change. The only thing that is going to change over the next few decades is the makeup of audiences. And if we aren't doing enough to future proof audiences inside the theater, then we're going to have to meet them where they are and where they are increasingly is in a digital space. And what this does is prompt our next question. Are bootlegs actually helping or hindering the box office? So let's talk about bootlegs and marketing and box offices. And this is where this conversation being about Heathers becomes particularly interesting because anecdotally and there is very little statistical evidence to support this, but it is said that much of the success of Heathers and you know, the fact that it even exists now, the fact that it is back off Broadway is down to the popularity that it gained during its original Off Broadway run via bootleg recordings which were made of the show and you know, a cast out album was released and it had in person performances. But there is a general understanding, and I don't disagree with this, that bootlegs that were made of the show at the time in particular, like the video of Candy Store that ended up on YouTube, helped to gain a lot of popularity for the show in musical theater fandom circles. It was on the back of that popularity that the UK production had a really substantial launch like that initial other palace run pretty much sold out before it started. And then, you know, if you push the boulder off the hill with enough force, it's going to roll faster. And that's where we are now with Heather's back off Broadway and the, the boulder at the, at the bottom of the hill. And so some fans have criticized Heathers for asking them not to bootleg by saying you wouldn't even have the success if it weren't for bootlegs and you should be grateful for the illegal recordings made of the show. And two things could be true at once. That can be the reality of the production and it can also still be their request that, you know, you not legally. And if it feels like I'm laboring that point, it may just be because I think we've gotten so casual with the notion of doing it, especially from all of the young theatre fans that I see in these social media comments sections saying like, well, you literally can't stop us or suggesting that it's morally right for them to do so even though it's not legal. And the next argument that usually follows is, well, if you're not going to make a pro shot, then you can't complain when people bootleg if you're not going to make it accessible to us in that way, or if you're not going to make ticket prices low enough and we can talk endlessly about ticket prices. For what it's worth, I don't think that Heather's off Broadway has the most extraordinarily high ticket prices. I think for the most part the theatre fans who are able to actually get to the theatre would probably be able by and large to afford tickets. And I think the geographical barrier is a much bigger one, like affording flights to New York and potentially an overnight stay at a Manhattan hotel is going to set you back way more than Heather's tickets. But let's talk about the pro shot of it all, because that so often is the central argument of these things. And that's why I went TikTok, because I understand when they say like, well, we wouldn't need to do this if there was a pro shot, but with Heather's, and that's once again why this is an interesting example. There is a pro shot, there is literally a professionally filmed recording and it was when the show was in the UK and it's a British cast and it's not the ones doing it right now. And I get absolutely the eagerness and the enthusiasm to see this current Off Broadway cast because it's a great cast. I want to see Lorna Courtney playing Veronica. I want to see Casey Likes, I want to see Mackenzie Kurtz and all of the rest of them. I absolutely understand where that passion is coming from. I share that, of course I do. But I also think it really pierces that argument when there is a pro shot recording of the show that exists and it transpires that you don't just really need to see Heathers, you want to see this specific version that is happening right now with this specific cast. And I think, as I will reaffirm later, that we all have a right to theatre and we all have a right to arts. I think that is not a privilege, that is a human right. I don't know if I would agree that we have a right to, to the specific show that we want at this specific time. I don't know if Heather's Off Broadway is a human right in the same way that I think theater is as a general concept and I know that not everything lasts forever on streaming services and not everything is available in every single country. For what it's worth, I had a lot of follow up comments of people being like, the Heathers pro shot isn't available in this country or I don't know where to find it online. If you Google Heather's pro shot, at least at the time of filming, there are places you can find it very easily online. Hell, searched into YouTube and right now you will also find it there. And I have and this is perhaps controversial in and of itself. I have far less of a problem with you finding a dubious way to watch the Heathers pro shot, even though you're still taking money out of people's pockets by doing that. And you're taking money out of the pockets of people who worked to, you know, put a pro shot together and bring it to the fans and make it more widely available. I have far less of a problem with that than I do with you watching or particularly filming a bootleg inside the theater for reasons I will articulate subsequently. But since we are still talking about the box office and about marketing, we have to have the conversation about whether or not bootlegs are actually helping more than they're hindering. Because people say this with pro shots as well, that like, oh, if they can just watch it at home, then they're not going to go to the show. And there is no statistical evidence to suggest this either. Look at the ongoing success of Hamilton after a lot of people watched that pro shot on Disney plus. There is nothing how many discounts does USAA Auto Insurance offer? Too many to say here. Multi vehicle discount, Safe driver discount, New vehicle discount, Storage discount. How many discounts will you stack up?
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Mickey Jo Theatre
As far as I can recall, that has happened within the theater community to ever suggest that because something became available as a pro shot, the interest to see it in person was in any way diminished for the exact reason that I shared before that it is never a like for like experience. Getting to watch a pro shot is not the same thing as getting to be in the room where it happens. I wasn't even planning that. It happened naturally. And an even greater example of that is a bootleg, because a pro shot is usually beautifully put together and it looks great and it sounds great. Especially these days. They're doing great work and the bootlegs usually have somebody's head in the way and it starts two minutes into the start of the show and they're laughing too loudly around you for you to really hear the next. It is not a great alternative and it's not making anyone go, oh well, I won't go see it now, I'll just stay at home. I don't think so. At least you may disagree with that. If you do, feel free to let me know in the comments. I do think that for a lot of shows, the existence of clips from bootlegs on social media is actually proving helpful. And there is a conspiracy theory that a Show like death becomes her, maybe, if not actively encouraging audience members to film, certainly permitting them with a more relaxed approach to policing the recording of bootlegs. That is the anecdotal experience of a lot of audience members, and possibly because the show has enjoyed various viral moments on TikTok already. And TikTok in particular is a really fascinating social media platform that does seem to have the capacity to create a substantial amount of enthusiasm among these little niche things when something does go viral. Beetlejuice the musical became an online fascination because of content created around it on TikTok. Restaurants have become really popular, books have been turned into bestsellers. TikTok has the power to make something mainstream. And so I will concede that I think the bootleg clips that are being shared to that social media platform, particularly the ones that do well with that platform, that are short and snappy and comic, think your Beetlejuice's think your death becomes hers, are doing far more to boost those box offices than they are to hurt them. But then, my main argument against the creation of bootlegs, my biggest issue has never been about the box office. I don't care about the financial impact of bootlegs nearly as much as I care about this next problem. So if you listen to one thing in this entire conversation, let it be this. Because this, in spite of everything else that we can say about increased accessibility, in spite of what we can say about the potential marketing boost. And I've seen people who work in Broadway marketing defending bootlegs and saying that we need a huge cultural shift about gatekeeping in the industry. And I agree with all that, except for this problem, which is the lack of consent from performers. And this is also a little bit of a mixed bag, because sometimes performers repost bootleg clips, sometimes they engage with them, or they comment on each other's performances, and they're like, yes, girl, you crushed that. You sounded great singing that. And there are whole pages dedicated to posting riffs that performers made in shows which are comprised largely of bootleg video clips. But the problem is that these performers, these actors, for whom this is their job, their profession, are not, not monolithic. And just because one performer feels that way about bootleg clips, or a handful, or even the majority do, doesn't make it okay for you to enter into somebody's workplace and without their consent, film footage of them essentially at work and then upload it onto social media. And this comes with a handful of problems. I think, in and of itself, it is not okay. It's not okay to film Somebody at work and then post it regardless. But especially in the context of performers who are undressing on stage, who are less than fully clothed on stage, who are simulating certain romantic acts on stage, all of which happens in Guess what? Heather's the Musical and is often cast with younger performers, like in their 20s, who of course are not children, but it's creepy nonetheless. I'm reminded of something that happened during the West End run of Come From Away. There's a brief moment where two of the cast members, like, lift up their tops when it's the line about flashing all the cars. And they, like, exposed their bras to the audience for a split second. And at one performance, a camera flash went off at that exact moment, which is deeply sinister because somebody knew that it was coming and anticipated it and then took a photo with flash, which is just horrifying. But the performers, or one of the performers shared on social media how sort of the trust with them and the audience was pierced in that moment and they felt extraordinarily violated. And I saw nothing but people agreeing with that, like, oh my gosh, what a horrid thing to do do. And I can't help but think it's not that far from bootlegging and creating video footage of performers undressing and doing similar stuff on stage, doing worse on stage and wearing less on stage. I'm also thinking about the curtain call for the musical Teeth, which played off Broadway at Playwrights Horizons and then transferred also to New World Stages. And because of the nature of the costuming at the very end of the show and during the bows, audience members were prohibited from filming the bows. And so people respected that and they didn't film the bows. And so to enter into a space and to see a show where you have multiple performers in a state of undress during the show and then film it, nonetheless, I have a big problem with that. I'd have a big problem with it even if they were fully clothed. And there are also performers who have had extraordinary criticism on social media when people take a disliking to their performance in bootleg clips. There are performers who have been bullied on socials because of clips of them from the show. And honestly, it's nothing that hasn't been happening on some toxic chat boards for a very long time. But the existence of bootleg clips in a more mainstream social media space is allowing those conversations to ignite there as well, where performers are going to stumble onto them and it's all very uncomfortable. And so does that mean that Performers ought not to encourage people by reposting bootlegs, by sharing bootleg clips, by reacting to them and being like, oh, yeah, I killed that. Thanks for whatever. Is that something they shouldn't be doing? There was also a moment a few years ago where some. Some content creator performers were also sharing bootleg footage of their own shows that I believe they were capturing, possibly from the wings, which is a whole different and complicated conversation. I am of the opinion that, you know, it's not the worst thing in the world if a performer likes a bootleg or reposts a bootleg clip simply because that kind of implies consent after the fact. It implies some level of approval. I don't think people should be going out and filming them on the off chance that a performer likes them. I'm not saying that. But if you happen to take a photo of someone across the room at a party and they like it, and they're like, oh, that's really good. That's a really cute, candid. Could you send it to me? It's a completely different situation to you photographing someone across the room at a party and then being like, oh, God, I look horrible, and that's it. No. And I've got food hanging out of my mouth or something. Can you please not post that? And then the person who takes the photo says, no, I'm going to put it online. Fine. Regardless. And we're all going to make fun of you. That's a horrible position to be put in as the person who was photographed across the room in the party. And then to just go back to the beginning of all of that, why are you taking a photo of someone across the room at a party anyway? Is it not an inherently creepy thing to do? And that's about as much mileage as I think we'll get out of that metaphor. But I'm hoping that you can understand the point that I am making here. Performer consent is my number one issue, my bottom line when it comes to bootlegs, nudity or not. I just think it's inherently disrespectful and creepy. Now, have I always thought this? No. And it would be completely disingenuous of me to have this conversation without talking about my own history with bootlegs. So let's talk about bootlegs as a historical record. And as I mentioned earlier on in this conversation, when I was a musical theater loving and discovering teenagers, I had access to hundreds of bootlegs. I was not filming bootlegs. I was not paying for bootlegs. I was not selling bootlegs, but there was a space within the Internet, there probably still is, honestly, where you could trade bootlegs and people had their own self made websites. I feel like in the days of social media, now this probably happens in a very different way, but at the time it was a lot of like Weebly and Freewebs and blogspot pages and everyone's names would all be different lines from Wicked. Like you'd have like pink goes good with green.weebly.com etc and I had a great many bootlegs. I didn't watch all of the bootlegs that I had access to because honestly, I had more than I actually had time to watch. I had more than you could probably watch in a lifetime. And that's because I was so high on the passion and joy of discovering theater, and particularly theater that had come before my time, that I had never had the opportunity to see. Not just because I was growing up on the south coast of the UK and it was shows from Broadway and from parts regionally of the us, but also because I wasn't alive when these performances were taking place. And there's some extraordinarily early stuff that somehow was captured via bootleg recordings. I have no idea how, because now, you know, you could just like take. I'm not going to tell you how to make a bootleg, but you can much more surreptitiously now take recording devices into a theater. How they managed to bootleg stuff in the 70s, I have no idea. Like what were they like with a camcorder? What was going on? Anyway, anyway, we have to acknowledge the value of bootlegs as a form of historical record. And people often say that criticizing bootlegs is tantamount to gatekeeping within the industry. And if that is true, I think this is the area where it is the truest. Because archives exist, archival footage is captured of almost everything that is on Broadway, of plenty of stuff here in the West End. And there are archives which are available to theatrical professionals, but they are not available to everyone, as far as I know. You have to, at least here in London, you have to have some justification for viewing and accessing the archive. And so if anything is gatekeeping, that is it. And listen, it's not just true of the theatre industry because there is a great amount of history and human knowledge that is, and rightfully so, maintained and preserved and gatekept out of necessity. But it is a difficult conversation, especially when we really treasure a lot of the history and the memories of stuff that would otherwise be lost, because theatrical experiences are inherently temporary. I remember when the late, great, wonderful Gavin Creel passed away and there were so many bootleg clips of his performances over the years being shared on social media. And nobody at that time was being like, oh, but we shouldn't be encouraging bootlegs. Everyone was just grateful that they existed. And so that is another layer of complicated did on this whole conversation. But if that is convincing enough to make you think actually, no, bootlegs are a good thing. I still have that last point ringing in my head, because one of those Gavin Creel shows was Hair and the Company Get Naked at the end of the first act. And that was probably also in the bootleg. But I also remember being at Patti LuPone's concert at Leicester Square in the early 2010s Leicester Square Theatre, and she agreed to sing with one look from Sunset Boulevard for the first time in years in London, at least for the first time, I think, since she had done Sunset Boulevard in London and Seth Radetzky was playing the piano for her and she was doing the version without the modulation at the end. And it was a big deal. And she was only doing it because it was an audience request right at the end of the show and she had to stand behind the piano for safety and she was singing from the sheet music. And I remember Seth saying, remember, there is no filming allowed. And dear God, I hope somebody is filming this and you can actually watch it on YouTube, because it was filmed and uploaded by her son, presumably with permission. But you've got to understand and echo that sentiment. There are some things that you just want to be preserved. There are some things that just shouldn't be lost to the sands of time. And yet we kind of have to make peace with that, because that's also a little bit what theatre is. And it's that idea that I think is going to conclude this whole conversation, the big picture idea of what actually is theish. We started talking about bootlegs and this is where we have ended up. And theatre is about that experience in the room, that personal connection between a community of people, between yourself and the performer on stage who is telling you, not just you. Unless the ticket sales are doing incredibly poorly on that evening, or if it's a bespoke performance for one person, but in most instances, not just you, a story. They are telling a story to a room full of people and you are part of the community, that is that audience. But also also this transactional piece of storytelling between yourself and the performers on stage. And that is deeply special. It is deeply special for multiple reasons. It is special because you are in the room at the time when it's happening. It's also special because it's unique. And that show, as it is going, is never going to happen exactly that same way again. And things usually run for multiple performances. Some shows run for years and years and years and years and years, and it may be incredibly similar every night, but that particular performance is singular and it is never going to happen again. And you were in the room when that happened. And a recording of that, legal or otherwise, isn't quite able to capture its magic. And as devastating a reality as it is, I think we ultimately have to come to terms with the notion that theatre is this temporary, momentary, ephemeral thing that we can't quite capture in our hands. It is always going to be just that little bit out of reach. We can't trap it in a glass bott bottle, much as we would like to. And so, useful as bootlegs may be as an accessible alternative, they are not a robust answer to the ongoing and important conversation around theatrical accessibility. We have to find solutions to that end. But bootlegs cannot be that solution. And the reason I say that is because of the performer consent problem. And as beneficial as they may be as an unconventional marketing tool where the box office is concerned, concerned, that performer consent issue, regardless of the content and the costuming of the show, is too big an issue in my mind for us to morally circumvent. And the importance of bootlegs as a historical record is the thing that almost gets me to change my mind, because I do so value the theater history that has been maintained. And, you know, people often say that you appreciate that. I know a lot of stuff about theater on here, and a lot of the stuff that I know is because I learned it by watching bootleg recordings. It doesn't mean that that's the only way to learn about theatre. That happened before your theatre going and before your lifetime. But it was an undeniable resource for me at an early age. And, you know, there's an awful lot of overlap with what I do here on social media. Reviews are from one angle, also about a historical record of theatrical productions. And I know that listening to me talk about a show is not the same thing as watching a bootleg of it. I appreciate I can try and paint a visual picture, but I'm not quite offering you that. At the same time, I hope for those of you who don't watch bootlegs that it may be some kind of a decent alternative. So on that note, those have been my thoughts about bootlegs, and I really think we ought not to be giving the Heather's social media team hell for just asking that People don't film bootlegs. If you want to decide for yourself that that is something that you can still do and you still want to watch them, if you can rationalize all of the moral complexity of it for yourself, that's one thing. But they're allowed to ask you not to. It is not immoral of them to say, hey, please don't illegally film our show, and it's audacious of anyone else to tell them otherwise. For now, I think that is everything that I have to say about bootlegs. There are probably more points to be made about this and I look forward to furthering the conversation. I think in the comments section down below. Because this is a hot topic, let's remember to show treat everyone in the comments section with humanity and with decency and with respect. But do feel free to weigh in if you disagree with anything that I've said in this video. I would love to hear it in the comments. In the meantime, those have been my thoughts. Thank you so much for listening and I hope, as always, that everyone is staying safe and that you have a Stagey Day. For 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day.
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Podcast Summary: MickeyJoTheatre – "Let's talk about BOOTLEGS | Thoughts on the slime tutorial debate in West End and Broadway theatre"
Release Date: July 16, 2025
In this thought-provoking episode, Mickey-Jo from MickeyJoTheatre delves deep into the contentious issue of bootlegs in the theatre industry. He explores the ethical dilemmas, financial implications, and accessibility concerns surrounding the illegal recording and distribution of live theatrical performances. Using the recent controversy surrounding Heather's the Musical as a focal point, Mickey-Jo navigates through various facets of the bootleg debate, offering insightful commentary and personal reflections.
Mickey-Jo begins by defining bootlegs within the theatrical context, clarifying that he is referring to the unauthorized video recordings of live performances, commonly known as "slime tutorials" on social media platforms.
"If anyone is completely confused coming into this conversation and thinks I'm talking about alcohol in the 1920s, I'm not. I am talking about the illegal video recording."
[02:09]
He emphasizes the recurring nature of this debate in the theatre community and his decision to address it more comprehensively after a hasty TikTok reaction.
The spotlight turns to the recent backlash faced by Heather's the Musical when the production team politely requested audiences not to record the show illegally. Mickey-Jo articulates the mixed reactions from fans and the broader implications for the production.
"It's not the first time that Heather's the Musical has found itself alongside controversy. It may be the first time that, you know, this is absolutely not its fault."
[04:45]
One of the primary arguments in favor of bootlegs is enhanced accessibility. Mickey-Jo explores how bootlegs could bridge gaps for audiences hindered by:
"Something like a bootleg which brings a version of that show to those people who can't necessarily travel, can't physically gain access to the building, or can't afford to buy a ticket, is seen in that context as a great thing."
[07:30]
He acknowledges the value bootlegs provide but contrasts it with the irreplaceable nature of the live experience.
Mickey-Jo shifts to the discussion on whether bootlegs harm or help theatre productions financially. He presents anecdotal evidence suggesting that bootlegs can serve as effective marketing tools rather than detriments to box office sales.
Case Study: Heather's the Musical: Bootlegs from the original Off Broadway run contributed to its popularity and subsequent successful revival.
"Bootlegs that were made of the show at the time in particular... helped to gain a lot of popularity for the show in musical theater fandom circles."
[12:15]
Comparison to Pro Shots: While some argue that official recordings might reduce the need for live attendance, Mickey-Jo contends that no recording can replicate the communal and ephemeral essence of theatre.
"Getting to watch a pro shot is not the same thing as getting to be in the room where it happens."
[14:50]
The crux of Mickey-Jo's argument against bootlegs lies in the issue of performer consent. He raises concerns about the unauthorized recording of actors, especially during sensitive or intimate moments on stage.
"Performer consent is my number one issue, my bottom line when it comes to bootlegs, nudity or not. I just think it's inherently disrespectful and creepy."
[22:10]
He narrates incidents where performers felt violated by being recorded without permission, drawing parallels to invasive and disrespectful behavior outside the theatrical context.
"It's creepy... it's not okay to film Somebody at work and then post it regardless."
[25:45]
Despite his reservations, Mickey-Jo acknowledges the historical significance of bootlegs as archives of performances that might otherwise be lost to time. Reflecting on his personal experiences, he shares how bootlegs enriched his understanding and appreciation of theatre history.
"Bootlegs as a form of historical record... they are invaluable, capturing moments that archival footage might miss."
[28:30]
However, he balances this by reiterating that historical value does not override the ethical concerns related to consent and performers' rights.
In concluding, Mickey-Jo underscores the unique, transient nature of live theatre. He posits that the magic of being present in the moment with a live audience and performers cannot be fully captured through recordings.
"Theatre is about that experience in the room, that personal connection between a community of people, between yourself and the performer on stage."
[32:15]
He calls for innovative solutions to enhance accessibility without compromising the integrity and consent of those involved in theatrical productions.
Mickey-Jo wraps up the episode by reaffirming his stance that while bootlegs may offer certain benefits in terms of accessibility and marketing, the ethical issues surrounding performer consent make them an untenable solution. He encourages ongoing dialogue within the theatre community to address these challenges respectfully and constructively.
"Bootlegs cannot be that solution. And the reason I say that is because of the performer consent problem."
[33:00]
He invites listeners to engage in the conversation through comments, fostering a space for respectful debate and shared insights.
Key Takeaways:
Complexity of Bootlegs: Bootlegs present a multifaceted issue with valid arguments on both sides regarding accessibility and the preservation of theatrical history.
Ethical Considerations: The paramount concern revolves around the consent and rights of performers, highlighting the need for respectful boundaries in capturing live performances.
Irreplaceable Live Experience: The unique, communal nature of live theatre cannot be fully replicated through any form of recording, emphasizing the importance of attending performances in person.
Call for Solutions: The episode underscores the necessity for the theatre industry to innovate and find ways to enhance accessibility without compromising ethical standards.
Mickey-Jo's comprehensive exploration offers a balanced perspective, acknowledging personal experiences and broader industry implications, making it a valuable listen for anyone interested in the evolving dynamics of theatre in the digital age.