Paid Internships Matter: Do Black Entertainment Artists Have the Same Opportunities in the Entertainment Industry that White Americans Have?
By: Elena Sgouros
Tags: American Theatre, BlackLivesMatter, Internships

For many people who hope to work in the entertainment industry, it is challenging to rely on devotion and drive to pursue their dream career knowing that they will be in debt and will not be making the money they desire once they graduate. This is especially true for people of color. Lauren Halvorsen, a dramaturg and writer, states that theaters “need to make sure early career opportunities aren’t limited to the most wealthy and privileged candidates” in order “to cultivate a diverse workforce” that is much needed in the industry today. Most internships and apprenticeships in America do not pay these new ambitious workers that are devoting their time to build on their experience in the industry. This leaves only a select handful of individuals who can afford to work without pay because of the privileged circumstances they have come from. This means that predominantly white privileged young adults gain experience in the industry, leaving no diversity to rise up and thrive as many have tried to do. This being said, there are no pathways to help people of color achieve their goals that they have been working hard towards like everyone else starting out in the industry. There are many solutions to this problem, but the best place to look for answers is individuals from the diverse communities themselves that have successfully made it in the industry. Black American playwrights have allowed audiences to witness stories of the black communities, shared the truth of historical inequalities that have happened in America, and have shaped the American Theatre but instilling insight and educating audiences on black culture, making these diverse playwrights eye openers that drive the necessary steps to enforce change in unpaid internships.

Black American playwrights bring their talents to the theater to share their experiences of being a black individual in American making the audience become more insightful to the true stories that are being shared to them. The black American playwright, Dominique Morisseau, took the audience on a journey through the unjust lives of a black teenager and the struggle for protection during what one would see as a normal school day in the play Pipeline. The play follows the story of the mother of a young black teenager who is struggling to make sure her son does not fall into the school-to-prison pipeline that many individual teenagers in the black community face when going to school every day. Not only does Morisseau present this story as an eye opener for many theatergoers, but also transports one into understanding the terror and stress the mother and her son endure when faced with the inequalities of a basic school system. By having different audiences witness this play, one gets a first glance into the lens of people in the black community and what they experience every day and how hard it can be for them to simply survive, let alone be able to break away from the unfairness they live with just because they are not privileged. This, again, can be witnessed in multiple different pieces of theater by black artists, but is perfectly exemplified in America V2.1.

Many people have overlooked American history and only believe what they have been taught in schools, but some do not know about the roots of this nation’s history. This is exemplified in the play America V2.1 by Stacey Rose, about a troupe of actors who perform the history of America in the eyes of the higher power. In the beginning of the show, the character Donavan states the “The demise of the American negro happened despite the loving support of American Cul — ture” hinting to the fact that the “American Cul–ture” did not support the black community and instead turned away efforts that offer the same opportunities to black Americans as white American have. Though the “loving support of the American Cul–ture” has allowed for black communities to have the same opportunities, yet these opportunities are more subjected to white America because of the standards that are not in place to allow minoritarian groups to truly be equal to white privileged Americans. By observing this play, one can learn the truth behind the history of America and how some of this history is still present today, starting with the change that has happened to help the black community but, in many ways, has also made it harder for them to advance in a white privileged world.

The playwright of this “cautionary tale” is Stacie Rose who has gained recognition for her multiple plays that amplify the voices of the ones who are neglected in order to teach a lesson to the ones who are favored by society. This lesson allows recognition and understanding of what the problems are with inequality and how one might face them and try to change them for a better future. As we have witnessed from Ms. Rose, Black artists everywhere are sharing their successes to help the one who do not have a voice yet in the industry, people who struggle to make it because of the imbalance of opportunities that they are fighting for against the elite. Along with playwriting, Ms. Rose has continued to fight for the black community even during these times of the pandemic implementing the urge to obtain justice for the black community in America.

These Black American playwrights have demonstrated the truth about the discrimination in America still prevalent today and this truth allows one to understand the needed change for this country to eliminate the consequences of inequality starting with the structure of job experiences that are needed in order for one to succeed in any industry. Internships and apprenticeships in the entertainment industry need to be paid, starting at minimum wage, by the agency or company they are working for. This of course is easier said than done, but with the lessons being taught and stories being shared by Black Americans themselves in entertainment, one can discover innovative ways to incorporate diversity into internships without the worry of participants struggling to finance themselves. From the knowledge that we gain from black playwright themselves, one can learn about the lifestyle black people experience and take this information and insight to put it to use to help the black community have fair and seamless transitions into the working world of the industry. This will allow not only a selected few, but multiple diverse individuals to have an unbiased chance to succeed in the industry without the stress of not being able to afford accommodations they need in their professional life.