Drama Students Unite!

This will go along with my next Blog entry.  I wrote that one first but this one's more current.  The next one is timeless.

I've played in bars for years.  I've seen other bands in bars for years.  You know what we in bands don't do?  Pick on the crowd.

That's not what happened the other night at a showing of Hamilton.  At the end of the show, some clown named Brandon Victor Dixon gave an anti-Republican speech aimed at the next VP of the United States: "We, sir, are the diverse America who are alarmed and anxious that your new administration will not protect us, our planet, our children, our parents, or defend us and uphold our inalienable rights."

Congratulations, Brandon.  You made yourself look like a complete unprofessional asshole.

When people go out for the night and want to be entertained, they're not looking to be heckled or insulted, which is what the cast of Hamilton did.  They completely disrespected the audience, the same audience who paid for tickets, that go to pay the actors' wages.  Ungrateful, entitled "actors".

So what's with stage actors anyways?  To me, they were always the needy type that couldn't play an instrument or get a real job, so they went into "acting".  So it's even more painful and embarrassing to hear a bunch of "actors" take a political side and make a speech that's pretty irrelevant to what's going on.

Some guy named Josh Gad was impressively embarrassing with his rambling tweet saying that Trump destroyed civility?  Huh?  The guy's not even the President yet, Numb Nut.  I know that, and I don't even live over there.  Look, you can't go out saying things like Trump destroyed civility without citing an example.  How, Josh?  How did Trump do that?  You'd never make the Debate Team.  Then he babbles on about "unity" when the whole cast boasts about its "diversity".  I bet he talks using upspeak (upspeak is when every sentence sounds like a question because the person is constantly seeking approval).  

Zulekha Nathoo's article ( http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/pence-hamilton-cast-1.3858912?cmp=rss ) was no better, especially when it uses phrases like the cast members "called out Pence".  "Called out" is a term that's being used way too often anymore and usually in the wrong context.  I wouldn't say he was called out, he was preached at by adults who are mentally still in their 11th Grade Drama class.  And Pence did what most people would do, excuse himself from the Kiddie Table.

The main point is that this shouldn't even happen.  Going off on the audience is unprofessional; no two ways about it.  And who cares about a drama class' personal opinions?  If the cast members went to a show and the same thing happened to them, they'd want a refund, probably get “outraged” and “offended”, look for a Safe Space, start a mini-protest, go buy some bonbons or ice cream, and cry themselves to sleep when they got home.

Unfortunately, stage performances fall under the "Art" category.  This is reaching because I hear it has a Hip Hop soundtrack, and we all know Rappers aren't artists.  But "Artists", like the cast of this play, second-hand embarrass me, since I'm kinda artsy but I work on my "art" instead of spouting off my political beliefs to anyone that's in ear shot (I will when I'm not playing and I'd have to be asked).  The thing is, when going to an art show, you kind of want to focus on what the "art" is.  It's escapism, to a degree, and if the "art" is good, it'll even make you think.  The last thing I need to hear is some smug-for-some-reason "actor" playing the victim card in front of a room full of people...when nothing's even happened yet.  I guess Brandon is already pre-victimized.  He's going to have a hard time going through life with that weak attitude.

I guess the ironic thing, is that Pence was actually there.  I'm sure he wasn't bothered by the cast which emphasizes its diversity over of the content of the show.  Probably because he's not some kind of "phobic" that people with an IQ of 30 like to label others with when their views aren't agreed with.  But to pick on a paying member of the audience is extremely tacky.  This isn't Amateur Comedy Night, but the cast seem like a bunch of amateurs with a stunt like that.  It's even a cheaper move attacking someone to make themselves look better.  If these guys are so diverse, why do they exclude Republicans?  Anyways, I'm sure the cast all had a group hug at the end of the night and thought they got some "victory" out of it.  Totally cringe-worthy.

Artsy people think they're a tiny bit better than everyone else, and that's sad because they're not.  As I mentioned, they can’t even get real jobs.  Yet they self-identify as being in some kind of elite group, bolstered by years of coddling comments like they're extremely talented, and then they go and believe the bullshit.  As someone who is involved in an "art", I'm not better than anyone nor do I think any of my opinions hold weight.  But what I will never do, since I'll be playing out again next year, is stand in front of the mic and embarrass myself and my bandmates at the end of the gig with some kind of patronizing drivel aimed at a particular audience member.

I really hope that this will be the cast of Hamilton's last job since they obviously can't handle it.  Keep it classy, Kids, there's a time and place for everything and if you're not mature enough to recognize when those times are, you might as well enroll in Drama Class.