DOWLING GRACIOUSLY MOVES FROM $682,229 FAKE WORLD, TO $614,007 REAL WORLD
I doubt many of you missed the fact that the G Corp. brain wizards have decided they need to cut next year’s budget by 14%. That’s pretty shit-tastic. It’s especially shit-tastic for those G Corp. employees who will be let go in the coming months. This is a shit-tastic time to be jobless.
Guthrie Corporation’s CEO, Joe Dowling (who will also take a 10% pay decrease) had this to say:
We’re living in the real world. We’re planning a season as full as we can make it, and we’re going to do internally what needs to be done.
The focus on me and my salary, which has been inaccurately reported, and I would say somewhat with ill-informed research, has led to a considerable amount of discussion in the community.
Let’s take the heat off that and talk about the fact that here’s an organization where people are willing all through the organization to make sacrifices.
Hey…look, everybody. Let’s take the heat off of me and my giganto-salary. And c’mon…stop thinking about my $100,000 bonus. There’s really no need. This is the REAL WORLD, people! We’re making sacrifices here at Guthrie Corporation. I would love to not be forced to lay off staff. But where else could I possibly make cuts? Anyone? Anyone??
(FF Super-Secret Hint: the press release in my inbox celebrates an upcoming 21-show season. IJS.)
SORRY, FUTURE LEADERS
Tough luck if you were planning on attending Guthrie Corporation’s Future Leaders Conference in May (I did have links to the FLC page and their agenda, but both pages have since mysteriously vanished…even though the rest of them are still there. I sure hope these don’t vanish, too. Let’s wait and see.) According to an email forwarded to us by one of our readers, External Relations Director Trish Santini says:
given the current economic climate and the Guthrie Theater’s need to reduce our expenditures in the coming months, we are unable to host the Future Leaders Conference at the Guthrie beginning on May 22.
My first thought after glancing at the agenda was: Can they really be saving that much money by canceling this? I mean, they work with a $26 million operating budget. You can’t afford to throw together a weekend conference for a few “future leaders”?
But then I remembered what they’re spending on their current ones.
I LOVE YOUR STEAKS
So, clearly this isn’t how you want your “talent profile” to show up in the upper right-hand corner of Minnesota Playlist’s main page. If there’s one thing I know about theatre (and there just might be only one), it’s that you’re never going to make it big unless you complete your Minnesota Playlist talent profile. Dowling is more than likely rifling through it right now, hoping against all hope that he’ll find his next…hey, let’s just say “Rosalind”.
682,229 REASONS TO SPIT UP
I wonder what would happen if Guthrie Corp. took just half of A.D. Joe Dowling’s retardo salary from 2007 and used it for good instead of evil. Let’s see…
Half of $682,229 is $341,114.50. Interesting so far.
Average actor at Guthrie Corp. makes, what, $2000/week? I’m pretty sure that’s significantly higher than the G minimum, but let’s go with it.
Average independent TC theatre company has an annual budget of, what, $30,000/year? It’s probably less than that, but let’s go with it.
Average totally rad couch in Cue at the Guthrie is leathery and expensive.
So…for only half of what Guthrie Corp. spent on Joe Dowling in 2007, they could (according to my made-up numbers):
- employ that average Guthrie Corp. actor for 170 straight weeks, or
- employ a resident company of 5 actors and pay them a yearly salary of almost $70,000, or
- double that average Guthrie Corp. actor’s salary and employ her for 85 straight weeks, or
- completely fund about a dozen independent TC theatre companies for one year, or
- buy some more totally rad furniture for Cue.
But for that to happen, Dowling would have to get by on $341,114 a year. And c’mon, people. Times are tough.
SOMEONE NEEDS TO GET PUNCHED IN THE DICK
In a recent Strib article, here is how Guthrie artistic director Joe Dowling described The Secret Fall of Constance Wilde director Marcela Lorca:
“Marcela has a big soul.”
“She brings a very real spiritual sense to her work and a great emotional truth.”
“Marcela has…the heart of an artist.”
Can you be any more wishy-washy than this d-bag? Marcela has a big soul? She brings a spiritual sense to her work? He might as well be describing a unicorn or talking about how much he loves My Little Pony.
Next time you have a job interview and the person hiring asks why you think you should get the job, I’d like you to try giving them what I’ll call “The Joe”:
“Well, madam…I think if you hired me you’d find that my work has a great emotional truth to it, mostly due to the fact that I have the heart of an artist. Oh, and on top of all that, I have an extremely large soul.”
Let me know how that goes for you.
The Guthrie’s Big Blue Blog is back and it’s just as stupid as ever. I’ve posted some highlights below. Feel free to punish yourself with the entirety of it by clicking here.
Ian Holcomb (Mustardseed)
Q: Favorite movie?
A: Gosford Park (ed. note — Adorable.)
Q: What’s the last book you read?
A: This will sound nerdy…but it was A Life in the Theater, by Sir Tyrone Guthrie. I highly recommend it. (ed. note — In the words of Flavor Flav, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.)
Q: Shaw or Chekov?
A: Depends on the day…but generally I’m a bigger Chekov fan. (ed. note — Only the Guthrie would ask this question. If I was having a conversation with someone and they asked me “So…Shaw or Chekov?” I would immediately punch them in the face.)
Mike Rasmussen (Moth)
Q: What is always in your dressing room?
A: Ghetto Blaster. My guitar. Harmonica. Computer. Briefcase. (ed. note — He forgot the most recent issue of Douche Bag Monthly.)
Q: Favorite place at the Guthrie?
A: Onstage. There’s nothing like it. (ed. note — I believe at the Guthrie, it’s pronounced “stahge”…but I could be wrong.)
Q: Is there a local actor you haven’t worked with, but want to?
A: Jim Lichtscheidl, Dean Holt, Stacia Rice, Joe Dowling. (ed. note — Jim Lichtscheidl is playing “Peter Quince” and Joe Dowling directed the show.)
Brandon Weinbrenner (Cobweb)
Q: What’s the most cringe-inducing thing you’ve ever said or done in front of Joe Dowling?
A: I was drunk during a graduation ceremony senior year in the BFA program and I said something to the extent of… “okay, so now you HAVE to cast me.” (ed. note — See this post.)
