Unemployment Is Rampant. So This Theater Is Giving Freelancers Money.

The Public Theater, a leading Off Broadway nonprofit, is giving small grants to several hundred freelance artists as many grapple with the impact of joblessness and expiring unemployment benefits.

The theater said it has given $1,000 “financial relief payments” to 368 people including technicians and crew members like carpenters, truck drivers, engineers and programmers; teaching artists, who facilitate classes, workshops and talkbacks; and members of working groups, which support artists as they develop.

“Freelance theater workers are in total economic distress, almost universally,” said Oskar Eustis, the Public’s artistic director. “It feels pathetic — this isn’t enough money — but it’s just what we can do right now.”

The Public, like other nonprofits, has seen its ticket revenue disappear with the closing of theaters; the organization says it faces a shortfall of over $10 million this year. Last month, the theater furloughed 105 of its 232 full-time employees — it is continuing to pay their health insurance through the end of the year — and it has cut the pay of all remaining staff members who make over $100,000 a year.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/theater/the-public-unemployment-freelancers.html