Les Miserables... just for something different :)

Hi Josh

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. I've been out of town for a week with no internet access.

:-)

Josh Newton wrote:
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> a) There was never any complaining done to what I imagine is
> the majority of the cast by the production team. I am sure they
> have experienced countless sleepless nights getting things done
> and put together. This is their job!

I don't believe this is in question. A straw man argument, Josh. I'm not going to argue for assertions that i've not made.

> Why is it so that you feel it your right...no, you seem to feel it
> your moral obligation to crush them! Why?

Again, you're attempting to put words into people's mouths.

I've criticised this company's decision not to incorporate to protect the interests of the volunteers who contribute the vast majority of the work in this production. I think some pretty good reasons have been outlined in this debate. Why don't you respond directly to some of them?

> Because they aren't putting money into your pockets?

This is ad hominem argument, Josh. Maybe you've not been able to refute the arguments that have been put up here, but resorting to attacks on the character of the people you oppose does nothing to further your own case.

> I've read many of the posts on here and you have achieved
> some of what you intended to achieve, but in all honesty, the
> feeling I get back from people in the cast is that you guys are
> just bitter about something and looking for something to
> complain about.

I'd encourage you to examine closely the distinction you've just made. You've read the arguments. You believe we've achieved some of what we've argued for but you don't find all your fellow cast members feel the same. Having your own infomed opinion is not always easy. How some of the cast may feel about this issue doesn't change the facts. Who's fibbing here, Josh? Craig, myself, the others that have carefully and compassionately criticised the structure adopted to produce this show? Or the people who claim to have read our comments and say we're just "just bitter about something and looking for something to complain about"?

:-)

> b) If you haven't "heard the people sing" by now, I'm starting to
> get the feeling you've lost the ability to hear.

The cast of Les Mis is only one tiny section of a huge community of actors, directors, stage managers, designers, technicians, administrators and companies in this state.

Perhaps you're listening to the wrong people?

;-)

> I have seen your
> points written, rewritten, rephrased, semi-retracted and then
> posted again. And they still don't make sense to me.

Really? You wrote only a few lines earlier:

> you have achieved
> some of what you intended to achieve

Is it that what is written makes no sense, or is it just that the sense doesn't match with the emotive views being expressed by others? Which would you then discount?

> Maybe
> that's because I'm young and naive...... I've yet to see anything
> that has convinced me that MS could be damaging the industry
> in any real way. I've considered the possibility of how that might
> be so....but when I think about it...it just gives me the feeling
> that certain people are bitter because folk who aren't
> performers are earning some money from the theatre
> industry....

Bitterness again? Is that what you're reading here? Or is that what others are reading into it?

> I really have difficulty in finding how it
> can truly be a bad thing.

What happens next? When this show is over? When you're looking for another chance to do this all over again?

If this show makes a profit, what guarantees do you have that there will be a next time?

None. Zip. Nada. Diddly squat.

Is this a bad thing?

Compare the situation if this company were incorporated like other amateur companies, like our major professional companies. You would be guaranteed the profits would be used to provide you with future opportunities.

Is this a good thing?

:-)

> You can't just sit idle and point and
> say "Well that's not fair because they didn't let me win!" and
> that seems to be a lot of what this is about.....or so the feeling
> takes me.

"I'll huff and i'll puff and i'll blow your straw man...." whoops. He fell over.

;-)

> d) I resent the fact that it has been said we (as a cast) are
> being or were taken advantage of. That implies we are foolish
> for not seeing "the truth" as some people call it.

Not foolish. I just believe that your faith is misplaced. I hope this company incorporates. I hope... correction, i know, a few people in the cast will carefully check the structure of companies they work with in future.

> It's never a nice feeling to have someone slagging off
> about something that you're very proud of, regardless of the
> fashion in which they do it.

I don't believe anyone has been "slagging off". I can't apologise when people take offence at things that haven't been said.

:-)

> e) I see no resolution on the issue really. Grant and Craig both
> hold steady to their viewpoint, as do many other people.

There may yet be a resolution. I know the people involved. I hold firm to a hope for incorporation.

Maybe my faith will be misplaced?

:-)

Cheers
Grant