I don't understand the fuss. The Great Depression was at the beginning of the last century, and there's one at the beginning of this century now. It happens so often, the economy just goes up and down each decade; seriously, how is this in the news at all?
Apparently it's "the worst it's been since 1980"... lol. Very petty then.
I have not been affected at all and never will be unless WWIII comes out of this.
Let me explain the fuss.
I'm currently a Sophomore in college, pursuing a double-major in Technical Theater and English, with a minor in Secondary Education. This means that when I get out of college, I'll be able to pretty much anything related to theater - "techies," people who do lights, sound, costumes, set and stage management, always have a job. There are too many actors, not enough techies. And when I get tired of the tech work, I can go teach.
Or at least, that's what I thought when I went into college. Now, I'm not so sure. I go to college in New York City, the epicenter of American theater, so it would seem like everywhere I turned around there's a venue for me to work. Not so, at least anymore. More and more theaters are dark now than ever before, and extremely popular Broadway shows have been shutting down left and right. Here's a list of shows that have closed or announced they're closing just in the past few months alone:
- RENT
- Spamalot
- Young Frankenstien
- Legally Blonde
- Spring Awakening
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Hairspray (WHUT?)
-
Grease
-
Gypsy
Those last three? Those are extremely popular musicals, not new up-and-comings like the rest of them on the list (all except RENT, which was established and closed in what people considerd "its due time"). This is Bad News for me, my colleagues, and my fellow students - especially the actors.
Not only that, but it was incredibly doubtful that I would even be able to go back to college this semester. My dad's bonus got drastically slashed, my mom's corporate job is shuddering because she works in insurance with credit unions (credit unions are like banks, and while they aren't getting hit as fast, you all remember the bank closings on the news, right?), and my college has expensive tuition.
Add that to the fact that I can't find a job up here to save my life, because prices are rising but wages aren't catching up and there just aren't enough jobs to go around to everyone that wants one. There have also been massive amounts of layoffs around the country. Texas, my home state and also one of the last to be hit in any economic crisis, is shutting down some of the chemical plants around Houston, and it's getting
bad out there. My future is not secure anymore, and neither is anyone else's unless they come from an old-money family.
So yeah. People are raising a pretty big fuss, and I'm right there with them.
