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GELFAND’S WORLD - The Hollywood Blacklist is back. Only this time it's the Hollywood Fringe Festival blackballing this writer rather than the studios blacklisting all those famous screenwriters.
The HFF is the drama festival that is held along the Santa Monica Blvd corridor this time of year. There will apparently be a couple of hundred or more shows, musical reviews, and late-night partying.
But I have no plans to review the shows for you again this year. Yep, I'm the one that is being blacklisted by the Fringe.
Maybe it's not quite like the old Hollywood Blacklist. I'm perfectly free to buy a ticket and attend a show. What I'm not able to do is show my Fringe Festival press credential to producers and actors. The Fringe got my request for the credential and then strangely failed to respond. So, as the start of the festival was approaching, I sent them a note reminding them that I had not heard from them.
The rest of the story is remarkable only for its level of triviality and, shall we say, a curious level of boorishness.
Here's my initial email:
To: Hollywood Fringe Press Office
Sat, May 31 at 12:01 PM
Hi
I sent an application for press credentials quite a while ago. Haven't heard back from you.
Regards
Bob Gelfand
CityWatchLA.com
Seems pretty bland, doesn't it? I didn't expect the invective that I got back. It begins with the following email sent to me by someone or something that signs itself as The Hollywood Fringe Team:
To: Bob Gelfand
Mon, Jun 2 at 4:50 PM
Hi Bob!
Thank you for reaching out. At this time we are unable to approve your press credentials/access this year. You are welcome to participate as an audience member, but some of your comments at our "Consent + Conduct" Town Hall in 2021 raised some red flags and because registered press members hold positions of power within the festival community, it is vital to us that these positions reflect our community ethos.
Registered press at Fringe receive our trust along with direct access to our artists (many of which are at the beginning stages of their careers), and with more women and queer folks producing at our festival than men, we are extra aware of the access we provide members of our press program. This isn’t a forever no, but rather something we need to further connect on off-season if you’re interested in joining the press program again in the future.
You are of course welcome to cover Fringe and/or Fringe shows. This decision is purely concerning comp ticket access through our press program.
Best,
The Hollywood Fringe Team
OK then. Let's consider what the Fringe Festival is saying to me and anyone else who might wish to cover their shows. In the spirit of the old bloggers, let's parse their message.
" . . . some of your comments at our "Consent + Conduct" Town Hall in 2021 raised some red flags . . ."
That's a cute way to put it. There is this worry about red flags. And what are those red flags? Here is what they say next:
Well, they didn't really say anything about the red flags, did they? But they then said a lot more:
" . . . because registered press members hold positions of power within the festival community, it is vital to us that these positions reflect our community ethos."
This is certainly an interesting way to put things. What does it actually mean to say that "press members hold positions of power within the festival community" -- I'm not aware of any sort of power I hold either in or over the Fringe. I have invited actors and writers to talk about their performances and their work. In every case, it was a cordial and interesting experience.
No member of the press, as far as I know, has the power to close a show or demand changes to a script, so what is this power that is ascribed to the press? I suppose that it is possible that some really influential reporter might drive some business to one of the shows or turn a few people off to some show, but isn't that the point of writing reviews? I don't see it as power so much as the good old fashioned right to have an opinion and to express it in a free society. In this country we refer to it as freedom of the press.
The Hollywood Fringe cannot restrict the ability of CityWatch to publish, but it can restrict access to its facilities. Notice that there is one other place that is, right now, doing its best to restrict access of members of the press it does not like. It is, of course, the Trump White House. The kinds of reporters that are being blacklisted are different, but the overall process is remarkably similar.
Then the Hollywood Fringe Team says something that is even more remarkable because it insults a whole sector of its own writers and performers:
" . . . and with more women and queer folks producing at our festival than men, we are extra aware of the access we provide members of our press program."
The implication is clear: The Team doesn't believe that its own performers and writers can tolerate any hint of criticism of their work, so they must be protected. Patronizing is about the kindest word I can dredge up to describe this attitude. Here is the counterargument: People who are willing to write their thoughts and perform the lines on a public stage in front of a live audience of people they don't know -- these people are willingly accepting the risk of being criticized. They are knowingly taking that chance, with the equally likely chance that their work will be praised, that their messages will be considered, and that they may even be noticed as talented performers worthy of being hired in some other production. I salute their courage. It would be nice if the HFF did the same.
Or put it this way: You win some and you lose some, and if you try things out in public, you will be noticed either for better or for worse.
Well, that doesn't seem to be the philosophy of the Fringe team. What might that philosophy be? It's not entirely clear, but they do point out that when it comes to registered press members with all that power, " . . . it is vital to us that these positions reflect our community ethos."
This is a pretty direct statement that, in order to gain the HFF press credential, you have to toe the party line. I am actually a little confused by this statement because I have covered the HFF for a lot of years, -- each time as a credentialled member of the press -- and no such requirement was ever communicated to me in all that time. My work has never been censored by the editors of CityWatch and nobody from any Fringe production or performance has objected to my right to watch and to comment.
So, I asked for a little more specificity:
Mon, Jun 2 at 6:09 PM
Thanks for finally getting back to me. Could you please explain what your objection is to credentialing me, including what I said in 2021 that has resulted in this blackball move on your part. Please note that the Hollywood Fringe has never reached out to me or attempted to communicate to me in any way regarding your feelings. I do remember hearing from Fringe leaders about how proud you are to have a free and open festival. Is there now a limit on what expression is allowed, and if so, what is it?
Also, is there someone who is willing to sign his/her name to this message and provide me a telephone number so I can discuss this with you?
Regards
Bob Gelfand
CityWatchLA.com
Here is their reply to my inquiry:
To:Bob Gelfand
Tue, Jun 3 at 2:52 PM
Hi Bob,
Thank you for your email.
In 2021, you expressed concern at our Consent + Conduct Town Hall, describing it as “rather suffocating,” and questioned elements of our Code of Conduct, our use of pronouns, and the festival’s guidelines. This was our team's only interaction with you, and we do not feel comfortable endorsing your platform via accreditation after such a tense exchange.
The Hollywood Fringe Festival remains open access, and, as previously stated, you are welcome to attend festival events as an audience member and non accredited member of the press. With that said, access to certain programs - such as our press and industry programs - which include special access to artists and complimentary tickets - is a privilege extended under specific guidelines, not a right. Access to these programs is not automatic and is approved at the discretion of our team.
The Executive staff is available should you wish to speak further about this. We are happy to schedule a call at your convenience.
Thank you for your understanding and for helping us foster a respectful festival environment.
Best,
The Hollywood Fringe Team
So, what are they actually saying? I think the first paragraph is what counts:
"In 2021, you expressed concern at our Consent + Conduct Town Hall, describing it as “rather suffocating,” and questioned elements of our Code of Conduct, our use of pronouns, and the festival’s guidelines. This was our team's only interaction with you, and we do not feel comfortable endorsing your platform via accreditation after such a tense exchange."
So now we get to the crux of the matter. But first, let's clarify what the Consent + Conduct Town Hall was, so the discussion can be considered in context. Back in 2021, we were just coming out of all the Covid-19 lockdowns. Restaurants and bars were reopening to public occupancy and theatrical performances were again possible. I notice that the Fringe put off its own festival until August of that year. I guess the Town Hall in question was an attempt by HFF administrators to remind people of what they hoped to see in terms of audience and performer conduct.
I don't remember everything about that Town Hall meeting, but it turns out that I included it in my CityWatch coverage, discussing for our readers what the true purpose of that meeting seemed to be. You can find the August 2021 CityWatch column here.
What I do remember -- and my column made clear at the time -- is that the Fringe Festival had reached the realization that it had a self-induced drinking problem on its hands. The festival has traditionally had an after-performance get together where alcohol is dispensed, and it had become a problem. I invite the HFF team to correct me if I'm wrong, but I remember the discussion revealing that some of their patrons had become unruly drunks and they were asking people to keep themselves under control.
But during that meeting, they apparently also talked about their ruling philosophy, what they currently refer to as their "ethos," and I suppose I gave them some honest feedback about how their rule structure appeared to me. Look, playwrights write, reviewers review, and critics critique. It's what they do.
And if a drama festival claims to enshrine freedom of expression, shouldn't that freedom be extended to its viewers as well as its performers? A bit more on this later, but it should be obvious that if the HFF wants to wrap itself in the cloak of openness and freedom, then it ought to live by its own pronouncements. As the above declarations show, they don't live up to that promise.
Let's lay it on the table: If I can't comment about the new fad regarding declaring your preferred pronouns and refer to the rules as "rather suffocating" without being barred from participation, then the rules really are suffocating.
Let's consider one last item from the HFF Team's email:
" This was our team's only interaction with you, and we do not feel comfortable endorsing your platform via accreditation after such a tense exchange."
Now this is a really remarkable statement, for two reasons. The first is pretty obvious. If the Team wants to know something about me, they have only to ask. They did not respond directly to my initial request for the credential. But there is also a public record, and that record consists of all the columns I have written about HFF productions and performances over the past ten years or so. In looking at CityWatch records, I counted 16 columns which mentioned the Fringe. Some were simply mentions that the festival would be coming soon, but there were 11 full length columns, some describing and reviewing several productions. You can find some of my more recent discussions here, here, here, here, and here. Apparently the Fringe Team are unable to use Google. OK, that was sarcasm. They just didn't make the effort. I notice that I began covering the HFF back in 2015 and have continued to cover it up until the present, including some mentions in the interval between 2021 and the present.
The second reason is even simpler. The Fringe Team states that it does not feel comfortable "endorsing your platform via accreditation . . . " which is a total non sequitur. CityWatch and its authors are not asking that anyone endorse our platform. No. But we are trying in good faith to engage in our craft, and we cannot promise that we are always going to like what we see or appreciate somebody's one-person show.
Lastly, the Fringe Team suggests that the 2021 meeting where I called their rules "rather suffocating" was "a tense exchange."
Really? Tense?
I've had some tense exchanges in my life, and that wasn't one of them. But I don't think this is the right criterion for granting press credentials or for running a drama festival. Whether taking criticism causes you tension or it is like water off a duck's back is just something about you. It has nothing to do with whether the criticism was justified or not. But just suppose the criticism is -- at least to some extent -- justified. What is your proper response? I would suggest that what you have done is not it.
The astute reader will realize that the Fringe Team did not sign their names. That is not for lack of me asking them. I did ask, and they won't say. They did admit that the decision to blackball me was a committee decision.
So be it. Retain your cherished anonymity if you must.
There is one more data point that I offer to the interested reader. You can learn about the claimed principles espoused by the Hollywood Fringe Festival here. You can read about how the Fringe celebrates freedom of expression, that participation is completely open and uncensored, that the Fringe opens its gates to anyone with a vision, and that the festival "is able to exhibit the most diverse and cutting-edge points-of-view the world has to offer."
Noble words, these, until they come into conflict with the desires of that anonymous Hollywood Fringe Team.
Let's summarize. I continue to support the rights of all people including the LGBTQ community to work in peace and to present their work to the public, even though the Hollywood Fringe Festival refuses to defend my ability to do the same.
A Suggestion, or Call it a Challenge
Let's have an open, public discussion about your decision and your policies, and let's have it on your own stage during the festival, and let's do it sometime this week. If you are so dedicated to pushing the boundaries of art, let's consider how to push your own.
Regards,
Bob
(Bob Gelfand writes on science, culture, and politics for CityWatch. He can be reached at [email protected].)
