Final Five Questions with Marc Acito
Writer and director still trying to find his niche…or rather find those who understand it.
Homeless teens. Oppressed queers. Political prisoners. Abused women. These are the people writer-director Marc Acito returns to again and again in his work. Whether it’s on Broadway, where he wrote the book of the musical Allegiance, inspired by the legendary George Takei, or Off-Off Broadway where he wrote and directed the kooky rock musical Bastard Jones, Marc tells these stories because musicals have a special way of giving voice to our inner lives. He’s first Broadway writer to create a new musical in China (twice!) and he continues to innovate by having completed his first film, all in an effort to create a low-budget art-house film musicals.
Marc recently appeared on Why I’ll Never Make It to talk about his various novels and plays as well as the adaptations he’s done of musicals by Lerner and Loewe. Here he answers five final questions about lessons he’s learned and what “making it” really means to him.
1. What job within the arts do you feel is the most undervalued and why is it so important?
Entry-level assistants don’t earn a living wage, which perpetuates a cycle of affluent people making art for other affluent people. As I write this, there are exactly 16 apartments available in NYC on StreetEasy.com for $1,200 or a less a month. That’s in all 5 boroughs. For anyone to save and get ahead, that rent should account for — at most — 33% of their income. That comes to about $44K a year or $21/hr — MINIMUM. If you’re complaining that your employees can make more money on unemployment than working, you’re not paying them enough.
2. What does success or “making it” mean to you? And how has it (or has it not) manifested in your life?
Two words: Shoulders Down. “Making it” is the feeling I get when something I’ve created turned out the way I hoped it would. I look at it and I exhale: my heart soft, my eyes damp, my shoulders down. I take more satisfaction from work that succeeds on my terms and fails on someone else’s than work that succeeds on someone else’s and fails on my own.
3. What frustrates you most about how the business has changed since you started?
What frustrates me most in my particular field of musical theatre is what hasn’t changed: a winner-takes-all business model that doesn’t provide a path for innovation. In the history of Broadway, there has never been a season where more than 3 new musicals have lasted more than two years (and therefore recoup and have a future). Broadway musicals are like the Olympics — it’s Gold, Silver, Bronze and everyone else goes home empty-handed. What bothers me is the amount of offbeat, esoteric, challenging work I see (and yes, create) that can’t reach an audience because the funnel is too narrow. That’s why I want to create low-budget arthouse film musicals. For the amount of enhancement money it takes to buy your way into a non-profit theater season (typically $1–2 million) you can make a credible indie film you can literally put into someone’s hand anywhere anytime.
4. Describe a personal lesson that took you awhile to learn or one that you are still working on to this day?
Say it with me — “Happy Spouse, Happy House.” For this to work, of course, you both need to be committed to the other’s happiness. It’s simple, but not easy. I extend the idea to every team I’m on. It works best when everyone is committed to the well-being of everyone else. Because — and here’s the other big lesson — a team is only as strong as its weakest member. That means unless you can kick someone off the island, you need to work together to strengthen that weak link. Otherwise, you’ve got a Lord of the Flies situation. Which pretty much describes every musical I’ve ever worked on.
5. What’s the most useful advice you’ve received AND how have you applied it to your life or career?
Watch Andre De Shields’ Tony acceptance speech. Surround yourself with people who light up when they see you. I would add that you should also light up when you see them. I still struggle daily with how to discern making time for others with making art. In other words, Time Management.
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Host/Producer
