Christin Essin
Author Interview - Christin Essin
Author of WORKING BACKSTAGE
Working Backstage illuminates the work of New York City’s theater technicians, shining a light on the essential contributions of unionized stagehands, carpenters, electricians, sound engineers, properties artisans, wardrobe crews, makeup artists, and child guardians. Too-often dismissed or misunderstood as mere functionaries, these technicians are deeply engaged in creative problem-solving and perform collaborative, intricate choreographed work that parallels the performances of actors, singers, and dancers onstage. Although their contributions have fueled the Broadway machine, their contributions have been left out of most theater histories.
Theater historian Christin Essin offers clear and evocative descriptions of this invaluable labor, based on her archival research and interviews with more than 100 backstage technicians, members of the New York locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. A former theater technician herself, Essin provides readers with an insider’s view of the Broadway stage, from the suspended lighting bridge of electricians operating followspots for A Chorus Line; the automation deck where carpenters move the massive scenic towers for Newsies; the makeup process in the dressing room for The Lion King; the offstage wings of Matilda the Musical, where guardians guide child actors to entrances and exits. Working Backstage makes a significant contribution to theater studies and also to labor studies, exploring the politics of the unions that serve backstage professionals, protecting their rights and insuring safe working conditions. Illuminating the history of this typically hidden workforce, the book provides uncommon insights into the business of Broadway and its backstage working relationships among cast and crew members.
Author Interview - Christin Essin
Author I draw inspiration from: Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey, I love journalists who upset institutional power
Author Interview - Christin Essin | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: A pool; love to stand by the edge with sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: Esther Jack from Thomas Wolfe's The Web and the Rock (1939); the character is based on theatrical designer Aline Bernstein, Wolfe's lover, and I'm pretty sure I could get her to spill the tea and take Wolfe to task.
Author Interview - Christin Essin | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: When I found pieces of history in an archive that needed to be shared before being re-shelved into oblivion
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Audio book while traveling, hands free to knit
The last book I read: Disobedience by Naomi Alderman
Author Interview - Christin Essin | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: Computer
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Mama Rose from Gypsy (Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents)
Author Interview - Christin Essin | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: Economist (I'd have to rewind my graduate school choices)
Favorite decade in fashion history: 1960s...saw the V&A's Mary Quant exhibit just before quarantine...brilliance
Place I’d most like to travel: Greece
My signature drink: Iced coffee all day
Favorite artist: Andrew Wyeth
Number one on my bucket list: Getting lost in the Scottish Highlands for a month or two of writing
Anything else you'd like to add: Thanks for your time; looking forward to chatting!
