Weigh-In On This
A little story from last summer:
I just this past week received an amazing offer for a Holiday revue show: $1300 a week, my own room in a 2-bedroom apartment that was only 2 minutes from the theatre, a huge spectacle of a show with a large budget, etc.
Sounds like a dream, right?!
Well it was…until I got my contract.
Let me back up though.
I got a phone call from the producer to offer me the role over the phone. He had mentioned that since I was being hired as a singer/dancer, that I would need to stay in shape for the role, and asked if I would be willing to tone up a bit. Now, that is already problematic as is, but after discussing that topic for a while, I will say he was very respectful of how he went about it (as respectful as one could be, I suppose) He wasn’t asking me to lose weight, or so he said. He more said that because of how heavy the dancing in the show was, I would want to prep for that.
Move on to the next day - I get my contract. I am reading through it, and see something that makes me stop in my tracks.
WEEKLY WEIGH-INS. Now, when I first saw this, I thought to myself, “Is this 1962??”
There was really no context given about it in the contract other than we must be okay with having a weekly weigh-in, and for the producer to have the right to say if we are underweight or overweight.
I have only ever seen this two other times in my career - once when I worked on Norwegian Cruise Line doing a cruise show (everyone was required to do weigh-ins, it did not matter your role or show) and at another theatre where I’m from.
Let me segway for a minute - to the Pigeon Forge, TN theater scene.
For those of you not familiar with this scene, is it very…unique. Pigeon Forge is where Dollywood is located, and draws a huge tourist base every year because of its family-friendly entertainment scene and lots of activities to do on the main strip. I like to think of it as Las Vegas for families, so to speak.
This entertainment scene is really unlike anywhere I have ever encountered before. There aren’t any theatres that do book shows, musicals, Equity contracts, or anything of that nature. Instead, you will find rows and rows of dinner shows, revue shows, shows showcasing the culture there (Faith-based, lots of bluegrass, comedy, clogging, country music, etc) and lots of performer-musician shows.
The shows themselves aren’t bad, but they are just in a very different market and in a league of their own, so much so that I hesitate to even call it “theater.” They are very much meant to entertain and be a good time and not much else. There is not a lot of depth or ground-breaking theater there, other then a venue that installed an indoor pool underneath their stage to accommodate divers as a part of their show.
All that being said, this entertainment scene follows their own rules. So many actors and producers there have been in this scene for so long that they seem a little “un-woke” to the rest of the entertainment world and rules and standards that most companies are now going by in 2025.
One of those standards that has been a staple in this community for a very long time now is weight and body image. Specifically weight for females. It doesn’t matter if you are a dancer, a singer, a clogger, a musician, you are to fit a certain mold and standard for weight. Most even do weekly weigh-ins. I cannot speak to if they do the same for males as I have not been informed or experienced that for myself.
If you look back to one of my older blog posts, you will see an article where a producer for a show asked me to lose 20-25 pounds to be a vocalist in his show. That was one of the staple theatres in Pigeon Forge.
What seems to be the problem, is that even if these entertainment venues change ownership, management, etc, the problems are still there. I do find that many of these producers and performers have not worked in other markets outside of this area, which maybe is some of the reason they think that this is acceptable and the norm.
It is SO time for this to no longer be a thing though.
Now, I will say, not every single theatre there abides by this, in fact, I know of a newer venue that has opened in the last year that is hiring body shapes of all sizes, so I do believe that a change is happening in that area, though I am not sure if it will spread to other theaters in the area.
It is long past time that men stop commenting on our bodies and what they think our “acceptable weight” should be. I will always stand by the fact that as long as you can perform your role well and to the capacity it needs to be at, it should not matter what you look like. We need to stop using the excuse that it’s because of “company standards” or “because you need to be able to fit into the costume of the previous/other performer.”
I, for one, would love to not only see the Pigeon Forge entertainment scene break free of this very outdated standard, but to see this standard be broken everywhere.
Let’s take weight and body shaming out of the conversation of theater completely, and fill that topic with collaboration, creativity, and artistry.
With love,
Alyssa
No Sweat Rep Founder