The Union of Park Stage and Screen Actors has taken a stand on the content of the plays and movies in which its members will participate in the future.
Wednesday Rewind
Original Publication Date: 21 February 2014
The Union of Park Stage and Screen Actors (UPSSA) has taken a stand on the content of the plays and movies in which its members will participate in the future.[pullquote]”No longer will our…highly skilled members participate in so-called artistic ventures that denigrate Animals of any kind in any way.” — UPSSA President Wilbur J. Pika[/pullquote]Current UPSSA President Wilbur J. Pika made the announcement this morning while speaking at the opening of the Millicent Hayberry Centre for the Study of Drama and Performance at the University of West Terrier.
“No longer are Park Animals willing to allow themselves to become accessories to the crimes committed by many playwrights and screenwriters. No longer will our well-trained and highly skilled members participate in so-called artistic ventures that denigrate Animals of any kind in any way,” he declared before a highly receptive audience.
Pika followed up his speech by distributing the “UPSSA Fair Representation of Animals in Theatre and Film Manifesto,” which outlines the circumstances under which UPSSA members will refuse work in plays and movies.
The most important part of the Manifesto, Pika said, is the fact that 97% of UPSSA members agreed on its contents.
“We had a series of very serious, you could even say sombre meetings,” Pika said. “And we were all in agreement that we would reject any work that depicts Animals as stupid, lazy, beholden to Humans, or in any other negative or stereotypical fashion,” he said.
