The comedy operation “Drunk Shakespeare,” wherein an actor drinks copious qualities of pre-show alcohol for comedic purposes, is facing a unionization demand from workers at its franchise on Wabash Avenue in Chicago’s Loop.
According to server Ella Fent, the cast and crew have alleged ‘‘inaccurate paychecks” and other forms of mismanagement, often forcing them to keep track of their own hours and correct accounting errors, and to deal with understaffing and “chaotic scheduling.” Fent also said that the waitstaff, many of whom are also actors, help set up many of the comic bits in the show and handle props, both tasks that the union Actors Equity generally would deem roles that belong to a stage management team.
A spokesman for the Actor’s Equity union said that 100% of the company has signed union cards requesting voluntary recognition. He also said that the use of alcohol in the show was “all the more reason to need union representation.” In recent months, the union has become more aggressive about organizing workers in productions that are different from the historical norm, a group that
museum lecturers and strippers. There are Drunk Shakespeare franchises currently running in Houston, New York, Phoenix and Washington, D.C.Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
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