SDG Informing You
- Thread starter SDG
- Start date
Aww, c'mon, Ben, there's NEVER a bad week for a cruise, is there? lol But seriously, now you have something exciting going on to help you ease back in to your everyday routines! No post-vacation blues!
b.mac said:
Because they're not staying.
I am connected with a musician that has been with the park for years, mainly performing in the vaious Italy shows. Just last week we were talking and I was surprised that this person is not with the park anymore, when just one year ago, they couldn't say enough good things about being a long time performer at Busch. They mentioned how rough this season has been with all the changes and budget cuts and the outright mistreatment of the entertainment staff. They decided that they just couldn't take it anymore. And they're not alone.
Performers are leaving in droves. They are fed up with the way things are going and they way they're being treated. This person mentioned how different HoS and CT shows are going to look as far as the cast goes. Did you have a favorite perfomer at the park? You probably won't see them again.
At at time Busch did not have to work too hard to find cast members, because it was the SAME cast (plus or minus one or two) year after year. And the talent was there. Take old school Monster Stomp as just one example. Every year, you knew there were going to be familiar faces. And these were they same faces you saw in American Jukebox earlier in the day, Imaginique a few weeks before that. Casts were shared because they were GOOD at what they did. You got attached. I know I did. They were in Kinetix during the summer, then MS in the fall. Year after year. Not anymore.
But hey, at least we didn't lose two restuarants and the park's not closing an hour earlier. Sorry for the low blow, Tampa.
RocketChk said:
^ This is a story I have heard countless times now. I can't confirm a lot of the details about what SDG and others are posting, but I do know that morale within the department is at an unimaginably low point right now. I've heard time and time again that people actually dread coming in to work because of the crap they have to put up with on a daily basis. It's a terribly sad state of affairs.
^
Yes, exactly. That is the basically exactly what my person is feeling. They are devastated at what is happening. They loved being a part of what it used to be. They said that they were at a point of being 'miserable' now. It's sad to think that you are basically paid to provide entertainment and you have to act happy, but inside you just want to run. It shouldn't be that way. Working at the park is demanding in it's own right, and any additional pressure, especially from upper management trying to save their tails is unwelcome.
If you have ever been an employee at the park, you know how tight knit the entertainment staff is. I like to use high school as an example of the environment 'backstage,' because that's exactly how I remembered it. They were the cool kids. They walked everywhere together in large groups. Coming down the hall at the EBA's, you moved out of their way. They sat together during meal time and didn't mix with other cast members. They were a clique in their own right because they and only they could understand what a working day entailed for performers. Those close knit bonds are pretty much gone, because of the now present rotating door of performers. It sounds childish, but it's another factor that becomes really damning to the morale. You get used to your co-workers and form a bond of trust. Your have that confidence even in a new show, because you know they people next to you have your back---because they've had your back for years. This is just not so currently, and for the foreseeable future.
On the guest side, yeah, it's awesome to see really talented performers from far away lands such as New York. But I'd trade them all to see Justin, Jaymez or Moses (insert any long time performer's name here) in any show again. You became a fan. That air of familiarity is what created that sense of 'home' that was Busch Gardens for some of us, especially 'show people,' as I used to affectionately call myself. Do you know how many shows I watched last HoS and CT? Zero. And I am one who, no matter how many times I had dragged my family to go see MS, I should would gladly queue up in that line that stretched out to almost France for a chance to see it again each and every weekend. We would sit in the Festhaus in between shows just to get a better view of the Frog King, because we loved his performance of 'Come On Eileen." Not anymore. I have not seen any Illuminights shows at all this year and really don't care to. And I don't even feel like I'm missing anything.
Busch needs people like me, like us, to keep the park alive. Taking those connections away--whatever that connection is to you personally--is only going to alienate us more from the park.
Yes, exactly. That is the basically exactly what my person is feeling. They are devastated at what is happening. They loved being a part of what it used to be. They said that they were at a point of being 'miserable' now. It's sad to think that you are basically paid to provide entertainment and you have to act happy, but inside you just want to run. It shouldn't be that way. Working at the park is demanding in it's own right, and any additional pressure, especially from upper management trying to save their tails is unwelcome.
If you have ever been an employee at the park, you know how tight knit the entertainment staff is. I like to use high school as an example of the environment 'backstage,' because that's exactly how I remembered it. They were the cool kids. They walked everywhere together in large groups. Coming down the hall at the EBA's, you moved out of their way. They sat together during meal time and didn't mix with other cast members. They were a clique in their own right because they and only they could understand what a working day entailed for performers. Those close knit bonds are pretty much gone, because of the now present rotating door of performers. It sounds childish, but it's another factor that becomes really damning to the morale. You get used to your co-workers and form a bond of trust. Your have that confidence even in a new show, because you know they people next to you have your back---because they've had your back for years. This is just not so currently, and for the foreseeable future.
On the guest side, yeah, it's awesome to see really talented performers from far away lands such as New York. But I'd trade them all to see Justin, Jaymez or Moses (insert any long time performer's name here) in any show again. You became a fan. That air of familiarity is what created that sense of 'home' that was Busch Gardens for some of us, especially 'show people,' as I used to affectionately call myself. Do you know how many shows I watched last HoS and CT? Zero. And I am one who, no matter how many times I had dragged my family to go see MS, I should would gladly queue up in that line that stretched out to almost France for a chance to see it again each and every weekend. We would sit in the Festhaus in between shows just to get a better view of the Frog King, because we loved his performance of 'Come On Eileen." Not anymore. I have not seen any Illuminights shows at all this year and really don't care to. And I don't even feel like I'm missing anything.
Busch needs people like me, like us, to keep the park alive. Taking those connections away--whatever that connection is to you personally--is only going to alienate us more from the park.
RocketChk said:
This is right on point. I think of the whole park as a high school type setting. The EBAs being the lunch room, this is where you see what is actually going on with Team Members. Everyone sits in their groups of friends that happen to go on break together. Performers and whole shows used to sit together all the time, now you see smaller groups of maybe two or three performers sitting together. You can definitely tell there is a change.
I didn't know where else to put this, but Busch Gardens completely remodeled their entertainment website.
http://www.talentsearchbgw.com/
http://www.talentsearchbgw.com/
Again I say there were 30 or 40 very talented singers and dancers at the recent in-house auditions for HOS & Xmas. These performers were just as talented as anyone Bob Cline is going to book for his booking fees. These performers WANT to stay working at the park. None of these performers has been called to work HOS or Xmas. The audition was a formality to satisfy EOE and employees, as are most job applications on mydiscoveryinfo.com, but the intended hire is NOT in-house employees. Bob Cline was not even at the in-house auditions. They want to hire new people at the upcoming Bob Cline auditions. Similarly, many jobs are posted for only a few days on mysdiscoveryinfo with no intention of ever interviewing nor hiring the applicants. That is a rouse to satify EOE and to hire the intended person who will know to also go thru the formality of applying for that job that is strangely only posted for a few days.
And yes several talented performers have had their contracts rescinded to make room for whomever Bob Cline wants to cast.
The cast knows they are not being re-hired and they have another month left to perform. The morale has been hit bad and these performers are doing their best not to show the pain they are feeling. These are not just local performers either. These are performers that have been properly auditioned by Busch and cast from around the country. They now live and pay their own rent in Williamsburg. They love to perform for Busch's guests. They assumed they had a fair chance at in-house auditions for placement in the fall. They were tricked. These guys need your support and your appreciation. Instead of bitching and arguing, why don't you bloggers support Busch's talented CURRENT performers, tell them how much you appreciate them. Why don't you tell Busch management and customer service how much you appreciate the current cast of performers. Petition to keep them, Make phone calls to customer service. Leave positive comments on FB how much you appreciate the current performers and want to keep seeing them! Don't be negative either. Bad-mouthing any of the people making these decisions won't change it. But praising our CURRENT cast and demanding you see more of them is a good way!!!!
And yes several talented performers have had their contracts rescinded to make room for whomever Bob Cline wants to cast.
The cast knows they are not being re-hired and they have another month left to perform. The morale has been hit bad and these performers are doing their best not to show the pain they are feeling. These are not just local performers either. These are performers that have been properly auditioned by Busch and cast from around the country. They now live and pay their own rent in Williamsburg. They love to perform for Busch's guests. They assumed they had a fair chance at in-house auditions for placement in the fall. They were tricked. These guys need your support and your appreciation. Instead of bitching and arguing, why don't you bloggers support Busch's talented CURRENT performers, tell them how much you appreciate them. Why don't you tell Busch management and customer service how much you appreciate the current cast of performers. Petition to keep them, Make phone calls to customer service. Leave positive comments on FB how much you appreciate the current performers and want to keep seeing them! Don't be negative either. Bad-mouthing any of the people making these decisions won't change it. But praising our CURRENT cast and demanding you see more of them is a good way!!!!
I forgot to answer one last thing that Cedarva mentioned about people not getting fired. I could provide a nice LONG list for all of you, with names and positions but Zach would edit it out rightfully so. As much as I think you guys are informed, I am a little disappointed that you have missed the fact that certain performers have been replaced midseason over the years. Yeah I know some people have short contracts and are supposed to leave and others replace them. But I am talking about a few that have been fired and not replaced until maybe months later or they leave that spot empty. They were fired for standing up and trying to go through the proper channels to fix everything I have been talking about. Why else would everyone be in fear if no one was getting fired. Please I ask you to spare this thread a thousand posts and just think about the info given first and put it together before we all ramble on back and forth. There are also plenty of office workers fired as well by SG. Some even just demoted if not fired so he can have even more control. And I am sorry this seems like a personal vendetta but like you guys said. Even though ENT isn't as tight knit as it used to be it is still family.
I've been on the fence about how to approach this, but I've decided to just go ahead and let you all know what I've been told by numerous contacts within the park over the last few days- that seems to be the easiest way to deal with this.
Basically, the vast majority of the people I've heard from agree that nearly everything SDG and wyldekat are posting is 100% true. Some of the people I've heard from are people I've been in touch with for a while and some are new faces that are coming out of the woodwork in support of what's being said. I can't confirm most of the stuff myself because I haven't seen hard evidence, but the witnesses are lining up faster than I can respond to them. There have been a few people who have said there are some over-exaggerated details here and there and that it may not be as big of a deal as people are making it out to be, but those people seem to be few and far between. I'm not going to tell you what to believe, but from what I can tell, there's a pot on the Entertainment department's stove that's about to boil over and it has the potential to ruin everyone's dinner.
Anyway, all that said, anyone on either side of the story, please keep those messages coming. Each one helps paint a more complete picture of what's happening inside the gates. We don't have the widespread pull that local media would have or the ability to fight for you like a lawyer may have, but we do have the ability to get the story out to a niche audience of people who truly care about the park and the people who make the park what it is. I don't have much hope that it'll truly change anything, but at the very least, we can make waves and, sometimes, if you're lucky, those waves can straighten into something much more formidable.
Basically, the vast majority of the people I've heard from agree that nearly everything SDG and wyldekat are posting is 100% true. Some of the people I've heard from are people I've been in touch with for a while and some are new faces that are coming out of the woodwork in support of what's being said. I can't confirm most of the stuff myself because I haven't seen hard evidence, but the witnesses are lining up faster than I can respond to them. There have been a few people who have said there are some over-exaggerated details here and there and that it may not be as big of a deal as people are making it out to be, but those people seem to be few and far between. I'm not going to tell you what to believe, but from what I can tell, there's a pot on the Entertainment department's stove that's about to boil over and it has the potential to ruin everyone's dinner.
Anyway, all that said, anyone on either side of the story, please keep those messages coming. Each one helps paint a more complete picture of what's happening inside the gates. We don't have the widespread pull that local media would have or the ability to fight for you like a lawyer may have, but we do have the ability to get the story out to a niche audience of people who truly care about the park and the people who make the park what it is. I don't have much hope that it'll truly change anything, but at the very least, we can make waves and, sometimes, if you're lucky, those waves can straighten into something much more formidable.
I love when a business tries to hide something that they are doing that's either illegal or morally wrong, and it gets outed on the internet 
SDG said:
I'm so sorry, but are you referring to my posts as rambling?
I know your name is on the thread title, but if someone has a source that has spoken out on the state of the park, then so be it, I want to hear about it.
RocketChk said:
Not at all RocketChk. My apologies. You are right about sources. I meant there is no need to debate back and forth the validity of the sources. I like what you have said and just want to see more of that. More of what sources have said as opposed to us debating. But I guess it doesn't matter. I was just afraid that the thread would be a barrage of opinions back and forth and people would end up having to sort through 100 pages just to find the facts. That is all.
wyldekat said:
If only things were just that simple. The park has completely ignored all negative feedback from everyone previously and they seem to be doing just that as well now. What's even more to the point is the park absolutely hates this site with a passion. They probably hate this site as much as this site hates EITA (no offense meant to those they do enjoy it, as I enjoy it myself).
Point is, there is absolutely nothing we ourselves can do about it other than talk about it until they start doing something that is illegal and can be sued for with sufficient evidence in a court of law, the park won't budge on changing.
Would it be possible for somebody to go over how Ent determines if a show is popular or not? Also how did Scott react to certain shows if they weren't popular?
Right, my question is /how/ the numbers are gathered and what metrics are part of the surveys. Is it something that just asks, "Did you like the show?" or is it more in depth.
I'm sure that what the GP posts on the FB page about the show is taken into account. Maybe they even set up polls on FB?