Director Hasn't Paid Artists, Blames 'Cancel Culture' for Outrage

The cast of Corpus Christi (Photo: PopUp Theatre)

by Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Founder

On April 15, 2023, the production of Terrence McNally's Corpus Christi finished its run at the Popup Theatre in Denver, CO. As of today, the cast and members of the crew of that show have still not been paid in full by the theatre’s artistic director. Rather than paying them what they are owed or at least communicating with them, director Christopher Huelshorst calls their outrage “cancel culture” and says that they are trying to make him look like a modern-day Harold Hill.

According to reports, the road to opening Corpus Christi wasn’t easy. In addition to local protests over the show’s content, there were allegations of abuse during the rehearsal process, accidents on the set, and protests from locals over the show’s content.

Corpus Christi was written in 1997 and centers on the story of Jesus and the Apostles, depicting Jesus and the Apostles as gay men living in modern-day Texas. The play has been met with controversy almost everywhere it has been performed. A staging of the play in Athens, Greece, in October 2012 led to violent protests by party members and clergymen, with journalists and audience members being banned from the theater, and the premiere was canceled.

However, according to the cast at Popup Theatre, their production was successful. So successful they expected to be paid the remaining $475 they were owed for their work($675 was originally promised in the audition notice, and $200 was paid upfront).

In addition to wages owed to actors, another $675 for music direction, $675 for fight/intimacy coordination, and $1,000 for stage management are also owed. This was a non-union production.

Huelshorst has also not paid the venue, the People's Building, its contracted 80/20 box office split, which they estimate at just over $1,400.

On June 7th, stage manager, Hannah Tripp, posted the following open letter on her Facebook page,

On May 31, Huelshorst sent an email to the actors and crew. In it, he promised to make good on this debt "as quickly as possible,” but that low ticket sales meant that the final payment would be delayed.

But as of last week, they have still not been paid. To make matters worse, the Artistic Director doesn’t know when he will be able to pay them and is gaslighting them instead of finding solutions.

Christopher Huelshorst, who directed the show and was also Popup’s Founder and Artistic Director, has ended up shutting down the theatre company and has not explained any details as to when the cast and crew expect to be paid.

And rather than showing empathy for the position he’s put his former actors and crew in, he’s lashing out against them in response to their outrage.

"I've not said anything online, but they are clearly comfortable doing cancel culture," Huelshorst told local news. "I feel like their letter sets me up as some kind of 'Music Man' figure. ... It was described as if I tricked them into doing this play and then vanished with all the money, as if not paying them was my plan all along.

He told another outlet that he folded the theatre company because of the actors’ actions on social media which he said has led to threats against him and his family.

He also states he can’t pay the actors because their social media protests have made him unable to generate income. "I am not in a place at this point to say anything for certain because now I can’t fundraise, and I can’t sell season tickets,” he said. “The majority of our business is built on Facebook, and now that water is contaminated. They have completely disabled me.”

In response to Huelshorst’s refusal to compensate the actors and crew, they are holding a pay-what-you-can event titled Into the Fire, tonight.

While I understand that low ticket sales impact a theatre’s bottom line, it shouldn’t impact promised compensation to the actors and crew. Any artistic director worth their salt knows this.

There is something else to consider, Popup Theatre received a significant grant from the Northwest Aurora Arts Grant to help subsidize the company’s entire three-play season, including “Corpus Christi." That grant, $12,500, was awarded in Dec 2022.

Where is the money, Christopher?

He’s said he wishes his company had given him more time to resolve the problem together but that their June payment deadline was a non-starter.

“I get more of a grace period from a utility company,” he said.

So that is where I tell Christopher where he can stick it.

Do utility companies give more grace periods? Sure. Because they’re multi-million dollar enterprises, who can afford to do that. A regional theatre professional in 2023, in an industry that is changing daily regarding compensation models? That’s a different story entirely.

I’m willing to assume that Huelshorst knows this, and he’s just looking to scapegoat reasons why he hasn’t met his financial obligations. As for additional allegations against him and how he ran his productions, you should read this piece from Westword.

Stop the bullshit; pay your actors and crew, Christopher.

And don’t compare yourself to Harold Hill; at least he was a hero in the end.