Since PiS has been in power, there has been a lot of talk about theaters from time to time. This time it is the state-owned Osterwy Theater in Lublin, which has been managed by Redbad Klynstra-Komarnicki for several years. The 54-year-old is known for his role in the series “Na dobre i na evil”, but also for his homophobic statements and programs on TV Republika or radio programs on Radio Three.
Employees of the Osterwa Theater in Lublin are fed up with Klynstra-Komarnicki’s rule
Klynstra-Komarnicki served as director of the Lublin theater from the second half of 2020, and officially became its director a year later. For some time now, voices have been heard that the facility is poorly managed and the management is incompetent. According to the Lublin branch of “Gazeta Wyborcza”, employees of the Teatr im. Juliusz Osterwa decided to file a complaint and wrote an open letter to the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Piotr Gliński.
They point out that since Klynstra-Komarnicki took over at the theater, the institution has been in increasingly poor condition, and actors are treated like employees of a marginal corporation. Moreover, the complaint concerns not only the working conditions and organizational chaos in the institution, but also the decline in attendance, which the Lublin theater could not complain about a few years ago.
The open letter also discusses the new division of responsibilities. Since Klynstra-Komarnicki has been managing the institution, the position of administrative and artistic director has been resigned. In return, two new positions were created – deputy director for investments and deputy director for operations, which is intended to show the management’s approach to the theater, which has been transformed into a company whose main task is to bring profits at low employee costs.
Administrative chaos and financial uncertainties are the order of the day
Administrative chaos is also omnipresent in Osterwa. The theater’s management is not permanent – within 2 years the facility had 7 deputy directors and many proxies, who changed very often. In addition, there are many financial inaccuracies. The situation from 2022 is mentioned, when Klynstra-Komarnicki awarded employees bonuses worth a total of PLN 150,000, but ordered them to be returned some time ago. Then, many employees, including actors with several dozen years of experience, decided to quit or were fired.
People with extensive experience and knowledge who performed key functions for the proper functioning of the Theater from the administrative side are being dismissed. Employees who, with their skills and talent, significantly influence the artistic quality of performances are also dismissed – people employed in the art or locksmith studio are always highly appreciated by the producers – write the theater employees.
Poor theater management is reflected in the attendance at performances. Actors point out that many times the auditorium is not even 40% full. And it’s not only about new performances, but also plays that previously had no shortage of viewers. Employees blame it on the incompetence of their management.
“It is difficult not to blame this state of affairs on the fact that in the previous theater season, the Theater’s promotion practically did not work. Continuous changes in both the Promotion Department and the Sales Department meant that experienced and effective employees were dismissed, and newly employed people resigned from their jobs before “They managed to get to know each other, get to know the repertoire and come up with a concept for promoting the performances. This directly translated into the fact that our work was often wasted, and performances that should have had no problem selling them were canceled due to low attendance,” they write in open leaf.
Interestingly, the plans to renovate the historic theater building also include refreshing the auditorium, which the director decided to reduce. It seems that the reason he decided to do this is to increase ticket sales statistics. The authors of the letter point out that the management does not only care about promoting the theater, but since the times of Klynstra-Komarnicki’s rule, the performances of the Lublin theater have not been performed at any important theater festivals. Important directors broke off cooperation with Osterwa, and Polish reviewers lost interest in the performances.
A public cultural institution like a corporation
Employees of the Lublin theater are also not satisfied with their earnings. They indicate that Klynstra-Komarnicki has not complied with equalizing the basic salary to the statutory minimum national wage since the beginning of 2023. “The director justifies his decision by saying that, according to the median he calculated, actors in the theater earn ‘market wages’,” explain the authors of the open letter. “These types of statistics in the case of actors are not reliable, because each actor’s earnings are different every month, depending on their monthly plans,” they explain.
According to the authors of the open letter, the renovation of Osterwa will additionally reduce their salaries, because the number and scale of exhibited plays will decrease. Klynstra-Komarnicki is aware of this, which is why he decided to introduce systems known from corporations. He announced that if actors in a state institution want raises, they must expand their scope of responsibilities.
In addition, a system of penalties for actors appeared. For example, for being late for a rehearsal, the management is to reimburse the staff costs of people who had to wait from their own pocket. A reduction in the rates for performances was also announced. “When calculating working time, one does not take into account the fact that an actor’s work is not limited to the time spent in the theater during rehearsals. It also includes learning the text of the role, substantive and physical preparation for the role. Meanwhile, the management wants to measure the actor’s working time by the hours spent at the plant. work. This is a unit of measurement completely inappropriate for artistic professions,” we read in the letter.
They also point out that despite the audit carried out by the Supreme Audit Office, which clearly stated that mismanagement of the management’s expenses and unreliability in their documentation are commonplace. They have a grudge against the Marshal of the Lublin Voivodeship, who gives the director an annual award instead of a punishment. “What is this award for? For poor management of the institution?” – Osterwa employees ask. Moreover, they inform that in 2023, the job cuts will cover 1/3 of the actors.
Redbad Klynstra-Komarnicki spoke out. He denies the allegations
Journalists from the Lublin branch of “Gazeta Wyborcza” decided to write to Klynstra-Komarnicki for a comment on this matter. – None of the audits revealed any gross negligence, only shortcomings, which compares well with other cultural institutions audited (e.g. by the Supreme Audit Office) – he wrote in an e-mail.
– In 2022, we played almost twice as many performances as in 2021, we raised ticket prices, created a premium zone, and attendance increased. In total, we performed 304 performances in the 2022/2023 season. The actors played almost twice as many shows in 2022 as in 2021, and their earnings in the first half of 2023 amounted to an average of PLN 7,500 gross per month, he argues.
– We proposed raises in the form of statutory and discretionary bonuses – to add motivational elements and reward employees for additional tasks, and at the same time be able to demand professionalism and quality. The trade unions sent a letter to the management that they did not agree to any type of bonuses, therefore it was not possible to grant them, says Klynstra-Komarnicki, assuring that he does not intend to dismiss the actors.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
