(upbeat music) - Welcome to "Crosscut NOW", the show that takes you beyond the breaking news and goes deeper on the issues you care about and brings awareness to untold stories affecting communities.

In today's episode, we talk with playwright Andrew Lee Creech to learn more about his latest production.

We'll also look at the recent trend of nurses exiting the healthcare profession to pursue things like farming.

And workers in some Washington cities could see more money in their pockets as a new minimum wage increase could be around the corner.

I'm Paris Jackson, today we're talking about the arts, Fall Arts.

If you love the world of arts and culture, Fall Arts season is the best time of year.

This is when the Seattle art scene reveals new lineups, showcasing what's upcoming from museums, theaters, and art spaces.

Art revelers can expect new exhibits by legendary artists like sculptor Alexander Calder, much anticipated music performances such as Johnaye Kendrick at Earshot Jazz Festival, book releases from local authors like E.J.

Koh and world premieres in this upcoming theater season.

Taproot Theater in Greenwood is where we find Crosscut Arts and Culture editor at large Brangien Davis, who's behind the scenes with a local playwright, Andrew Lee Creech, exploring his new play about Black Cowboys.

- Hey Brangien.

- Hi Andrew.

- Welcome to Taproom.

- Well, thank you.

Nice to see you.

- Thank you.

- You gonna show me the set?

- Wanna check it out?

- Excellent.

- All right.

- Gotta do my grand entrance.

- Here we are on stage.

- Welcome, welcome to Taproot.

Yeah, this is the set.

We are in Taproot in Greenwood but we are transporting you to Texas, like Central Texas 1884.

We're still under construction, of course, right?

This is a little modern.

- Not part of the play?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- But do you want to go backstage?

- I absolutely do, let's check it out.

- So this is the rehearsal room, right?

- Okay.

- So welcome.

I don't think a lot of people don't really get to see this.

- Oh, no, I'm thrilled.

- But this is the set.

A stage manager comes through and literally like measures and tapes out the entire set.

- But how fun to move to 3D after this.

- The name of the play, it's "Last Drive to Dodge."

It's an American play, but at its heart, it's a love story.

It's about row and profit to black people who work on a ranch, a cattle ranch in 1884, Texas.

And it is their story of figuring out how to get off of that ranch and how to create a new future for themselves.

- Went into town last night.

Had the blacksmith make me up my own brand.

- [Narrator] "Last Drive to Dodge" is part of Andrew's ambitious Legacy Plays Project, a planned nine play series, highlighting the Black American experience during pivotal moments in American history.

(soft background music) - I started this project trying to answer this question of, "Who haven't we heard from?

Who hasn't had a chance to tell their story?"

There's been some research recently that has shown that one out of every four cowboys was Black and yet we don't really see that in the kind of cultural awareness around the American frontier.

- But it is relevant to right now, no matter where you are, right?

Some of the themes, you're touching on race, you're touching on class issues, you're touching on gender.

- Yep, yep, so, exactly.

There's a lot in this play.

There's so much.

- I'm not gonna stand here and let you make me feel awful about my choices.

I came back on my own volition.

- So most of "Last Drive to Dodge" is pretty realistic but there are a few surreal aspects to it.

And without spoiling anything, I just wondered, as a writer, how do you convince the audience that the surreal parts are actually happening?

- To me, that answer depends on the audience.

I'm always looking for like, "What's the impossible thing?

What's the surreal, what's the magical that can elevate that and make it theatrical?"

- [Narrator] During the technical rehearsal, the cast and crew brought the theatricality to life through music, lighting, and the insight of director Valerie Curtis-Newton.

- I just want it to be sort of more seamless.

- It's always amazing being in the room because while I'm sitting there listening to my play, Val will also just drop some gold nugget that I'd be like, "Okay, wait, let me just, you said what now?

Okay, let's save that for later."

- So you're about a week away from opening.

How are you feeling?

What are you excited about for you, for the actors and for the audience?

- I feel a lot about it.

Everything I write, there's bits of myself scattered throughout the place.

So it's a vulnerable act to write and it's a vulnerable act to share it.

So, as excited as I am, I'm also like, "What are people gonna think?"

- Of course.

- I just want people to come in and have an experience.

They can go out and leave the theater, continue the conversation.

If they see a character on stage that they've never seen before that they connect to and that lets them feel seen in some way, right?

- Yeah, yeah.

- That's important, that's a win.

- "Last Drive to Dodge" runs at Taproot Theater, September 20th through October 21st.

Watch "Crosscut NOW" for more Fall Arts spotlights in the coming months.

(soft music) From farming to coding, Washington nurses are leaving healthcare for new professions.

We explore what's causing the exodus from the medical field.

- [Narrator] A mass exodus of nurses leaving healthcare is leading to a national staffing shortage, exacerbated by the Covid 19 pandemic while underlying root causes long precede it.

Nurses who once loved the profession are now opting for different careers to forego the burnout and stress rigors in the healthcare industry.

In April, Governor Jay Insley signed a safe staffing bill into law.

The regulations establish new staffing ratio requirements and financial penalties for organizations that violate them.

Some nurses who talk with Crosscut feel the pay is not where it should be.

In Washington, the median salary for registered nurses is higher than that for police officers or firefighters according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, but nurses face significant pay disparities within their own field.

Traveling nurses willing to work on short-term contracts can make thousands more per week than their peers who stay in long-term positions.

(warm music) - More cities in Washington could lead the nation with the highest minimum wages.

We'll let you know what county is considering a wage increase.

- [Narrator] A minimum wage increase could be coming for unincorporated King County.

The King County Council is considering raising the minimum wage to $19 an hour.

The legislation introduced by Council member Girmay Zahilay would make the rate for parts of King County among the nation's highest.

The proposed minimum wage would cover businesses in areas outside any city limits.

So it wouldn't include Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Renton, or other cities, but it would cover areas such as Skyway, White Center, Vashon Island, and Bear Creek.

Zahilay tells Crosscut the ordinance would go through a public work shopping process before the county council would be asked to vote.

King County has already been at the center for the push to raise the minimum wage.

Several cities in the county, including Seattle, already have a minimum wage higher than the state minimum wage of $15.74 cents an hour.

The City of SeaTac has one of the highest in the country at $19.06 an hour.

I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for joining us on "Crosscut NOW", your destination for nonprofit Northwest News, go to crosscut.com for more.

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