Slime Tutorials!!

 As a fan of musical theatre, I've watched a fair few slime tutorials. For those not in the know, slime tutorials are the term used for bootlegs, videos of Broadway shows filmed discretely from the audience. This term is used so that people can find it without YouTube flagging it as illegal. These unofficial recordings often spark passionate debates online. Some call them disrespectful, others say they're lifelines. I would say it's a mix of both, and while they are complicated they are far from evil. 

Let me be clear: I’m not saying we should encourage illegal recordings. I understand the concerns from performers, creators, and producers, bootlegs can bypass copyright laws, violate performers' privacy, and undermine the integrity of a live experience. But here’s where the conversation gets murky: we treat the viewers of bootlegs as villains, when in reality, many of them are just passionate fans who lack access.

Musical theatre, as it currently exists, is painfully exclusive. Tickets to Broadway or West End shows can cost hundreds of dollars, not to mention the cost of travel, lodging, or simply living in a country where those productions are staged. Even local productions are not always financially or geographically accessible. We talk about theatre being “for everyone,” but the reality is that so many people are priced out or shut out entirely. As someone who lives in Bangalore, I don't have the privilege of just strolling down to my local theatre and consuming any show I want, and it's unrealistic to assume that every single musical theatre fan lives in NYC or London and has the money to buy a ticket. Bootlegs, in many ways, are a symptom of that inaccessibility, not the cause of it. They exist because the demand for theatre far exceeds its availability. People aren’t watching bootlegs because they don’t want to support theatre, they’re watching because it’s the only way they can engage with the art they love.

I believe the reason bootlegs are so villainized is the comparison to pirated movies. But here's the thing, I'd argue they're very different. It's more than just the fact that in general, movies are more accessible than live shows, thanks to streaming service. The real reason they're different is that when you pirate a movie, you get a similar experience to watching it on a streaming service, provided you have a good ad-block. If you think this is the same case for Broadway, you have not seen enough bootlegs. Slime tutorials are terrible, blurry, with bad sound quality. Despite having a bookmarked link to a BMC slime tutorial, I often find myself rewatching a properly filmed high school production instead. Why? Because, even though the actors are Broadway quality, the filming is not, with our mysterious hero often filming the ceiling for reasons unknown and every single cough in the audience being 10 times louder than usual. Bootlegs aren't taking away a paying audience because anybody with the means to pay would rather enjoy the musical luxuriously than watching a blurry stream of it on YouTube. 

All of this isn't even mentioning the fact that Broadway shows close down! Spring awakening is one of my favorite shows of all time, and yet it shut down when I was but a wee infant, only 6 months of age. How is it fair to say I'm taking money away from the hardworking cast when I never would've gone to see it anyways (Yes, there was a revival in 2016 but what sane parent would take their 8 year old to SPRING AWAKENING). 

So what can we do about it? Rather than shaming fans who watch bootlegs, maybe we should be asking: Why isn’t there a legitimate, affordable alternative? Look at Hamilton on Disney+, Come From Away on Apple TV+, or the Heathers pro-shot all of these professionally filmed stage musicals had massive viewership and introduced countless people to theatre who might never have had the chance otherwise. Isn’t that the goal? To create art that reaches people, moves people, changes people? Instead of policing blurry clips on TikTok, we should be advocating for more professional recordings, more touring productions, more subsidized tickets, and more educational resources. Accessibility and artistry are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the more accessible we make our art, the more powerful and relevant it becomes. So no, bootlegs aren’t ideal. But they’re also not the problem. They’re a sign that people care, that people are hungry for stories, songs, and characters that speak to them. And instead of punishing that passion, maybe it’s time we harness it. Theatre has always been for the people, and by creating such a high barrier of entrance, we force people to find other ways to consume the things they love. 

P.S: This is why I love Starkid, their shows are uploaded for free on YouTube. Their use of fundraisers and kickstarters to fund their musicals is genius because it allows richer fans to shell out money for incredible rewards so that everyone can enjoy the fruits of their labor for free.