There is a very funny but insightful episode of “The Office,” where the character of Ryan (the young, brash, office temp) gets bumped up to “corporate” in New York. Overnight, Ryan, who has little practical experience and is still in business school, suddenly becomes the big boss. He returns to the Scranton branch to announce to the staff (most of whom are over 40 years old, some older) that the company is instituting sweeping changes, rebranding, and heading in a “new, younger, faster direction.”

Sound familiar?

Ryan, arrogant and brimming with confidence in his new position, calls a meeting of his former colleagues and proceeds to hand out smart phones (actually Blackberries, the 2007 equivalent). They are immediately stymied and somewhat threatened by the devices. Ryan’s pronouncements leave the staff fearful that they will all be let go in favor of younger replacements. Creed, clearly the oldest person in the office, comes in the next day with his hair dyed an obvious and absurd jet-black color, pretends nothing has changed and utters phrases like “Cool beans!”

Humor aside, the episode reflected what was and is going on not just in corporate America, but in our community, and shined a light on age discrimination and the persistent challenges and pressures “older” people face in the workplace.

Subtle and overt age discrimination has been a persistent problem in the performing arts for far too long. Office jobs and most other professions allow workers to toil in relative anonymity. Those of us in the performing arts, however, are always very visible. Whether on stage, screen, or even in the pit, we are on display for thousands to see when we work. Despite various guardrails we’ve put in place in our contracts such as tenure, hiring order, seating order, and non-discrimination language, this highly American cultural problem remains a persistent issue that we’ve addressed before in these pages (see links at the end of this article). My office is seeing an uptick in complaints from members who are suddenly under scrutiny for no reason other than showing a bit of gray hair. Age discrimination in our very visible industry, especially against women, seems more pervasive than ever.

In my position, I hear it all. It’s astonishing how some conductors can hear with their eyes. (“I saw your bow arm” do such and such or “our funders don’t like what they see on stage”). These types of thinly veiled criticisms are meant to circumvent the artistic dismissal process and force people to retire or quit in disgust after decades of loyal service.

Many musicians are impeccably well trained, musically polished, and ready for our competitive field right out of school. But to really succeed in the long term, we all need to learn about the intricacies of our profession as well as master the technical aspects of our instruments. If you ask any successful musician how they got there, you will get one answer across the board: they learned from an older teacher or mentor who offered  advice, paved the way, and gave them a shot.

If we lose those mentors too soon, we break that precious chain of institutional knowledge as it’s passed from one generation to the next.

What happened to Ryan? Poor thing, his big job at corporate didn’t turn out very well. Having been thrust into a position of power well before he was ready, Ryan dabbles in cocaine and ends up being caught in some insider trading scheme, nearly bankrupting the company. We are treated, along with the whole Dunder-Mifflin staff, to a satisfying moment of schadenfreude as we witness Ryan carried off in handcuffs on camera.

Local 802 is working hand-in-hand with management to be more welcoming and inclusive to communities traditionally underrepresented in the field. This is important, serious work and long overdue. At the same time, we must also remember and honor our history and respect the people who built and remained loyal to our institutions. There are constructive ways to do both, and we’re here to help. We want everyone to find fulfilling work, succeed, and have their chance to shine.

For more of our coverage on age discrimination, see the following Allegro articles:

• ‘If you’re gray, you’re sent away’
• How old is too old?
• Musicians fight age discrimination

Members who have experienced age discrimination can report their experiences to the Local 802 hotline or to my office.