Equity rules on understudy notification?

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 6:32pm

One (or two) posters noted that there were no Playbill inserts or live announcement of Josh Groban's replacement on Wednesday evening's (?) performance. Instead, there was a posting in the lobby and emails sent 30 minutes before curtain.

I thought there were Equity rules requiring two of the following three notifications: lobby board, playbill inserts, or live announcement. Has there been a change including emails as an acceptable notification?

(Forgive the duplicate post from the "Natasha....previews" thread - but I figured my question would likely be buried there)

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 6:42pm

I can't say for certain whether or not sending an email counts as an Equity approved method of understudy notification, but in my experience more and more shows are using emails to alert us when an understudy is expected to go on. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 7:36pm

Some here may recall that the producer of said show has not exactly distinguished himself when it comes to observing the finer points of agreements to which he is subject. I would not think that an email would be deemed adequate notice, considering that there are quite a few people who acquired their tickets in such a way (at the box office, for instance) that the theatre would not have their email address. 

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 7:44pm

I am almost certain that the rules have not changed. It's always been 2 of 3 - lobby sign, playbill slip, or live announcement. If only one or two did not receive the slip, it's possible that one usher accidentally handed out the wrong stack. 

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 7:47pm

I just went to the Equity website and answered my own question. Under the League contract rulebook Rule 11, Notification must be made either by announcement or insert, plus lobby board. No mention of email, text or other notification.

I think you hit the nail on the head, HH.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 8:25pm

Both Josh and the understudy will be getting some extra money whenever this finally gets sorted out between the producers and Equity. 

 

Thats awfully shady, I have to assume it was an intentional move to avoid people wanting refunds/exchanges rather than an honest mistake. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 8:53pm

For the record:

These rules were put in place during Ginger Rogers' run in "Hello, Dolly!". She had an excellent attendance record but did come down with a throat infection and missed 3 performances. David Merrick waited until moments before the downbeat was given to announce: "At this performance the role of Mrs Levi will be played by Bibi Osterwald. Most people in the audience had no idea that Mrs Levi was actually Dolly and the picture on the Playbill featured Ginger Rogers wearing a red wig. They thought Osterwald was Rogers and it wasn't until well into the show that they discovered what had happened. Equity was notified and the rules were put in place.

At the same time Rogers ditched the wig and played the part as a blonde.

Updated On: 11/22/16 at 08:53 PM

[Tag]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:10pm

Like someone mentioned above, it's possible the production just paid Groban and the understudy the penalty fee.  Maybe they didn't want word to get out that Groban was out?

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:11pm

trpguyy said: "Thats awfully shady, I have to assume it was an intentional move to avoid people wanting refunds/exchanges rather than an honest mistake. "

Ironically, any half competent producer will tell you that if you want to avoid having people line up for refunds and exchanges, the best way to do that is to make an announcement because most people are subject to the laws of momentum and inertia and once comfortably in their seats with the lights down are never going to get up and leave. 

[PaulWom]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:38pm

MarkBearSF said: "One (or two) posters noted that there were no Playbill inserts or live announcement of Josh Groban's replacement on Wednesday evening's (?) performance. Instead, there was a posting in the lobby and emails sent 30 minutes before curtain.

I thought there were Equity rules requiring two of the following three notifications: lobby board, playbill inserts, or live announcement. Has there been a change including emails as an acceptable notification?

(Forgive the duplicate post from the "Natasha....previews" thread - but I figured my question would likely be buried there)

Intermission report!

I was there both last night and tonight and both times there was:

- a playbill insert

- a lobby board post saying Scott Stangland was on as Pierre

- staffers informing people as they walked in that Josh was not on, and they could get refunds or exchanges if they'd like.

In fact, most people stayed- the show (and Stangland) was wonderful last night (Stangland got a standing o!), and seems to be getting a great reception tonight. 

So I'm not exactly sure what the problem is....

 

"

 

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 9:44pm

Glad to hear that the report(s) were, apparently one-offs. 

Related question. What are the typical hours for ushers? How much time to they have to stuff inserts before the house opens?

[trpguyy]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 10:22pm

HogansHero said: "trpguyy said: "Thats awfully shady, I have to assume it was an intentional move to avoid people wanting refunds/exchanges rather than an honest mistake. "

Ironically, any half competent producer will tell you that if you want to avoid having people line up for refunds and exchanges, the best way to do that is to make an announcement because most people are subject to the laws of momentum and inertia and once comfortably in their seats with the lights down are never going to get up and leave. "

My experience with Kagan leads me to the conclusion that he is less than half-competent as a producer.

But it seems that perhaps this was a misunderstanding after all? Maybe a stack of un-stuffed Playbills was handed out by mistake. 

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 12:22am

PThespian said: "Ushers have to report one hour prior to curtain. 

Theoretically that leaves 30 mins to do inserts. 

However some House Managers prefer to open the house early so patrons don't have to wait outside in unfavorable weather conditions. 
 

In addition the 306C contract affords Stage Management a grace period (7 mins I believe) in which to bring the inserts out. If they are not ready by then they are suppose to make a live announcement. 

However that very rarely happens. A lot of times there are last minute call outs, inserts that need to be re-done, etc. 


_____

There have been mistakes or last minute updates to the inserts. There is always an announcement stating the changes correctly. 

At other times, such as during a planned vacation, the playbills are reprinted with the understudy listed as playing the part in question. This way there is no need for an insert and no one is calling attention to the change. I'm not sure what they do with the outside boards at that time





Updated On: 11/19/16 at 12:22 AM

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 1:34am

PThespian said: "Ushers have to report one hour prior to curtain.  Theoretically that leaves 30 mins to do inserts. However some House Managers prefer to open the house early so patrons don't have to wait outside in unfavorable weather conditions..."

Thank you for the info! (And in my somewhat limited experience, the Imperial staff have been top-notch)

I've never been to a theatre in NY that early, but I know in SF, it's common for theaters to open the doors to the lobby as much as an hour early, but open the house at 30. Not only to keep people out of the weather but to sell merch and bar! Perhaps it's not feasible given the relatively small lobbies in NY houses - but is this common on Broadway? ...Not that I have any plans to get to the theatre that early (I'm likely at Sardi's, the Long Room, or another establishment having a pre-show drink)

Updated On: 11/19/16 at 01:34 AM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 1:43am

"I can almost guarantee you that the problem wasn't an usher handing out the wrong programs. 

I have worked the Imperial many times. The staff there is incredibly friendly and extremely competent. 

Anything is possible I guess, but I'd be surprised if someone made a big mistake like that."

 

Here's the thing: we have only heard, and third hand at that this happened to one or two? people, if it happened at all. If it were only one or two, the inserts could have fallen out. Even if it was a lot more than that, even the best ushers can make mistakes and pick up the wrong stack.Yes, it's a big mistake, but they're human.

 

Actors Equity draws a hard line on the two out of three rule, and a Stage Manager would not allow this rule to be deliberately broken in order to keep people in the dark about Groban's absence - and the SM has control over the slips, the board, and the god mike that they make the announcement from.

I don't know anything about this producer, but he can't tell the staff what to do in this case, so he's got nothing to do with it..

 

So, IMO, it was a mistake, the slips fell out, or it didn't happen.

Updated On: 11/19/16 at 01:43 AM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 2:42am

"I still maintain it would be difficult to grab a wrong stack"

 

Oh, I agree, PThespian. I have seen the process many, many times (and have always been glad it wasn't my job). Again, this is third hand info, so if it did indeed happen, the slips most likely fell out.

 

My main point was there is virtually NO WAY that slips were left out in order to deceive the audience. That's a big, big no-no..

[Roscoe]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 7:49am

There was no slip in the program for GREAT COMET on Thursday night announcing that Scott Stangland would be playing Pierre, not in the program I got, not in the program my husband got.  There was a stuffer with the revised billing for Ars Nova, but NO SLIP AT ALL referring to a replacement Pierre.  There was no announcement before the show either.

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 8:49am

A small detail on the "2 of 3" rule I noticed when checking the equity Production Rulebook for the League contract is that for principal cast, it's not quite 2 of 3, but is (insert OR announcement) AND lobby board. Of course, since the lobby board is the least obvious, few producers would choose both of the most intrusive means instead (insert & announcement). So the result is the same.

And the resulting substitutions of non-ensemble/swing actors can be made in 1 of the 3 (with "the role of... will be played by..." wording on the board)

Finally, swings changing tracks with no identifiable characters can just have their names swapped on the lobby board.

At least that's the way I read it. Here's a link. The relevant Rule 11 starts on the bottom of pg 23.  http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/rulebooks/Production_Rulebook_League_11-15.pdf

Updated On: 11/19/16 at 08:49 AM

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 8:59am

PThespian said: "The only show that reprints their programs to reflect planned absences is Phantom. 

 

 

"

They also did it at Waitress in September when Stephanie Torns took over for Jessie Mueller. 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 9:43am

It doesn't take that long to stuff.  I just did it the other night for some 800 programs...took less than 15 minutes.  

(I know it's not the same as a bway house, but I did it with hs kids that have never done so.  And about the size of a house staff.)

 

[wish i were here2]

Posted: 11/19/16 at 10:17am

I was there last night. My friend got to the theatre earlier than me, at around 7:15, and they were passing out papers saying that Josh was out and you could get your tickets refunded or switched to another date. I got there at around 7:30 there were slips in the playbills, Scott's name was on the understudy board, and they were still passing out those papers about refunds and stuff. They actually had three lines formed, two for the show and one for people looking to switch their tickets. 

Updated On: 11/19/16 at 10:17 AM

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 11/20/16 at 3:17pm

PThespian said: "PThespian said: "dramamama611 said: "It doesn't take that long to stuff.  I just did it the other night for some 800 programs...took less than 15 minutes.  

(I know it's not the same as a bway house, but I did it with hs kids that have never done so.  And about the size of a house staff.)
 


 Please don't make a statement like "It doesn't take long to insert." It doesn't take YOU long to insert. 

I've been doing inserts on an almost daily basis for over twenty years. I know how long it takes me to do them (which is longer than 15 mins) and how long it takes most of my co-workers. 

"

Not to mention, ushers also have to de-insert if someone didn't remove the inserts from the day before that happen to be different than the ones for the day in question..and not get mixed up in the process.

 

 

"

 

[jimmycurry01]

Posted: 11/20/16 at 6:11pm

These questions come up a lot. Here is a scan from my copy of the Equity Handbook. This is from the 2008 edition. They get updated every three years, so it is a bit out of date. However, big changes don't happen too often, and I believe this particular rule is still up to date. 

Scan From Equity Handbook

[HogansHero]

Posted: 11/20/16 at 6:53pm

no need to scan. the whole thing is online at http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/rulebooks/Production_Rulebook_League_11-15.pdf

The summary of changes beyond that is also online. http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/rulebooks/Production_Summary_2015-2019.pdf

 (And no, there are no changes to this rule.)