Cast housing on tours
Cast housing on tours
#1Cast housing on tours
Posted: 6/25/17 at 11:11pm
So I am wondering how housing works for casts and crews that travel in shows on tour. Does everyone stay at hotels or apartments? Do the producers pay and arrange for housing or do cast members pay out-of-pocket and make their own arrangements? Are meals covered? Are the arrangements the same for a sit-down production that runs for months (such as the production of Hamilton in Chicago)? So "stars" get special accommodations? Do families travel with child actors (like those in The King and I)?
Thanks in advance for anyone that answers any of my questions.
#2Cast housing on tours
Posted: 6/26/17 at 1:19am
I have a lot of experience with housing actors, but it was all back in the 1970s and I'm sure the contracts have changed over time. The shortest answer is it depends on what kind of contract covers the tour.
But as I recall it, actors in first class tours get a per diem in addition to their salary. The per diem is a substantial amount and they are responsible for securing housing and food with it; but the company manager (or the host theater) will usually have a list of places that rent by the week.
Actors will often sublet their apartments in NYC for time they are on tour and make more money that way. (Doing so is their business and doesn't affect the per diem.) I've also had actor friends stay with me and pocket their per diem, which makes touring more lucrative. I've even known actors who, given a choice, chose the tour over Broadway because they could make more money by putting much of their per diem in the bank.
I don't know about non-equity tours because I never heard of one when I was working in theater management.
At least in the past, Equity contracts for winter or summer stock provided that housing had to be available "at a reasonable expense" or the producer/theater had to make up the difference. "Reasonable" was spelled out as a certain percentage of the actor's salary and within a certain distance of the theater. This was a big issue for actors in the chorus (usually working for scale) where I worked (South Florida) because theater seasons largely coincided with our high tourist season. We courted (free tix, invites to parties, etc.) local landlords who rented rooms, but even so--especially in Miami Beach--we often had to pay a subsidy because "reasonable" lodging simply wasn't available. Actors still paid for their own housing, but the required subsidy was added to their paycheck, tax free as a "reimbursement".
IIRC, "home" was defined as the city where the actor auditioned. So, yes, an actor who auditioned in NYC was considered "on tour" in Chicago or LA no matter how long the production sat. Now that so much casting is done in Southern California, perhaps the rules have changed.
Others will give you additional and more up-to-date details, I'm sure. But I feel confident the answers you seek still depend on a lot of factors.
ETA: Child actors have to travel with a guardian (by law in any state where I've worked), but if there are several child actors, sometimes it is arranged for one adult to travel as guardian to them all. Child actors also have to have a tutor, by law, and spend a certain number of hours per day in "school". Many child actors have a family member who not only travels with them, but who is also qualified as a tutor. In my experience, their schooling is strict or lax depending on the tutor. Nobody is really checking. But most child actors are precociously intelligent, so they probably learn as much as your average public school student.
