can broadway shows not renew actors contracts bc they shut down bc of the pandemic??

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 7:34pm

I know there is some penalty for firing an actor on a min contract on a broadway show (right?) which is why a lot of actors have stayed in wicked, mormon, phantom for forever bc the producers would have to pay a bit to get rid of them. Like if an actor was hired to be a student in SHIZ U 10 years ago and now they are 43 years old and are long in the tooth to be in the ENS of Wicked, the producer cannot fire them for being old unless they pay a penalty. right?
that the shows have "closed" for such a long time, would the producers be able to let go some of those actors without penalty, seeing as the show has stopped running? 
Could those producers audition new actors if they wanted to and put the min without penalty? 
I think it would be a stupid idea, as they wouldn't want to make new costumes, rehearse them etc, but if there was a actor who they had wanted to rid themselves of for a long time, but didn't want to pay the price...would this be allowed?

[blaxx]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 7:57pm

That was really hard to read.

[darquegk]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 8:18pm

Yes, but did you know Joe Rent was in West?

[teatime2]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 8:25pm

darquegk said: "Yes, but did you know Joe Rent was in West?"

Ah. Always the classiest and kindest responses on this board. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 8:33pm

I’m not sure if the “unlimited renewals unless there’s cause to terminate” chorus contract (which resulted in aged-out and, reportedly, phoning-it-in bored actors who refused to leave in the original Les Miz) still exists. I’m guessing not after Cameron Mackintosh spent a small fortune buying most of the Broadway cast out of their contracts for the 10th anniversary. It’s a good question.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 9:08pm

.. okay.

That was... jibberish (not trying to be snarky, but that's just a misconstrued babble.)

You are referring to what is commonly called a Six Month - Run of the Play Contract or Chorus Contract or Pink Contract. This is the ensemble / chorus contract. It is NOT a minimum contract. There is just a minimum salary, as with any job. It is a contract that is good for the duration of the run of the production or until the contract is terminated. There is a standard "six month rider" - which is an agreement to commit to staying in the track for at six months... though it can be negotiated for longer. At the end of your existing rider, you can choose to sign another one and commit to another length of time, or you can choose NOT to sign a new rider and then you are free to leave for any reason with 4 weeks' notice given to the producers. The producer can only terminate your contract if you VIOLATE your contract. If they choose to get ride of you for an artistic reason and you did nothing wrong, you the producer must buy you out.

That is it. Full stop.

As to your notion of using the pandemic as an excuse, NO. That is not an excuse. The producer may choose to officially close the show for 6 weeks, ending all current existing union agreements for the show, in which case, they can then hire an all new company, change the number of actors IN the show, etc etc etc.

As far as rehearsing goes, I have NO clue what you are talking about as there is absolutely no way in hell in any show will going back up without a few weeks of rehearsal and a new tech rehearsal process no matter how many people in a show stay or leave. There is just no other option.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 9:11pm

The Distinctive Baritone said: "I’m not sure if the “unlimited renewals unless there’s cause to terminate” chorus contract (which resulted in aged-out and, reportedly, phoning-it-in bored actors who refused to leave in the original Les Miz) still exists. I’m guessing not after Cameron Mackintosh spent a small fortune buying most of the Broadway cast out of their contracts for the 10th anniversary. It’s a good question."

Oh, yeah. It is still a thing. And a thorn in the side of everyone but the actors in long running shows on a chorus contract .. It's called a "Government job." British Equity does not have that, but we still do... and I can't see American Equity bending on that, even though they TRULY should in the era of never ending runs.

[Sampatches]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 9:38pm

Isn’t it called a run of show contract? I’m not sure how common they are anymore. I first heard about it because of all the coverage over that one actor from Chicago who committed suicide had one and had been in the show since it opened 

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 09:38 PM

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 10:24pm

apologies for it being difficult to read. I don't know enough about the contracts to know the specifics of it. 
So then yes. A show can "shut down" for 6 weeks or more and then re-cast without any penalty. 

My point being that it would take a lot more rehearsal to PUT IN a new cast member (or members) then just putting up the cast that stopped when broadway shut down. I would imagine maybe 2 weeks of rehearsal to get the cast back up on its feet and into show shape rather than excess reh to put new people in (which again would cost more money). 

Also, it would cost a lot to make new costumes for new people rather than just putting the current cast back in their costumes.

Hence a producers reasoning to not re-cast all but maybe its worth it to re-cast some to get fresh blood into long running shows that wouldn't cost the penalty of doing it during "normal" times. 

 

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 10:24 PM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 10:42pm

No. You can not “shut down”.

You have fulfill the Union’s terms of ending the Producer’s  collective Agreement for the Production with the Union.

... and fulfilling the terms of a contract is not a penalty. It is fulfilling the contract.

[massofmen]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 10:48pm

i imagine a show can "close" for 6 weeks and then re-open. Its just terminology. they would re-negotiate the contracts before opening back up (which is probably what is going to happen. That anyone thinks that the shows are going to re-open with FULL salaries for all the  actors and unions is a pipe dream)

I imagine that some sort of new pandemic contract might have to be negotiated for all unions involved.
   What show can possibly open up without months of pre-sale to make up for the operating costs that wont be fulfilled by local tix buyers. broadway shows run on domestic and interntaional tourism  (anything out of the tri state area) after about 9 months of running on broadway. 
All of these shows will have to entice tix buyers BACK to their shows without months and months of tix being sold prior to the dates. 

Updated On: 8/10/20 at 10:48 PM

[ghostlight2]

Posted: 8/10/20 at 11:27pm

" What show can possibly open up without months of pre-sale to make up for the operating costs that wont be fulfilled by local tix buyers. broadway shows run on domestic and interntaional tourism  (anything out of the tri state area) after about 9 months of running on broadway."

Come From Away. 

[Boq101]

Posted: 8/13/20 at 12:27am

I have a friend in a Broadway show who said his contract was basically frozen until they come back. Since he had signed up for another year in January that means that he's now technically contracted for the remainder of his contract when they open, which would stretch then into 2022. This is of course, barring any show closures from lack of ticket sales.