Author Topic: Deputy?  (Read 4889 times)

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SMeustace

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Deputy?
« on: Aug 02, 2014, 01:25 pm »
I've searched the boards, but couldn't find an answer other than rulings of electing one and alike.

What exactly is a deputy? What responsibilities does she/he has? What qualifications does one have to have to be a deputy or elected?

Could the role of deputy translate at all in a educational/community theater setting? (of course with some changes or something.Perhaps to be more of an educational tool of what a deputy is and does)
« Last Edit: Aug 05, 2014, 11:00 pm by Maribeth »
"On the first day the lord said....Light cue 1, GO! Then there was light".

PSMKay

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Re: Deputy?
« Reply #1 on: Aug 02, 2014, 01:46 pm »
It's a union specific position. Each union production will have one or more elected deputies from among the union cast members to serve as the union's eyes and ears.

There's not much point to have a deputy in an educational setting as there's no union rules to follow and no enforcement or "tattling to mom" if rules are broken.

Vest you can do yo approach it us to become familiar with common elements among equity contracts and point out where your process is deviating from the union rules without implying that the deviation is necessarily a bad thing. That way at least the students will know some of what to expect in a pro house later in their careers.

Maribeth

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Re: Deputy?
« Reply #2 on: Aug 02, 2014, 03:19 pm »
Like Kay said, they are voted from among the company- you don't have to have any special qualifications. The vote takes place with only AEA members present, on the first day of rehearsal. You can read the description of a deputy's responsibilities here, in the stage manager's packet.

The deputy contacts AEA if they feel any rules are being broken, or if the health and safety of the actors is at risk. They are a representative of the cast, and if an actor has a concern that they don't feel comfortable approaching management about, often they will approach the deputy and the deputy will broach the subject with the SM.

I can't think of a real reason for this in an educational setting, but I have worked on a large show where there was a Principal Deputy and a Chorus Deputy, and the theatre decided to (unofficially) elect a "non-AEA deputy" as well, so that those members of the cast also felt like they had a representative. (Of course that person didn't deal with union issues).

Side note- AEA has recently launched an online deputy support center, with the deputy information available online, and no more filling out hours tracking paperwork. I will be curious to see how the new system works!

lsears

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Re: Deputy?
« Reply #3 on: Aug 04, 2014, 04:27 pm »
Regarding a 'deputy' in non-union educational settings-
I teach at Boston University and for years they elected deputies for shows without any clear idea on why or what the duties were.  Last year we changed it to electing a cast representative to completely remove the title of deputy from the equation.  Below is how we defined the role in our student handbook:

Company Representative
The Company Representative (or “Company Rep”) will serve as spokesperson and act as advocate for the cast during the production process. Elected by majority of the cast at the first rehearsal of every production, the Company Rep will be noted on rehearsal reports and daily calls for crew and faculty to be aware of the assignment. The stage manager may conduct the election but is not eligible for election. The director should not be present for voting.
The Company Rep will bring cast concerns to the stage manager and/or the director. If the stage manager or director is unable to address the concerns sufficiently, the Company Rep will communicate said concerns to the appropriate faculty or staff members. In the case of MFA directors, this would be the MFA director’s advisor; in the case of faculty directors this would be the Assistant Director or the Director of the School of Theatre.
At the conclusion of any production process the stage manager will provide all members of the ensemble with Production Evaluation Forms to be filled out after the opening performance. The ensemble will fill out these forms and the Company Rep will be responsible for collecting and returning completed forms to the Assistant Director of the School in a timely manner.

SGU312

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Re: Deputy?
« Reply #4 on: Aug 05, 2014, 10:41 am »
Company Representative
The Company Representative (or “Company Rep”) will serve as spokesperson and act as advocate for the cast during the production process. Elected by majority of the cast at the first rehearsal of every production, the Company Rep will be noted on rehearsal reports and daily calls for crew and faculty to be aware of the assignment. The stage manager may conduct the election but is not eligible for election. The director should not be present for voting.
The Company Rep will bring cast concerns to the stage manager and/or the director. If the stage manager or director is unable to address the concerns sufficiently, the Company Rep will communicate said concerns to the appropriate faculty or staff members.

This is pretty much what we did at my college. Although they communicated with the production manager for the drama department. She liked the deputy to meet with her at once a week to do a quick check in on how things were going.

SMeustace

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Re: Deputy?
« Reply #5 on: Aug 06, 2014, 07:00 am »
After doing some research on deputies.

Were the "company reps" assigned specific tasks? Were they required to report safety issues, do paperwork and other things that a deputy does?
"On the first day the lord said....Light cue 1, GO! Then there was light".