Author Topic: Are performance reports actually required by AEA?  (Read 4597 times)

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smsgirl

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Are performance reports actually required by AEA?
« on: Jun 11, 2007, 06:37 pm »
Feel free to move this if it is the wrong area. 
I am a resident Equity SM with an SPT in NEAT (Long name for a Boston area SPT).  I am a professional.  I enjoy not working in non-professional situations (I have never worked in community theatre and admire those who do, but just couldn't do it myself). 

After a very long season (but it is my 4th season and I am not complaining)
I have realized I have written my 160th performance report.  6 shows a week, 5 weeks per show, 5 shows a season (a few more at christmas and student mat perfs). 
This doesn't count rehearsal reports which I understand the level of communication tracking that occurs, but

What the heck-are these things required---and if so where is it written in the rulebook cause I can't find it--

Besides the pretty paperwork, they are great for keeping tabs on the production, tracking running times, unusual occurences and other oddities (like every Saturday preview for the last 3 years is a really reactive audience)
 but seriously, are these things required, or is it just for recording purposes? 


Edit: Topic shifted for precision.  --PSMK
« Last Edit: Jun 17, 2007, 01:14 pm by PSMKay »

lauria

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Re: performance reports
« Reply #1 on: Jun 11, 2007, 06:55 pm »
Well in a legal situation where someone gets hurt, you have documentation of the accident as well as any notes given about it. "The railing has been wobbling. Could someone look at it and see if it could be secured?" Haven passed that info along presumably someone else has l liabilty when that actor fell of the staircase. Or "Actor X has been moving between two pieces of set while they're in motion. Has been asked to wait until both are stopped before proceeding." No one's fault but the actor's when (s)he falls down and breaks a leg.

Without a performance report there would be no offical way of communicating the problem. I know that there's at least ONE director who reads every one when we had a consistantly faulty set piece which the SM wrote numerous notes about until it finally broke pretty good one day. The director (who was onto the next project) emailed and said she wanted it fixed or replaced with something equal. She was able to keep an artistic eye on things through the performance reports.

I know sometimes it feels like no one reads them and that they're a waste of time, but it's one of those reasons why I like to keep my kit with me because you never know when you just might need that doctor's rubber mallet you've been carrying around for the past 3.5 years.

MatthewShiner

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Re: performance reports
« Reply #2 on: Jun 12, 2007, 12:52 am »
There is no required list of paperwork.

Like a rehearsal report, that lists everything that comes up in rehearsal, the performance report is just the way of keeping track of run times, fixes needed, etc, etc.  I use it as an all purpose of paper trail.  (Wait until you are typing performance report #1872 for the same show . . . )

We have found it useful over the course of future seasons to look at understudies going, crew outage issues, etc, etc for data collecting.  It's nice to be able to say for 16 shows the light board operator was out sick, for 7 shows this equity actors was out due to this conflict, etc, etc.
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smsgirl

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Re: performance reports
« Reply #3 on: Jun 12, 2007, 12:21 pm »
ok-- thanks for the perspective-- yea, they are a useful, required and good thing. 
thanks

 

riotous