Author Topic: Equity "half-hour"  (Read 19736 times)

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JDL

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Equity "half-hour"
« on: Jul 16, 2007, 05:47 pm »
Does equity require that actors have access to the stage during "half hour" or is this just a 30-minute period in which the actor (in the building) should not be bothered? Can half hour occur when house opens 30 minutes before GO? If the actors are called at 7pm for an 8pm GO, does/can half-hour start at 7? Is half hour a time aside from getting into makeup etc.?

Examples of pre-show calls/schedules would be helpful.
Here's mine.... (I am aware that times don't add up equally, but my biggest pet peeve is when the audience has to wait on the actors or crew  ;D)
6:30pm CALL - 7:30pm GO
6:30 ACTORS CALLED
6:40 20 TILL HOUSE OPENS
6:50 10 TILL HOUSE OPENS ACTOR'S CHECK PROPS
6:55 LIGHT/SOUND OPERATORS IN PRESHOW
7:00 HOUSE OPEN HALF-HOUR 30 TILL PLACES
7:12 15 TILL PLACES
7:17 10 TILL PLACES
7:22 5 TILL PLACES
7:24 3 TILL PLACES
7:57 PLACES; BREAK LEGS!

Does Equity have specific call times? The 3 minutes till places seems weird, and I honestly have no idea wear I obtained the call from, but I just can't seem to let it go!  :)

Thanks in advance for any help!
AlL tHe WoRlD's A sTaGe... AnD i'M oFf BoOk!

loebtmc

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #1 on: Jul 16, 2007, 11:10 pm »
"half-hour"is to the top of the show; in a big house, no actor will normally be allowed on stage at half hour, since most larger houses open then. It becomes "stage ready/let the audience in now" mark when, other than last-minute things, the tech side is ready to go. Smaller houses or places which open at more like 15 will allow sometimes actors on stage at 30 minutes but only for a finite time unless they are part of the preset for a soft house-open.

jspeaker

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #2 on: Jul 16, 2007, 11:16 pm »
Half-Hour is the time that is designated for the actors to be able to prepare.  Typically it is thirty minutes prior to curtain but "half-hour" does not have to be thirty minutes.  The actors do not have to have access during half hour.  At most or the larger theatres where I have worked the house opens at or before half hour.

There are also no set calls that you have to give.  Most of the time I do half, fifteen, five and places.  In most theatres I call places at three till published curtain.  Fifteen and five are fifteen and five minutes till places and half hour is half hour.
Jess W. Speaker, III
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(301) 335-1498
 
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hbelden

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #3 on: Jul 17, 2007, 11:55 am »
Equity "half-hour" is the earliest you can call an AEA actor, barring fight calls or sometimes wig/makeup calls.  I've found there are usually one or two actors in a cast that want to come before the house opens and do a warm-up in the space, totally on their own initiative.  We work it out with the prop crew as to when there's time for that actor to be on stage; sometimes the actor is just as happy to warm up in the aisles of the theatre. 

At the other extreme are the actors that walk in precisely at 7:30 for an 8:00 show and sometimes need to be threatened with fines or with having the understudy do the show to keep their arrival from creeping later and later.
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MatthewShiner

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #4 on: Jul 17, 2007, 01:25 pm »
Equity wise, in my history, all equity actors can be called 30 minues before they have to go onstage.  (If you have some wacky concept where the cast is on stage at house open, then you can call them 30 minutes before they have to go.)  Fight call is 15 minutes before the half-hour, and only 15 minutes.

At my current theatre, artistic has made it very clear the stage is to be made available for phyiscla/vocal warm ups, so we make the stage open for 15 minutes prior fight call or, in the rare case I don't have fight call, half-hour.


You can make exceptions and call people earlier for speciality hair/wig/make-up calls, but you need to check your rule book, or more likely, with your business rep - as sometimes this additional time we eat up your weekly rehearsal time.  (My current understanding is on LORT, these early calls come out of the 10 hours of rehearsal . . . so if I have to call an actor 30 minutes early make up and wig for 8 shows, that uses up 4 hours of rehearsal time for them.)

The rest of the calls are up to the SM - when to page half-hour, 15 minutes, 5 minutes and places - and should depend on the space.  If it takes actors 5 minutes to get form the dressing room to places, then you need to adjust accordingly.  I also do my calls relative to places (15 minutes to places called 18 minutes to show times, 5 minutes to places called 8 minutes to show time, places called 3 minutes to show time - but it takes my cast 3 minutes to get to the deck.)


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JDL

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #5 on: Jul 17, 2007, 03:46 pm »
Equity wise, in my history, all equity actors can be called 30 minues before they have to go onstage.  (If you have some wacky concept where the cast is on stage at house open, then you can call them 30 minutes before they have to go.)  Fight call is 15 minutes before the half-hour, and only 15 minutes.

At my current theatre, artistic has made it very clear the stage is to be made available for phyiscla/vocal warm ups, so we make the stage open for 15 minutes prior fight call or, in the rare case I don't have fight call, half-hour.


You can make exceptions and call people earlier for speciality hair/wig/make-up calls, but you need to check your rule book, or more likely, with your business rep - as sometimes this additional time we eat up your weekly rehearsal time.  (My current understanding is on LORT, these early calls come out of the 10 hours of rehearsal . . . so if I have to call an actor 30 minutes early make up and wig for 8 shows, that uses up 4 hours of rehearsal time for them.)

The rest of the calls are up to the SM - when to page half-hour, 15 minutes, 5 minutes and places - and should depend on the space.  If it takes actors 5 minutes to get form the dressing room to places, then you need to adjust accordingly.  I also do my calls relative to places (15 minutes to places called 18 minutes to show times, 5 minutes to places called 8 minutes to show time, places called 3 minutes to show time - but it takes my cast 3 minutes to get to the deck.)




Thanks for the reply! DTC misses you! :)
AlL tHe WoRlD's A sTaGe... AnD i'M oFf BoOk!

MatthewShiner

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #6 on: Jul 17, 2007, 06:04 pm »
and times, I miss DTC.
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Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

nmno

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #7 on: Jul 22, 2007, 03:12 pm »
... I would do fight call 15 before half hour, the half hour being the time to curtain up, regardless of when their first entrances are. 

On a few occassions, I've staggered half hour for an actor who doesn't make their entrance until Act II.  In those cases, I've made their "half hour" call essentially equal to the places call - I don't want to start the show without knowing that they are in the building or have touched base with them if they are late, etc since I can't deal with it once the show has started.  It's something I work out with the actor (and confirm with wardrobe/hair that it isn't an issue) - sometimes they've declined the offer and in one sad situation I've had to revoke it due to abuse, but usually it works out fine.

Also
...is this just a 30-minute period in which the actor (in the building) should not be bothered?

I try to be respectful of each actor and their process for preparing, but it's not "sacred" time where you aren't allowed to speak with them.  I give notes during half hour, etc.

DAE

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #8 on: Jul 22, 2007, 04:22 pm »
From Equity Paperwork:

"Half-hour is a misnomer, the stage manager may set ANY reasonable call time for any actor in any show"

However, what the form does not remind us of, is that equity considers a show call to be 3.5 hours (half-hour inclusive) and anything over that is overtime. So, make sure to check your running times before you set a longer call.

Also, check your contracts for different rules about half-hour. In SPT, your are NOT allowed to give any actor notes (that are non-emergency) after the half-hour. That rule however, does not appear in the LORT book (or any other book that I have worked under for that matter).

In case you would like a hard copy of the form with the original quote (can't upload because of size), go to the AEA website and find "actor etiquette" somewhere in the document library, or PM me and I will e-mail it to you. I have actually began posting the 2 page form on my callboards because is it well-written, humorous, and easy to understand (unlike many of the things we get from equity...).

Have Fun!
- Dan



MatthewShiner

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #9 on: Jul 22, 2007, 06:18 pm »
Half-hour being longer then 30 minutes . . . that's a great thought . . . but I have always been told by my business rep that anything over the 30 minutes would come out of my rehearsal time for the week.  I would be careful, and check with the business rep for the contract your are working - having many times tried to work around the half-hour call in creative ways, I have been told pretty much straight out by business reps that half-hour is 30 minutes.

What Equity Paperwork have you gotten that quote from?   I love that idea of being able to fiddle with half-hour, especially on shows with 36 people who need to get into wigs.
« Last Edit: Jul 23, 2007, 01:50 am by MatthewShiner »
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stagebear

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #10 on: Jul 22, 2007, 08:27 pm »
like everyone else has said, check your individual contract and contact your rep.

i'm working an SPT contract which states: "During “half-hour” the Actor shall be permitted to prepare for
the performance without the distraction of non-company backstage visitors
and without invasion for notes and/or rehearsal, except for last minute
emergency replacement rehearsal. Each Actor shall receive an actual “half
hour” regardless of the time of the Actor’s call to places."

jspeaker

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #11 on: Jul 22, 2007, 10:49 pm »
What Equity Paperwork have you gotten that quote from?   

Its on the Etiquette Flyer

http://www.actorsequity.org/docs/outreach/etiquette.pdf
Jess W. Speaker, III
Equity Stage Manager
DC Area AEA Liaison
(301) 335-1498
 
http://q5go.blogspot.com/

ReyYaySM

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #12 on: Jul 23, 2007, 09:35 am »
That's a fantastic document; I had never read it before.  Thanks for posting!!

jmillbran

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #13 on: Jul 23, 2007, 10:17 am »
I had forgotten about that etiquette document.  It should be posted in Green Rooms across the country!
Joseph Millett
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Clarence Brown Theater

hbelden

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Re: Equity "half-hour"
« Reply #14 on: Jul 24, 2007, 12:52 pm »
It is a great document; I'm so glad you found it.  But at the end, in the RESPECT section, did anyone else notice a conspicuous absence?  One position, that we all know and perform to the best of our abilities, without hope or expectation of plaudits?

*sigh*

actors. heh. They probably lumped us in with "crew"....

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