Dear Abbey...

[VSM]

This from an anonymous member...

A theater I frequently work with emailed recently saying they have a stage reading coming up and the staff person who was going to SM has backed out, and would I please fill in for the three days of the rehearsals and the actual reading for x dollars.  I've never done a stage reading before, but it is with a director I like and a playwright I've worked with before, so I said yes to get the experience and to help out (warning sign right there, right?).

I read the Stage Reading Contract and noticed that what they have set aside to pay me is less than the min weekly rate listed on the contract.  They're taking care of the prep work, I'm just showing up for the rehearsals and running the actual reading.  Given that, I'm not sure how they plan to contract me, they can't very well have me sign a contract saying their paying me less than the minimum, but I imagine that they also can't just cut me a check and do the reading without a stage manager's name attached.

Thoughts?  The more I think about the sketchier it feels.  Has anyone else been in a situation like this before, any recommendations, or is there something I'm missing since I'm unfamiliar with staged readings?

Thanks.

[loebtmc]

Can you please clarify? Are you saying you are scheduled to work in that more than 15/20 but less than 29 hours range, or more than 29 hours? Because less than that, the actual pay is a grey area. Always smart to check w your local AEA rep because readings often have negotiated pay scales (you can see that in the agreement, there isn't anything specified until you get to over 15/20 hours).

[nick_tochelli]

I've done a reading where the SM backed out, but they had been paid a portion of the stipend already and I was given the remainder of the stipend paid. Not sure if that's how it's supposed to go down, however the logic makes sense to me. I wasn't there for the entire process, I'm not entitled to the entire stipend.

Not sure if that's what is being asked here or not either, but that was my take on it. I also don't know if I got taken for a fool the couple times I walked into a reading.

[BayAreaSM]

Granted, my experience is only in the SF Bay and not NYC, and I have no idea where you are, my feeling is if the reading is 3 days of rehearsal and one reading, to me, that sounds very similar to "Periodic Performance" contracts that I've done in the past, which are paid at an hourly rate and, personally, my earnings from 3 days on a PP were quite low, but I only had 15 hours of rehearsal.

I would ask to see the contract from AEA immediately, and as loebtmc said, call your local rep. I had questions over my most recent PP and spoke with my rep, who gave me info that the producer hadn't (the producer gave me the wrong hourly and performance rates), so that I understood what I was getting into, before I signed.

[MatthewShiner]

Also note, not all readings .... Even ones with AEA actors require a stage manager, let alone an AEA one.

[VSM]

This just in from our Original Anonymous Poster...

I did the reading last week and it went wonderfully.  As MatthewShiner mentioned, it did not actually need an AEA Stage Manager, they company was just more comfortable having one since most of the cast was AEA.  The company took care of the prep work, my contract spelled out three days of work with me receiving a travel stipend for each day, the same as the rest of the cast.  I had a great time and will look to do more staged readings in the future, hopefully with enough planning that I can do the prep myself.