Author Topic: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question  (Read 10932 times)

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Aerial

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LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« on: Dec 27, 2007, 07:39 pm »
Background: I'm a PA at a regional theatre that has a company of actors.  We started rehearsal today for one show while we are still in performance for another.  The company signs a new contract for each production.

We encountered a few questions today, that we have been unable to glean answers to from the book.

*Our deputy has brought up that because they have a performance at night, they are only allowed to rehearse 5 1/2 hours (they voted not to rehearse on 2 show days, so we are distributing the 2 hours worth of extra half hour chunks throughout the week).  This surprised our stage manager, who assumed the rehearsal hours in performance sections applied to the same production, not separate productions at the same place.  Has anyone else encountered this?  Do we have to limit the rehearsal hours of the folks involved in both shows per the rule that says there can only be 5 1/2 hours of rehearsal on a one show day?

*Related to that:  If we do have to limit our day to that 5 1/2 hours worth of call, does it have to be consecutive or can there be a meal break in the middle (we were originally going to do a full day, and the director has an newspaper interview during this already scheduled break)?

*Also: How does this affect our span of day? Does the day for the overlapping actors need to be calculated from beginning of our rehearsal to the end of their performance for the other show?

I know we won't get an answer before we have to make a choice and put out our daily, but I'm curious to know what other people think.

Sarah

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #1 on: Dec 27, 2007, 08:25 pm »
Of course, I'll begin with the standard disclaimer that your SM should check with the AEA rep. I humbly offer my interpretation, based on my rep experiences.

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Do we have to limit the rehearsal hours of the folks involved in both shows per the rule that says there can only be 5 1/2 hours of rehearsal on a one show day?

Yes. Actors rehearsing and performing at the same time may only be rehearsed up to 5 1/2 hours, on a one show day, providing, as you say they did, they voted against the two hour call on one of two, two- show days.

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*Related to that:  If we do have to limit our day to that 5 1/2 hours worth of call, does it have to be consecutive or can there be a meal break in the middle (we were originally going to do a full day, and the director has an newspaper interview during this already scheduled break)?

You only have to limit the actors who are both rehearsing/performing at the same time. The rest of the company not in performance may be rehearsed according to your theatre's span of day preference 7/9, 8/10, etc. You could schedule a straight-six, providing that the company voted to rehearse such a day and the rep actors are only called for 5 1/2 hours of the  six hour call. Your director might be able to do the interview on the 20 minute break. Breaking up a 5 1/2 hour call with an hour or hour and a half break would be counter-productive and would most likely violate the span of day rule for the rep actors, which I believe is 12 hours.

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*Also: How does this affect our span of day? Does the day for the overlapping actors need to be calculated from beginning of our rehearsal to the end of their performance for the other show?

Yes. You must also be careful not to violate the 12 hour rest period, unless they have requested and voted to reduce it to 10 on one performance days.

Don't forget about the daylight day of rest for those rep actors, too.
« Last Edit: Dec 27, 2007, 08:33 pm by Sarah »

MatthewShiner

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #2 on: Dec 27, 2007, 10:45 pm »
wait . . . .

they signed a new contract?  Are they being paid double?  If they are on two contracts, being paid double - then they can rehearse as much as you can schedule as long as each contract is being followed.

NOW . . . if they are ridered . . . and one contract it's complicated.  Then the actors in both shows are held to the following:

They can rehearse 5 hours a day (if they voted against the rehearsal on a two show day, they can be rehearsed 5.5 hours).  That is as long as the show is under a certain amount of time, if your show is over 3.5 hours (inlcuding half-hour) you start deducting 30 hour blocks.  If you are doing a show with a 5 hour show call (eee-gads), then you can only reherase 5-1.5 hours or 3.5 hours.

It will be hard to give a meal break during the rehearsal day and the meal break at the back end and still fall in with in the 12 hour turn around, 12 hour span of day - but I guess you could.  (remember they need a 2 hour break, unless they voted for the 1.5 hour break.)

Yes span of day is from first call to the curtain down at the other show.

The overlapping actors can only rehearse 20 hours per week.

Now, you can always do more, but remember that overtime must be paid.

Make sure there are no specific changes in a rider to the contract.


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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.

J

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #3 on: Dec 27, 2007, 11:10 pm »
Yes, if they signed new contracts instead of riders, they're fine, as Matthew mentions above.

A related question to this that I ran into tonight.  Would the deputy on the individual production need to track ALL overlapping actor hours, or just the hours for the specific production.  as in....

Jane Doe is in 2 shows, on the same contract with a rider. She can only rehearse 5 hours/day on 1 show days.  Does Judy Doe, the deputy for the show in performances need to report on the weekly deputy paperwork the hours for Jane for both shows, or only the show in performances? And does Jim, the deputy for the show in rehearsals report only the 2nd show's hours for Jane, or both shows?

My gut feeling is that each show is separate, therefore each deputy report is separate and it's the actors job/equity's job (well, and more importantly the SM's job on the rehearsal show) to make sure that no problems occur.  Judy, the dep. for the show in performances, keeps tracking the hours only for the performances, and Jim the deputy for the rehearsal show only tracks the rehearsal hours.

Thoughts?

MatthewShiner

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #4 on: Dec 28, 2007, 09:21 am »
In situations like this, I often, officially, treat it like three shows.


Show A
Show B
and Show A/B

I usually ask someone in the Show A/B category to keep on eye on my and keep the honest.  I also ask the overlapping actors to just check in with me.  Sometimes even working the "rules" can be too much - so I try to to make sure those running back and forth and being taken care of. 

As far as hour tracking, those for Show A keep track of performance hours, those in Show B keep track of rehearsal hours.  Those in both shows keep an eye out for themselves.



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Sarah

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #5 on: Dec 28, 2007, 01:58 pm »
How is it possible that the rep actors be on separate contracts for each production? That seems to me a situation ripe for abuse of the very rules set out to protect actors, aside from the fact that it is physically impossible to schedule an actor to the fullest extent of concomitant LORT contracts. I mean, I can certainly envison an actor in the scenario of being in performance on a LORT contract and in rehearsal on a SPT contract with a lower hourly commitment, but when I think of an actor on two LORT contracts at once, my blood goes cold!
« Last Edit: Dec 28, 2007, 02:09 pm by Sarah »

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #6 on: Dec 28, 2007, 02:14 pm »
How is it possible that the rep actors be on separate contracts for each production? ... when I think of an actor on two LORT contracts at once, my blood goes cold!

I've had this happen frequently. Not sure why it makes your blood cold...  Theoretically, the actor has a smaller role in at least one of the shows (preferrably the one I'm working on) so as not to overextend him/herself, but they gotta pay the bills and sometimes that's just the way it works out.  As long as the 2nd theatre/director/casting dir understand and agree to the situation/excused absense, it works out.

Sarah

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #7 on: Dec 28, 2007, 02:35 pm »
But why wouldn't the producer want to engage said actor on a seasonal contract? This theatre must be loaded to be paying double salaries to multiple actors. If John Doe was in rehearsal as Peter/Capulet's Servant in R&J and in performance as Demetrius in MSND, then of course it's easy to work out an amicable rehearsal schedule. I guess I just read more into the question than was actually there. Huzzah for the actors raking in the mad cash.

Aerial

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #8 on: Dec 28, 2007, 04:09 pm »
Ultimately, it turns out they are ridered, not on separate contracts(what we'd seen them signing at the top of yesterday's first rehearsal were just riders after all).  This was not made clear to our stage manager (who has dealt with the other situation of people finishing off one show at one theatre, while starting rehearsals for another at a different theatre many times).  Our biggest issue wasn't with having to follow the preview rules, it was that we couldn't get a clear answer out of our production management office as to what rules applied to the situation.   The rulebook strikes me as a little vague on this matter of two separate shows. 

I appreciate all input though.

jspeaker

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #9 on: Dec 29, 2007, 08:07 pm »

I've had this happen frequently.

Even done it myself...
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Sarah

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #10 on: Dec 30, 2007, 12:28 pm »
Quote
Even done it myself...

As an SM? Was it a mainstage/studio type thing, i.e., one theatre, two stages, B+/D kind of thing? Two theatres, different contracts? I'm curious.

jspeaker

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #11 on: Dec 30, 2007, 05:12 pm »
Quote
Even done it myself...

As an SM? Was it a mainstage/studio type thing, i.e., one theatre, two stages, B+/D kind of thing? Two theatres, different contracts? I'm curious.

As a SM...  Mostly two different theatres... once it was two contracts one theatre (LORT A).
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Sarah

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #12 on: Dec 31, 2007, 12:29 pm »
I don't mean to seem prying but the scheduling of such a scenario is interesting to me; our theatre is undergoing some programming changes that might benefit from alternate hiring options. Were the LORT A contracts concurrent, as in, were you in performance for one show and then in rehearsal for another? I can't imagine an SM rehearsing two shows at once on two separate LORT contracts, unless there are some serious concessions in the riders.

J

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #13 on: Dec 31, 2007, 01:16 pm »
I think it's much more common for SMs (and actors) to be doing this when freelancing at different theatres than when working for the same theatre (except actors repping of course).

As an SM, I quite often have overlapping closing week/prep weeks, and have mastered the art of prepping while away from the theatre. It makes for a crazy 2 days before prep, and I usually work on the Monday before rehearsals begin to get the room set up, floor taped, purchase any necessary supplies, etc.

As a non-union SM, I did this quite often, and though it's a different situation, yes, there were many concessions made. Of course, the show I was in performance for had to take priority, so I would have to miss some rehearsals and have the ASM take over.

It's also feasible in a company where there is a staff of SMs that an ASM can cover for other ASMs if one ends up having a rehearsal for another show with the company. The sub could sit in on rehearsal, or if the show was light, be backstage for the show while the other ASM was in rehearsal. I've heard of this being done at one major regional theatre that I've been with.  I think it's rare, but does happen.

I don't think, personally, that it would make sense to REHEARSE two differnet shows at once, since there will inevitably be big problems once the shows open.

jspeaker

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Re: LORT rehearsal/performance hours question
« Reply #14 on: Jan 02, 2008, 11:24 am »
No I have never rehearsed two shows at the same time.

But I quite often have 2-3 weeks of overlap.  The craziest was the week that I started rehearsals the morning after one show opened and my tech week overlaped with prep. 

It's crazy but I love it that way!!  Havent done it in a while because I work out of town so much these days.
Jess W. Speaker, III
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(301) 335-1498
 
http://q5go.blogspot.com/