Author Topic: NYTW Laying off Production Staff  (Read 8244 times)

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MatthewShiner

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NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« on: Apr 15, 2008, 03:48 pm »
Have people being following this?

http://ecotheater.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/nytw-production-staff-fired/

It seems to make a lot of lot of sense, form a management perspective, especially with the lost of revenue from Rent. 

With the troubling economic times, lay offs like this, and the closing of regional theaters (Arena Stage in Buffalo), it's an interesting time to be working in the non-profit theatre world.


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Jessie_K

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #1 on: Apr 15, 2008, 03:57 pm »
I read about this yesterday. So depressing.

Scott

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #2 on: Apr 16, 2008, 08:58 am »
Have people being following this?

http://ecotheater.wordpress.com/2008/04/12/nytw-production-staff-fired/

It seems to make a lot of lot of sense, form a management perspective, especially with the lost of revenue from Rent. 

With the troubling economic times, lay offs like this, and the closing of regional theaters (Arena Stage in Buffalo), it's an interesting time to be working in the non-profit theatre world.



Just remember that non-profits like these Off Broadway operate on LOAs (or on the ANTC agreement) that pay Stage Managers around 50% or less of Off Broadway salary while paying tech crews competatively and often building up large layers of middle management that live on salary and also make a living wage.

I hope their place is taken by a for-profit theatre that will pay Stage Managers a living wage.

(Different situation outside NYC, where I think non-for-profits usually pay a vital role in areas that can't sustain as much commercial theatre and -- from what I can tell -- often pay competatively).

Daz

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #3 on: Apr 16, 2008, 09:10 am »
Wow....I just saw this and am shocked....
I interned with Efren Delgadillo, the TD last summer, and got to know Casseli and the rest of the production staff, so it just hits home really oddly to see them terminated, especially since they have done a lot for the theatre....

And even though the workshop will be losing money from RENT when it closes, they've mounted some stuff this past season (like BECKETT SHORTS which sold out every performance) which have been doing pretty well.....

...I do not however have anything intelligent to say on a stage management front about this.

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StageManagerV

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #4 on: Apr 24, 2008, 07:26 pm »
yeah, i know Afren and Casseli, and it sucks that everyone is getting laid off. but at the same time, the whole issue of SM's getting paid a living wage is obviously an issue, and I hope that if anything good can come out of this crappy situation, it's that.

And at least I know for sure that Efren and Casseli are pretty rocking, so I have faith they'll be working somewhere else cool.
"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women in it merely players."
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DeeCap

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2008, 03:43 pm »
It's upsetting to look at your resume and see that more than half of the places that are on it are closed.

centaura

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2008, 09:51 pm »
Budgets are getting tightened everywhere with the current economy.  The state that I live in has just enacted a new 'tax break' that's going to cost millions in lost revenues.  My venue is owned by a city, which has just been told that it needs to cut $9 million from its operating budget next year.  We're a road house, so we don't have the kind of production staff that a producing venue does, but its still scary.  We at least fall into the category mentioned above:

Quote
Different situation outside NYC, where I think non-for-profits usually pay a vital role in areas that can't sustain as much commercial theatre

And can argue that we return almost all of our budget back to the city.  But if we didn't, we'd have to start looking at cuts - and the most expensive part of our whole operation is the salaried personnel.  A person on salary costs not only their take-home pay, but the extra above that for taxes, benefits, etc. etc.

-Centaura

jenner

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Re: NYTW Laying off Production Staff
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2008, 11:05 am »
While I agree that it is incredibly hard for the staff who were laid off, this isn't a "new" way of doing things at NYTW.  This is the same model/calender that had before Rent was a huge hit.  It makes sense - brutal sense, but sense.  It's what they've done for more of their history than not.  If Rent was still a sure thing, this wouldn't be happening.

And NYTW is actually on the OffBroadway contract, one of the few theatres left in the city that uses it.

Most likely they will rehire a full time production manager and go to the model that all the other small theatre companies do - hiring people per show. 

 

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