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Stage Management: Plays & Musicals / PRODUCING: Recourse when actor leaves show?
« on: May 12, 2012, 05:51 am »
Hi.
I'm part of a nonprofit start-up that (we hope) is going to be a pretty big deal.
We're in the middle of the run of our first show. This first show is not only important in regard to the publicity it gives us (we've received huge support from local television, radio, and print media) but also in regard to revenue (the money made from this first show was projected to provide the budget for the next 2-3).
Like I said, there's been huge publicity and with word-of-mouth from last weekends opening shows this weekend was likely going to be even better for us.
Tonight our lead walked out and took another actor with him.
With no understudy and a demoralized cast, the show was cancelled.
We had a show Thurs that was basically a publicity push for this weekend. That means we lost tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Sat - our final show).
It makes us look incompetent right at the beginning where we need to look professional.
And it leaves us basically back at square one regarding funding after the cost of theatre rental, licensing, etc.
MY QUESTION'S THIS: I know it's a little outside of the realm of a stage manager but I thought I might be able to get some advice from fellow professionals who might have encountered this (I never have - it just hasn't come up) -- can an actor who abandons a performance this way, preventing the performance, be sued for lost earnings? Is there anything we can do?
I appreciate your help. I have a big stake in this working.
-Jason
I'm part of a nonprofit start-up that (we hope) is going to be a pretty big deal.
We're in the middle of the run of our first show. This first show is not only important in regard to the publicity it gives us (we've received huge support from local television, radio, and print media) but also in regard to revenue (the money made from this first show was projected to provide the budget for the next 2-3).
Like I said, there's been huge publicity and with word-of-mouth from last weekends opening shows this weekend was likely going to be even better for us.
Tonight our lead walked out and took another actor with him.
With no understudy and a demoralized cast, the show was cancelled.
We had a show Thurs that was basically a publicity push for this weekend. That means we lost tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Sat - our final show).
It makes us look incompetent right at the beginning where we need to look professional.
And it leaves us basically back at square one regarding funding after the cost of theatre rental, licensing, etc.
MY QUESTION'S THIS: I know it's a little outside of the realm of a stage manager but I thought I might be able to get some advice from fellow professionals who might have encountered this (I never have - it just hasn't come up) -- can an actor who abandons a performance this way, preventing the performance, be sued for lost earnings? Is there anything we can do?
I appreciate your help. I have a big stake in this working.
-Jason