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Annye

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Equity breaks again
« on: Apr 18, 2016, 10:19 pm »
I swear that I saw this somewhere either here or in the Equity rules and now I can't  seem to unearth the quotable sections...

I have one Equity actor on my cast of six. It has been my understanding (along with that actor and the director) that in a scheduled six-hour rehearsal day ONE of the breaks (of the several 5 or 10 minute breaks that happen at 55 or 80 minutes as the director decides) needs to be a 20-minute break for lunch. Everyone on the cast has been fine with that approach. The Executive Manager (without a professional theatrical background) is concerned for the actor's well-being (long story, but his health is fine) and tells me that we must schedule a 1-hour lunch into the day - because according to Equity (according to said manager) an actor can't legally be made to work more then five hours without an hour-long break - thus making it a scheduled 7-hour day.

I've explained the 20-minute break rationale, and she's insisting that I enforce a rule that I can't find backup for EITHER WAY.

Please help. Thank you.
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Maribeth

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Re: Equity breaks again
« Reply #1 on: Apr 18, 2016, 10:28 pm »
The rule is specific to the contract/agreement you are working on, so it may or may not apply in your case. The best thing to do is call your Equity rep and ask them- they will be happy to help you by clarifying things. If you don't know who your rep is, give the main office in your region a call and they can help you figure that out.
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loebtmc

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Re: Equity breaks again
« Reply #2 on: Apr 19, 2016, 12:15 am »
.... because for that AEA actor, a 6-hr day counts as a full day, not 6 hrs. If your contract has a 6-hr option, yes the meal break is 20 minutes. But confirm all w your rep. Make sure you count that actor's hours correctly (is your day 7/8-1/2 or 7/9 or 7/8 or ...?).
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MatthewShiner

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Re: Equity breaks again
« Reply #3 on: Apr 19, 2016, 08:01 am »
What contract are you on?

Most of the time to do the straight six option the AEA Actors/SM need to vote on the option to use it . . .
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Annye

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Re: Equity breaks again
« Reply #4 on: Apr 19, 2016, 12:59 pm »
The contract our actor is under is the Guest Artist contract, Tier I, which does say "After 5 hours of rehearsal there shall be a break of at least 1 hour."

Both the actor and director have said that a "straight six" is what they're used to and have used at ALL of the theatres they've worked for under this contract/tier. I think the question has been settled by the actor himself saying - as the only Equity member on the show - that he votes for the straight six with a 20-minute break.
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MatthewShiner

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Re: Equity breaks again
« Reply #5 on: Apr 19, 2016, 06:46 pm »
Technically, there is no stipulation for a straight six in the Guest Artist Contract.

This would need to be brought up to AEA - given he is the only person, and he is asking for it - I doubt the union would not grant this concession - but technically, no . . . a straight six is not listed as an option.

I don't the history of this contract, but technically your Executive Director is right; this contract does not allow it with the rules as written.
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