The business of the arts is a business of people. The product is defined by its people (change any member of a cast or production team and you get a new product). The group dynamic in the audience is changed by one person. The management is no different in that respect. However the types of employees including union affiliation (or not) are critical aspects to the frameworks and functions of personnel in a theatre.
To help get a sense of the 'experience' of working in unions or on the management side of the arts, watch/read the following interviews. What did you learn from them about personnel (aka human resources), management, unions, and the arts? What questions did they generate? Did it change your mind/alter your assumptions or biases in anyway?
The 2007 strike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQ0t7AI0fFI&feature=related
MSNBC coverage:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21717187/ns/business-us_business/t/broadway-goes-dark-stagehands-go-strike/#.Tzm3KCNpGkg
Why/How to join the union
http://www.actorsequity.org/newsmedia/news2010/oct18.JohnPasha.asp
Working as a union musician
http://www.musicianwages.com/musician-profile/ben-cohn-keyboardist-assistant-conductor-wicked-on-broadway/
Artists Agents
http://www.entertainmentmanagementonline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/3c17f5090d886
Working as a Broadway Manager
http://www.theatermania.com/blogs/tmu/interview-with-rachel-reiner-off-broadway-producer_44201.html
Not required but very interesting: many of the various interviews/videos on the American Theatre Wing: http://americantheatrewing.org/wit/
Wow! What a great mix of articles. Reading them and viewing the videos really helped me understand what it is like to work in the theatre world (something with which I am quite ignorant).
ReplyDeleteFor one, I never truly realized how helpful the unions are. Before reading these articles, my knowledge of the unions did not stem from the belief that they just helped you find jobs. I was unaware of how much certain unions had your back and helped you. The AWP, for instance, is a wonderful union that I had never heard of until today. I didn't know there were people out there who were actually looking after actors and jobs so carefully. The jobs may not last forever and the market is unsteady but it seems like the organization always has your back. After reading some of the horror stories of being a non-union worker (working 14 days straight, or 12 hours with no overtime), I now understand the benefit of the unions. The two videos also helped me understand that the unions really operate as a whole unit and not just a group of individuals. If a minuscule part of the union is being threatened in any way, the entire union is. The sense of solidarity while watching the videos was overwhelming.
Secondly, it was wonderful to finally sit down and get a better understanding of the way jobs are obtained and kept in the theatre world. One fact I have been hearing from day one is that connections are a key element to getting ANY job. These articles only strengthened this belief. In every one, the author or interviewee mentioned how important it is to keep making connections. I learned that from the time you are in college, you should start with alumni and people in the local community. Alumni can sometimes be your biggest asset.
Last but not least, one of the biggest things I obtained from reading these articles and watching the videos was that while entering and being involved in this field of work, you are going to need to be flexible. I knew before reading these that flexibility was a necessity, but I never knew the level of that necessity. Even while part of a union, the days are going to be long and sometimes, if not most of the time, you will be working more than one job. You must also be prepared to be let down, and often, but everything will pay off in the long run if you keep working hard, staying current, and making connections.
All in all, the articles really helped me gain a better perspective of what it is like to work in this world. Although I already had a knowledge of some of the areas, I was shocked to find out just how little I really knew. Although it is going to be hard work and stressful at times, this world seems like a lot of fun and I am excited to be a part of it.
This week I really enjoyed reading the listed articles. It helped my grasp on an understand of how is to work union vs. non-union as well as what can go wrong in Broadway.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the MSNBC story about how Broadway went on strike in 2007, I still do not fully understand what was the main reasons for the strike. From my understanding there was a dispute over work rules. The stage-hands and the business side could not settle their differences. The producers wanted more flexibility in hiring; the stage hands didn't want to give up what they believed they say are hard-won benefits without something in return. Which is quite understandable, but I just find it weird that in this industry, they could not come to an agreement.Being about to come to an agreement will better benefit everyone because a theatre can not operate without both sides and they are losing money.
Now, before reading the articles about union, I was slightly unaware of the big difference between the two. I had an idea but I was not for sure. I now realized that non-union meant no rules, and like me at first a lot of actors didn't know what that meant at first. John Pasha who was interviewed started that he would sometimes work 14 days straight or 12 hour days and not even get over time or credit towards health insurance. After this he stayed away from non-union acting but even after that, although he was busy with acting he still wasn't earning enough money. He turned to AWP to survive. In which, he stated, sometimes he was still able to stay within the things he loved to do as inacting or teaching acting, but other times he did other things with in AWP.
Throgh the interview with Rachel Reiner(a theatre manager), she reinsured my thought about exploring the world and taking classes outside of theatre to be a bit more well rounded. That had always been my mind frame around theatre and school in general.(not sticking to only one thing). After reading this interview, it kind of confirmed my thoughts. Having insight on other topics can make you a better theatre manager as well.
Through these interviews, I have also learned that theatre has a lot to do with networking and being able to to wear multiple hats. Having the ability to wear multiple hats, will give you a better chance to connect and network with different people and this will widen your options coming out of college.
Now that I have a better understanding of theatre world outside of college, I know now what to look foward to and how to treat this career when I graduate, at least better then I did an hour ago. I can put into perspective the better areas in theatre to work in that is fit for me and where I would like to go with it.
Excellent observations! And, here's a dirty secret -- unless you are working an hourly job (like bank teller), every job has long hours, etc. Many companies, like Google and Pixar, create environments that encourage their employees to just stay and work (with gyms on the premises, etc). The key is to find a job where it matches your passion so it doesn't "feel like work" :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Brett Crawford. I had no idea how hard getting a job in theater or even film was until I started actually auditioning and applying for jobs. I always told myself that I never wanted a desk job because I wanted to spend my life doing something I enjoyed. That way when the long hours and sleepless nights came, it wouldn't matter because I would be doing something I loved to do! I’m so glad that we were able to have this discussion about union and non-union workers, because to be honest I was clueless about the two. I had some type of understanding from conversations with my peers, but I really didn’t know that being a union worker was such an advantage. John pasha’s interview answered a lot of my questions. For an example, his interview explained the difference between the two. Piggybacking on what Hawa and Andrew mentioned, there were no rules being a non union worker. You’re basically working for free in most cases. This would be great for students who just want the experience, but for professional actors this is an issue.
ReplyDeleteI also found the article with Rachel Reiner very helpful. She gave advice to graduating students and gave some helpful tips that I will be using when I graduate. The first tip she gave was to stay in touch with alumni’s. That is a very good way to network and get the perks of the particular business that you are interested in. I also thought it was quite interesting that she said she didn’t know much theater history. I actually laughed a little after reading that because Towson’s theater department makes it a priority to teach as much theater history as possible, and by making it mandatory to take three theater histories’s before you graduate. I guess my three years with Brett and Robyn will really pay off in the future! Another interesting thing I noticed was how she wished she explored the world more and took more classes. I think this will also be a mistake I made because I haven’t really explored more things other than theater. Overall, these articles were really interesting to read and taught me things about the buisness that I never knew or thought to ask. These articles will help me to make good choices in life and to continue to educate myslef in my craft!
After watching the first two videos along with reading the first article about the 2007 strike, I must admit that my attitude about how destructive unions can be were reinforced. I still believe that it is wrong to have to pay for more workers then are actually needed. It takes a lot of money on the owners and producer’s part to even put a job up; so it is understandable when Paul Libin (Broadway Producer) says that he “can no longer carry the weight of people who are not productive […] while other people are working.”
ReplyDeleteHowever, unions have helped many people find jobs in times of hardships; even helping them find career opportunities outside their field that they like. The Actors Fund Work Program (AWP) not only convinced John Pasha to go into the nursing profession when times were tough but helped him to have better working conditions. I was extremely surprised to realize that he would work non-union with no health benefits and not be paid at all for overtime work after 12-14 hour days.
It was also nice to see that in Ben Cohn’s case, he had a great contract with health benefits; pension and vacation pay while still being part of a competitive market. However, again, the benefits that are received still make me wonder if the unions are going a bit to far. All of those things cost a lot of money of the owner’s part. I guess my question is; how much is too much of a good thing? My question also makes me wonder that if non-union amateur actors were given a decent salary would that force the demands of the union actors down
This exercise did help me analyze and understand both sides of the picket line better and have made me think of how to fix the situation instead of just trying to help one cause.
After watching the first to videos and reading the first article, I learned and was sadden to see how hard it really is to get a job that lasts in this business. Rachael Reiner is always producing multiple shows with multiple companies. I also learned from reading the e unions that are available to help artist. For example John Pasha stated that AWP "helped him strengthen his weakness to find a career outside the acting world. That was a positive reinforcement for me as an actor. The big question I have is are non-union actors able to find work into the union.
ReplyDeleteHey anonymous -- I can only give you class credit if you identify . .? Let me know who you are :-)
DeleteFYI -- non-union actors are NOT allowed to work in the union, that is the line/point. They can work on shows with union contracts that allow nonunion performers (eg here at my theatre we work on an approximate 50/50 ratio)
Hey Anonymous!
DeleteThere must be give and take on either side, as the Conte/Langley Chapter read. As for the reasons for the stagehand strike of 2007, I do remember the League accusing Local One of featherbedding and I remember one rumour which stated that a sticking point was the union's desire to leave in one worker during load-ins to operate a pushbroom. I cannot find any links on this story, and even so, I always assumed it was a tactic utilized to make Local One look greedy, just as Local One's tactic of working for five months without a contract in order to strike during Broadway's most profitable time of year was utilized to motivate swift negotiations from the Producers. One question I find myself asking is in relation to the eight shows with separate stagehand contracts. Is this a case of a show being its own company whereas the other three dozen shows fall into the Schubert/Jujamcyn/etc. realm? What are some disadvantages of having a contract not in line with the other shows? I assume these were still union contracts, but I could be mistaken.
ReplyDeleteI must echo the admiration shown by my classmates of the services provided by AWP, a union helping actors find real jobs! I jest, but while they say acting is its own reward, acting does not pay bills all the time. Another common theme through these articles, mentioned by several others on this post, is the idea of networking and knowing the right people. It was refreshing to read that the members of Leverage Entertainment acknowledge the idea of being successful in the entertainment field as a bit like playing the lottery or gambling. You have to play until you win just enough and then get out. That said, and I believe they were hinting at this slightly as well, if you are interested in guaranteed income and security, approaching a career in theatre is not the most obvious or prudent choice. Reading these success stories are encouraging, more than that they seem to indicate not only earning membership in a union as establishing an income, but also having an entrepreneurial spirit and forming your own company is at least impressive as you start to circulate your name in the appropriate circles.
I really enjoyed this blog entry and all the articles that went with it. It was a good way to both learn more about the union and non union sides of theater while also learning about various fields in the theater you forget about at times. One thing i am really gonna take away is the differences between union and non union and that even though union has alot of rules you have to follow and its harder to get because of credits if im correct but how much it is worth it in the end. Especially with things like the health insurance one of the articles mentioned, i never even thought about things like that but it is so true.
ReplyDeleteThe coverage on the Broadway Strike i remembered from when it happened but it was interesting to see more coverage and learn more about it and what exactly they were protesting against. I now understand also why they did the protest and even though i used to sympathize with the theater-goers who missed their shows, i can now relate more to the stagehands and unions dilemma.
I was very intrigued by Rachel Reiner's interview with TheaterMania.com, especially since I had communicated with her in the past (and by "communicated" I mean Reiner sent me my rejection letter last spring after I applied for an internship with The Broadway League. No hard feelings! I still love the League!). But getting back on track, she touched on something that is very important in the industry of becoming a theatre manager or a successful business(wo)man in general, something I was lacking when I applied for a summer position: internships and connections.
ReplyDeletePeople aren't kidding when they say "it's not what you know, but who you know." Sometimes who you know is a big part of landing your first job in the theatre industry, but internships are equally important to landing an interview and a position.
I like how she new exactly what she wanted to do and completed internships to really get a perspective on two different sides of theatre management.
As an aspiring theatre and film publicist, it was great to be able to read Reiner's story and hear how her internships and connections from college helped land her a job upon graduation!
Not to say I didn't find the other interviews and articles interesting, I did, but I focused on this one because I could relate to it a lot.
DeleteAnother article I enjoyed reading was the interview with John Pasha. I honestly had no idea what the difference was between union and non-union, I just assumed union meant you were paid more and were guaranteed health insurance. Now I see that there can be a HUGE difference between the two. I am sure there is non-union theatre out there that is more caring than Pasha's former employer, but I am glad he was able to join Equity and recieve the benefits he did not have before.
I was also very intrigued by the Actors Fund Work Program, something I hadn't known about prior to reading this interview. I am glad Pasha found support through the AWP to begin studying and practicing Nursing since he seems to be very passionate about the field.