The Art of Stage Dancing Part 38

_Lost Rehearsals_

(K) If the Manager is prevented from giving rehearsals because of fire, accident, riot, strikes, illness of star or prominent member of the cast, act of G.o.d, public enemy or any other cause of the same general cla.s.s which could not reasonably be antic.i.p.ated or prevented, then the time so lost shall not be counted as part of the four (or five, as the case may be) weeks' rehearsal period herein provided.

After the fourth (or fifth, as the case may be) week of rehearsal, including any lay-off period on the above account, the Manager will pay half salaries for two weeks, at the end of which time the Actor shall be free, unless the Manager wishes to continue the services of the Actor and pays him full salary therefor.

_Transportation_

(L) The Manager agrees to transport the Actor when required to travel, including transportation from New York City to the point of opening and back to New York City from the point of closing; also the Actor's personal baggage up to two hundred pounds weight.

(M) The Manager shall reimburse the Actor for all loss or damage to his property used and/or to be used in connection with the play while it is wholly or partly in the possession or control or under the supervision of the Manager or of any of his representatives and also when such baggage and property has been in any way s.h.i.+pped, forwarded or stored by the Manager or any of his representatives, but the Actor shall have no claim if the loss or damage occurs while the baggage or property is under his control. Upon payment of said loss or damage the Manager shall be subrogated to all rights of the Actor therefor.

(N) (1) If individual notice of termination is given by the Manager he agrees to pay the Actor in cash the amount of the cost of transportation of the Actor and his baggage back to New York City whether the Actor returns immediately or not.

(2) If this contract is cancelled by the Actor, he agrees to pay his own railroad fare back to New York City and to reimburse the Manager for any railroad fare the Manager may have to pay for the Actor's successor up to an amount not exceeding railroad fare from New York City to the point where said successor joins the company, whether for rehearsal or for playing.

(3) If the company is organized outside of New York City, the name of such place is herein agreed to be subst.i.tuted for New York City in Paragraph L, N-1 and N-2 and elsewhere.

(O) The Manager shall not be responsible for any loss occurring to the personal baggage of the Actor whose duty it is, if he desires to protect himself against loss, to insure the same.

(P) The Actor herein may play in any benefit performance given by or under the auspices of the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation. Deputies of said a.s.sociation will be permitted in each company and a duly authorized representative shall have the right to be on the stage before and after rehearsals and before and after performances, and said a.s.sociation may represent its members in any dispute which may arise with the managers. Actors will be tentatively engaged on their paid up cards only, which card will be prima facie evidence of members.h.i.+p in said a.s.sociation until the Manager is otherwise notified.

RULES GOVERNING MINIMUM STANDARD CONTRACTS

(To be printed on Independent Standard Minimum Contracts)

1. Should the Manager of any production consider the same "Spectacular" and therefore ent.i.tled to five weeks of free rehearsals, he shall notify the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation before the beginning of rehearsals and advise fully as to the nature of the production and secure its allowance of his claim.

2. Rehearsals begin with the date when the Actor is first called. If the Manager chooses to start with a reading to the company, or substantial part thereof, said reading is a part of and begins the rehearsal period.

3. In case of company rehearsals being held _before opening_ at a place different from that of organization, the Manager shall pay the Actor his reasonable living expenses during said rehearsals, except that the Manager shall be allowed two days of free rehearsal in cities within one thousand miles of New York City and one additional day free for each additional one thousand miles or fraction thereof.

4. If the Actor shall absent himself from rehearsals for seven days or more by reason of illness, the Manager may cancel this contract without payment for service to date. The a.s.sociation may, in its discretion, upon appeal by the Manager, reduce this period.

5. Contracts between Manager and Actor shall be deemed to be entered into between the said parties on the date when the terms of the contract are agreed upon between the parties, and contracts must be issued and signed as of that date.

6. If after joining a company, which has opened and is on tour, an Actor is dismissed at rehearsals within the seven day probationary period (provided the seven day probationary period has not already been deleted from his contract) the Manager shall pay to the Actor his transportation both ways and for each day of rehearsal a sum equal to one-fourteenth of the weekly salary agreed upon, said rehearsals to be deemed continuous and to begin not later than the day after the Actor's arrival. In case the Actor is dismissed after the seven day probationary period, the Manager shall pay the Actor two weeks' salary and his transportation both ways.

7. If the full rehearsal period to which the Manager is ent.i.tled be not used by him before the date of opening, he may employ the balance thereof immediately before the New York opening, provided that said New York opening takes place within six weeks of the original opening of the play.

8. All performances for which admission is charged (except bona fide benefits) are to be counted and considered as performances under the Minimum Standard Contract.

9. If the employment under any contract relates to the second or subsequent season of any play then the period of free rehearsals is three weeks instead of four, but this provision shall not obtain if 50 per cent or more of the cast were not members of the production the preceding year.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A THIRD FLOOR CORRIDOR]

10. If the play for which the Actor is engaged is rehea.r.s.ed seven days or less and then rehearsals are discontinued or postponed, or if the production is abandoned during rehearsals on or before the seven day probationary period would have expired, the Manager shall pay the Actor as follows: If the contract has been signed or entered into within two months of the date mentioned in Paragraph 2 of the Standard Minimum Contract, a sum equal to one week's salary, otherwise a sum equal to two weeks' salary.

11. In case the play is abandoned before rehearsals or the Actor is ent.i.tled to compensation under the preceding paragraph, payment shall be made by the Manager to the Actor not later than three weeks prior to date of opening specified in Paragraph 2 of the main contract.

12. Seven days' rehearsals means seven consecutive calendar days, counting Sunday (when Sunday is used for rehearsals), and said seven days terminate with the dismissal of rehearsal on the seventh day as herein reckoned.

13. If the part of an Actor who shall have been dismissed before the end of the rehearsal on the seventh day shall be cut out, the Manager shall pay to the Actor a sum equal to one week's salary.

14. The Manager shall use reasonable care that his press department shall not announce the engagement of the Actor until after the seven day probationary period, and shall drop the name of the Actor from advertising and publicity matter as soon as is possible after the Actor leaves the company.

15. If the Actor is not allowed to work out any notice properly given under his contract the amount to which he is ent.i.tled to shall be paid forthwith upon the giving of the notice.

16. The right of the Manager to close a play and company without a week's notice within four weeks after the opening date does not apply to the second or subsequent season thereof.

17. Notices of termination or closing given at or before the end of the performance on Monday night, effective at the end of the Sat.u.r.day night following, shall be deemed one week's notice and such notice effective at the end of Sat.u.r.day week following shall be deemed two weeks' notice.

18. The essence of this contract is continuous employment and a play once closed shall not be re-opened during the same season within eight weeks of the date of previous closing, without the consent of the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation. Such consent, if given, shall be upon such terms and conditions as may be considered just and equitable by such a.s.sociation.

19. Except in a case of notice given on Monday, as otherwise provided in these rules, a week's notice shall be seven calendar days and two weeks' notice fourteen calendar days.

20. Should the Manager require the Actor to purchase his clothes from a special tailor or shall require exclusive or unique designs or unusually expensive clothes, then the Manager shall pay for such clothes, anything to the contrary in Clause G of the Standard Minimum Contract notwithstanding.

21. The Actor shall be responsible for transporting his own baggage to and from the station or theatre in New York City. The Manager will pay the cost of or reimburse the Actor for such transportation anywhere on Manhattan Island.

22. Should the Citizens' Jury provided for in New York decide adversely to the continuance of a production because salacious or against public morals, the Actor shall forthwith terminate his employment without notice, payment or penalty.

23. Should the production in which the Actor is engaged be complained of as being in violation of any statute, ordinance or law of the United States, any state or any munic.i.p.ality in any state and should a claim or charge be made against the Actor on account of his being engaged in such production, either civil or criminal, the Manager shall defend the Actor at his own expense, or shall pay any and all reasonable charges laid out or incurred by the Actor in his defense, and the Manager agrees to indemnify the Actor against any loss or damage which he may suffer on account of being engaged in any such production.

This rule shall not apply to any case or any set of conditions where its enforcement would be illegal or against public policy.

24. The Manager shall have the right to lay off his company the week before Christmas and Holy Week. Should such lay off take place the Manager shall not during said lay off period be ent.i.tled to the services of the company except for a run-through rehearsal on the day of re-opening, and except further that additional rehearsals may be allowed by the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation in case of illness of the star or prominent member of the company or change of cast.

25. If in any production the star or featured member of the cast shall be ill and a lay off shall take place on that account, Actors receiving less than $100.00 weekly (but no others) shall be paid by the Manager an amount equal to their board and lodging for the first week. If said lay off continues beyond one week, half salaries shall be paid to the entire company for each day the Actors are retained up to and including two further weeks. From and after the beginning of the fourth week the Manager shall either pay full salaries to all members of the company or may abandon the production.

26. When understudies are employed or there is a change in the cast, announcement shall be made to this effect, either by a slip in the program, or by announcement from the stage at the rise of the curtain, or by conspicuously posting a notice to that effect a reasonable time before the rise of the curtain, at the box office.

27. In case after the opening of the play and after at least two weeks' employment, the Manager shall desire a lay off for the purpose of re-writing or making changes in the cast or any other reason deemed sufficient by him, he may apply to the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation for the right to do so. If the a.s.sociation agrees to such lay-off it may do so upon such terms and conditions as may seem equitable to it under the circ.u.mstances. But in any event if a change or changes in the cast is made the Actor or Actors dismissed and not employed upon the renewed run of the play shall be paid at least one week's additional salary.

28. Musical comedies, revues or spectacular plays shall immediately after a New York run be allowed one day's lay off before the opening in either Boston or Chicago. This does not apply to premieres, i.e., original openings in those cities.

29. Should the Actor deem that he has any claim against the Manager under his contract he shall present the same to the Actors' Equity a.s.sociation or to the Manager or both within two months after the time when such claim has arisen, unless he shall give to the Board of Arbitration good and sufficient reason for any delay after such period of two months.

30. Should either party give the other any notice under his contract which terminates the same at any future date and should the Actor have or secure a new engagement he shall be permitted to attend the rehearsals under the new engagement as may be necessary and as do not conflict with his performances under his then existing contract.

31. The actual salary of the Actor agreed upon shall be stated in the contract and a lesser or fict.i.tious salary shall not be stated in the contract.

32. Unless special consent otherwise is given by the Manager, understudies shall be present at each performance.

33. "Tryouts" during May, June and July are permissible where the Manager agrees to pay and pays one week's salary for two weeks'

rehearsals and an additional half week's salary for each additional week of rehearsal, one week's salary to be guaranteed. Payment for part of a week's rehearsal shall be pro rata.

34. Sunday performances referred to in "Regulations," under Subdivision 4 of Paragraph H, are regular dramatic and musical productions and do not include vaudeville, recitals, concerts and the like.