Guthrie Theater's casting call seeking specifically non-union actors with "any time call availability" and schedules posted the night before. If you like the theaters of MN like I do, you should be aware of how they're abusing their prestige. support the artists, not the buildings.
Discussion 🎤and they don't even comp parking at their own lot...
They don’t own the lot.
To hell with union busters.
Extras (Ensemble) are rarely equity as it’s difficult to maintain status in MSP.
It is normal practice to have equity roles and non-equity roles and has been for a LONG time. Non equity roles are super important for folks who view theater as a side-gig or a hobby. If it was equity only for ensemble you’d have insane ticket prices.
TL;DR - equity (union) for theater is more complicated than most unions.
Thank you. This is, I suppose, a reminder that few things are as simple as they may seem.
Totally agree, but this casting call is asking far more than a standard ensemble role. They are asking for a full-time ensemble cast for multiple productions, and a "drop everything and rehearse" schedule. This is not a hobby or side-gig casting call.
Re-read the call… Tuesday - Friday AFTER 6 PM. The only all day is the weekend and that not the entire day. If you’ve done a production, this is normal.
Also, Tech is always that busy… community theaters can have 8 hour days for entire casts of volunteers for a week. At least they are getting some compensation for this role unlike most theater roles in the metro. (Touring shows notwithstanding) Heck, other ensemble roles at professional theaters may not pay at all, just the front line cast.
I don’t think you really get how this works… Getting a paid gig at Guthrie is desirable resume building for actors. The only committed full time equity theaters in the area are Guthrie and Children’s…
And if you do know what you’re talking about, you tell me what it takes to get your equity card, what it takes to maintain it, and what you can’t do when you have one… you’ll see why non-equity gigs are important.
I'm not hung up on the fact that they are specifically calling for non-equity actors. What I am harping them on for is the ridiculous expectations for a non union and, as you stated earlier, those who treat theater as a hobby or side gig to beholden to 10:00 p.m. emails saying they're called the next day and to drop all the rest of the responsibilities in their lives such as paying the bills. The Guthrie is banking on this exposure base compensation nonsense to Pad their pockets despite having plenty of money to pay a reasonable ensemble. Hand waving away the Guthrie's responsibility to pay the people who are in their Productions and comparing them to Community Theaters is apples to oranges. We are talking about a nonprofit company that made 8 million last year.
If you've been keeping up in the theater world recently, you would know that they dropped the point system to get your Equity card. It is never been more accessible to join the AEA as it is now. Clearly you're the one who really needs to read up on what's happening in the union. The only eligibility to join the union now is proof that you have been paid professional work as a stage manager or actor in the US.
No stage manager worth their salt is planning rehearsals the day before. That’s an expectation legal coverage in the event that they change the schedule. Apparently you’ve never worked a job where someone calls out sick and a manager calls you to show up with little to no notice.
But you’ve ignore my point on equity membership. If you are equity, you can’t work a non-equity role. That’s severely limiting in MSP.
From https://www.actorsequity.org/join/openaccess/ page itself:
I'd love to join, but I have a non-union job booked. Can I still join? You must complete any non-union theatrical acting or stage managing jobs before joining the union, but once your gig is over, you can join!
Once you’re equity, you can’t take another non-equity paying theater gig.
Note: it is a violation of Equity rules to work without signing the appropriate Equity contract or code.
Oh, and the rule change for Open Equity (joining without points) changed in May _of this year_… this is not some forever ago change that I missed.
As for the “rich nature” of the Guthrie, let’s take a tour of their latest financial statement (21/22) shall we? - Total Revenues from activities: 7.665 MM - Total Expenditures: 25.556 MM (5.780 MM went to artistic expenses)
So the cost of running the theater was about 3.5 times the ticket revenues. The only reason that theater runs is because of charitable donations (~6.5 MM) and specifically last year, PPP loans.
Advocating for equity in MSP means that more actors will be fighting for a very small pool of jobs. Yes, equity gigs are better but you’re very unlikely to get them consistently around here unless you are top tier.
No stage manager worth their salt is planning rehearsals the day before.
Too bad it's the director who makes the call for rehearsals. A stage manager can make suggestions and have a general idea of who to call, but the director always has the final say. It's not just legal mumbo jumbo. It's an expectation.
Oh, and the rule change for Open Equity (joining without points) changed in May _of this year_… this is not some forever ago change that I missed.
Open access started as a post-pandemic program in 2021 and then became permanent in May this year. You missed it. For a massive union like Equity, this is big news. You accused me of not knowing about how to get equity, yet you didn't know about the biggest change in their rules from 2 years ago. Don't be dismissive about my knowledge or experience if you don't know what you're talking about.
The contracting scope of being in Equity is a choice an actor needs to make based on the market they are in. This is nothing new, nor a surprise for any actor in MN or anywhere not on Broadway or LA. It is also a pressure for theaters to be union theaters. More members in the union = less talent they can pull from. The union is no longer an elite club, but a movement for all theater labor. If there isn't enough labor for theaters to pull from due to a large union presence in MN, theaters will then need to create union contracts which helps everyone in the theater scene.
The Guthrie is a non-profit theater. Their ticket revenue is a cushion for their business and have a mission statement that it is a theater for all. they give away millions of dollars of tickets every season which they should be praised for. The real money in the Guthrie is contributions and their 53 million dollar endowment which they pull from every year and another 61 million in investments. Even if the Guthrie was struggling due to their low ticket sales/costs, it shouldn't come off the backs of their actors who, in their own words, "Are extremely important to the success of the show".
Except the last month from Mar-Apr need fo be available any time Tuesday through Sunday, ability to work full time. Pay is $100/week. Jeesh better have some good savings to ride that out plus the performance schedule
First time hearing how theater works? Professional theater rarely pays the bills in total. There is always another gig.
No not at all... done my share of local unpaid theater stuff. Just always disappointing to see the big dogs run this way
I work in theatre. I never know until the evening before what the next day’s call will be, other than the time. This is normal.
Extras though?
*professionally trained extras
Professional actors*
Even as "extras" (which can be someone who is just as trained and strong of an actor as the main roles) they expect full-time availability for rehearsals and performances. Just tech and performances alone, that's 70~ full-time days minimum. for a $2,000 "gratuity" that's 3.50 an hour.
That's some next level exploitation. Executives: They'll be able to trade in their clout bucks for food vouchers!
Those complaining seem to have no clue on how the theater world operates. This isn't about a job to make ends meet. This is for people who want to be part of a series at a major regional theater. They won't have the slightest problem filling these roles with the conditions stated. And FWIW: extras (non-speaking roles) are generally non-union in theater, film and television.
They will get the talent they deserve from that post. For $2,000 total comp, 6 days a week of practice? Better off honing your charisma at the McDs drive thru. More cash in 3 weeks than that entire gig. No education or any skills or expertise required.
The people clowning on that guy saying he wanted to “break into” music and theater and was choosing Mpls over NYC should take a look at this. Those of us speaking the truth about how rigged/fucked it is here got DV’d into dust. Hopefully that man didn’t take any of you seriously.
I’m wondering how many people have always dreamed of working the drive-thru or needed to build a resume in the ultra competitive fast food industry.
So here is my actually relatively informed opinion on this. My mother used to be on the board of directors and her last tenure was during covid. This is most likely to hire new actors so they can get the experience. The majority of their actors in their plays ARE in a union but they also want to reach out and get fresh blood so to speak. So I doubt this is anti union but more of a them still trying to to their outreach stuff. I may be slightly wrong with this but you really have to hire new actors at some point or there will be no new actors and actors have to be in 6 productions to be able to be in a union.
Also this HAS to be said the actors the employ are NOT the Hollywood actors at all. They are a completely separate union than the theater actors that the Guthrie hires.
The AEA (stage actors union) Completely removed the production point requirement to get their union card. If you show you've been in professional theater, you can get your card. If they were looking for new talent, they'd have an ensamble cast for each show. Not one cast for all of these shows.
The Guthrie using non equity actors for ensemble roles is nothing new, nor really an issue but the expectation of this casting call is absolutely abusing non equity actors. They Want to contract these actors for 5 months of on call work for pennies. This is $2000 for 70 days (mimumum) of full time work. Not to mention the ability to take off work anytime throughout the rehearsal process.
If you had that kind of open availability, retail wants you and for a lot more than that pay rate.
somebody seems salty they didn't get the part.
Ha! Naw, I dropped the theater world ages ago, unfortunately. I wish I had the time to be back in community theater. Just repping my people.
I mean, I get it. They need to have exterior talent without the strings that come with having unionized actors. Like or not, there is a higher expense and more complications with actors in a union. Production is expensive and local theatre isn’t exactly getting more popular.
I view it as a good opportunity for someone who wants to breach into the industry, like an entry level position.
This is the equivalent of an Instagram influencer paying a photographer to do their million-dollar wedding with exposure. Guthrie has the money. pay them.
Not even close in comparison; and they are getting paid
It absolutely is. 70~ minimum full days is 3.50 an hour, "must have a clear calendar" every day on-call availability. In any other profession, even other theaters especially of the Guthrie's level, this is laughable.
Can you expand on the minimum 70 days? I don't see where that is coming from.
Sure!
In paragraphs 3 - 6, they explain the expectations of working and call-in days.
Breaking that down, Jan 23 - March 17, That's 53 days of being on call on weekday evenings or any time of day on the weekend. I didn't include this in my number, since they could be called "0 times". but for the sake of rehearsal, and as someone who was in the theater world for a good while, I'm going to give the Guthrie the benefit of the doubt and say this person is only called 10 times which is once a week, plus a couple extra as we approach tech week.
From March 16- April 13, the expectation is that you can be called any and every day (Up to 6 days a week) for a full day. That's 28 days of availability.
April 16 - May 26 Expected to perform every day, up to 9 performances a week. 41 days
So at the end of the day, 10 (technically could be 5 since those rehearsals could be half days) plus 28 days of tech/preview + 41 days of performances. 74 days of expectations.
This also doesn't break down the ridiculous expectations on the second page:
- Schedule is released the night before your call (good luck telling your job about this level of flexibility)
- all caps " Please do not audition if you cannot clear your calendar". This is hilariously unprofessional from a theater perspective.
- payment is only on the first rehearsal, and twice more during the productions.
Thanks for the breakdown.
Any idea what they'd have to pay for a union extra for a similar amount of commitment?
I mean, it would be significantly more, no question. I believe LORT (the trust of theaters that non-profits like the Guthrie have with the Actors Union) is around $1100 a week.
so over 17 weeks of production that's a lot of money. There are a lot of exceptions for the first week of rehearsal when they are first called, etc etc. But in the grand scheme of things, if the Guthrie organized the rehearsal schedule so "Jester #1" could come in for a week, not come in until a couple of weeks before tech, then go through the performance. It would absolutely cost more, but it would at least give them a more equitable wage.
The Actors Union is REALY complicated, so this is a super simple example, but it comes down to the Guthrie using its name to make life easier for itself and screw over actors.
Is there room near the theatre for a tent camp? A few porta-potties, a breakfast griddle, a few camping chairs and picnic tables, chain link fence surrounding. Easier to just live near the theatre, in case you’re called.
Very dramatic.
There are a lot of people that don’t have a lot to clear on their calendar or make their own schedule.
Don’t take the gig if it doesn’t work you. They get what they pay for.
yikes.
Union members should throw little one acts in the park space next time door. I personally would pay Guthrie prices just to snub union busters 🤙🏻
It’s actually not scabbing. The Guthrie has always hired non-union actors for extra roles. This is nothing new.
I didn’t mention scabbing but neat! I’m just learning about this and I like supporting Unions.
To clarify, this is standard practice across the board amongst equity theaters in the Twin Cities. The thing that’s BS is that it’s hard for local actors to join the AEA because there’s a limited amount of equity theaters here, and they tend to cast actors from out of state.
Yes, you did just say that. Thank you.
Companies be companies. What a buncha assholes.
Scabs
why would anyone support that ugly ikea building.
Because they are the only regional LORT theatre in town and they pull in tourism $.
This might be my time to shine.
I didn’t think extras were ever union.
So basically: You must be available to drop whatever it is you're doing or any other commitments you may have and get here for a job with no guarantees or assurances. We're paying you with used discarded toothpicks and some dead AA batteries we found in the alley - oh by the way you're an extra and no one will notice you.
Uff da.