Actors Equity Staged Reading Contract
13) The producer is committed to actively promoting ethnic minorities, women and actors with disabilities (in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act) for current reading and for all future readings. It is a violation of Equity`s membership rules if a member accepts a job that falls under Equity`s jurisdiction without being covered by the relevant equity contract. Equity competence is defined by the Actors` Equity Association and not by an employer or individual member. If you have any questions about the need for an equity contract to complete it, please contact your nearest equity office. You can also find more information in the “Do Not Work” list. Compliance with the above limitations is essential not only for a successful reading, but also for the continued commercial success of a project. Used correctly, the 29-hour reading can be a fantastic vehicle for creative development, often allowing creatives to experience work for the first time in a real-world environment. On the other hand, non-compliance with guidelines can put you in hot water with AEA and significantly affect your ability to attract AEA talent for future engagements. Equity reserves the right to determine whether step reading is used to avoid or replace any of these codes or contracts.
If Equity believes, before or after reading, in its sole discretion, that this is the case, the code or contract that Equity deems applicable will apply. In addition, Equity reserves the right to require that actors be properly engaged in the event of exceeding these provisions. I was always presenting the show aggressively, and around the same time, a commercial producer responded with some interest. He said he would like to be there and suggested a 29-hour reading. So he and the York started working together, which allowed us to raise funds in the form of tax-deductible donations to York, while an executive producer came to lead and build an incredible team. This is our way of getting a 29-hour reading, and it may not look exactly like yours. But I share it to encourage you to CREATE ONE! The 29-hour reading allows commercial producers to hire AEA talent solely for the purpose of presenting a reading of a work. specifically. Allow producers to create a work – to test the rhythm of the play with live actors in front of a live audience.1 Thank you Holly. I enjoyed listening to your songs and I wish you the best for your show. My original question was – what is a 29-hour reading and I guess it can`t be done all at once.
Maybe it was dissolved and I wondered if the actors would be paid for it. However, I have seen the answers to some of my questions above. My other question is: is it absolutely necessary to do a 29-hour reading or are there other options? Thank you, Loreen From Broadway to dinner theater, Equity has a contract to cover professional theater big and small, wherever it happens in the United States. Equity negotiates and manages national and regional collective agreements between employers as well as single-parent agreements with theatre employers. These agreements provide for minimum wages, benefits, job security and many other provisions to ensure safe working conditions and a working environment in which actors and stewards are protected. Equity contracts for individual members typically include jobs in three categories: principal, choir, and stage manager. The main contract is used for all key players and most stage managers. The choir contract is used for actors who mainly do choral work. Each individual employment contract refers to a specific collective agreement and contains all its conditions. What was different about the 29-hour reading compared to the other readings we did? Well, it was in New York. Which takes everything to a whole new level. It played into a completely different sandbox.
There was a professional (with Broadway beliefs!) A creative team and cast that pushed our show to the maximum – or at least as far as it could go in 29 hours. It was these people who made it possible (article to follow: The 29-hour reading – Roles and responsibilities). The benefits of 29-hour reading are clear; The producer is not required to pay pension, health and social security contributions on behalf of talent, nor is there a mandatory minimum equity level to pay talent. Nevertheless, the concessions made by the AEA in accordance with the Guidelines are not without substantial limitations, which I have listed below. This is an intra-union membership rule that establishes the conditions under which equity members can participate in a multi-level reading project, commonly known as a “29-hour reading”, without benefiting from an equity contract. Members may attend a maximum of 29 hours (including rehearsals and no more than three presentations) over a 14-day period. As part of the readings, no entry can be charged and no donations can be requested. Readings are not allowed to use sets, props, wigs, makeup or costumes. Readings cannot be publicly announced or reviewed by critics. Recordings of any kind are not allowed. For presentations via Zoom, guest listeners can only be those working directly on the production. Basically, a 29-hour reading is an agreement from the Actors Equity Association that allows equity actors to be involved without a contract.
An actor is limited to 29 hours of work spread over rehearsals and performances. There is no choreography, props or costumes, and the actors are on The Book (script in hand) and usually behind music desks with very minimal staging. 29-hour readings can only be done for a guest audience and cannot be recorded or recorded. Actors receive a basic grant plus reimbursement of travel expenses. As mentioned earlier, we have had many readings, both for our creative benefit and for public commentary. About every six months or so, we did something, followed by extensive rewrites. You must always submit a copy of your employment contract to Equity, at the latest at the first sample. Many departments depend on your employment contract, including suretyship, membership, and health and pension trust funds.
My husband and I have just returned from an exciting week in New York for a 29-hour reading of our show Come Find Me (now known as TRUE NORTH: A Magical New Holiday Musical) at the York Theatre. We did table readings, concert readings, and stage readings of our show, but this was the first official 29-hour reading. It was an amazing experience, and I took a lot of notes and will share what we learned over the course of several articles. I was looking for information on setting up a staged reading for a new musical. I found these reading guidelines staged from Actor`s Equity. The AEA Step-by-Step Reading Guidelines provide for the limited use of AEA talent outside of an AEA contract. It is important to note that the Guidelines are not a category of AEA contracts per se, but rather serve as a narrow exception that applies alongside AEA`s standard negotiation contracts. Loreen, thank you very much for your questions! Here`s what I know from our experience: 1. . .
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