Stage Managers are covered by all the Rules in this Agreement except where specifically stated otherwise.
(A) There shall be no less than one Stage Manager and one Assistant Stage Manager employed in a dramatic production and no less than one Stage Manager and two Assistant Stage Managers employed in a musical production. A Stage Manager must be in attendance at all rehearsals.
(B) Except as provided in paragraph (C) below, no Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager shall do work of any nature whatsoever for a Producer without a signed contract (after security has been properly posted with Equity) and the Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager has received instructions from the Producer as to the work.
(C) The Stage Manager shall be engaged at least two weeks before the beginning of rehearsals and shall receive at least two weeks’ contractual salary before rehearsals commence.
(1) Upon the signing of a contract between the Stage Manager and the Producer, filed with Equity, signifying the Producer’s intent to employ the Stage Manager, the Stage Manager shall be obligated to perform all pre-production work. The Producer may require, as part of the aforementioned pre-production work, the Stage Manager’s attendance at Principal Interviews/Auditions, Equity Principal and Chorus auditions and open auditions. Prior to such two-week contractual pre-production, any days of interviews and/or auditions that a Stage Manager attends shall be paid for at 1/6th of contractual salary per day.
(2) In the event the Producer fails to offer employment to the Stage Manager for that production, the Producer shall be obligated to pay the Stage Manager two weeks’ contractual salary. If the Stage Manager does not accept employment in the production, the Stage Manager shall be compensated at the rate of 1/6th of contractual salary for each day worked.
(D) Replacement Stage Managers who are not promoted from the production shall be hired at least one week prior to the date on which they are to take over the production. Replacement Stage Managers (not Assistants from the same show) taking over the duties of Stage Manager during vacation shall be paid on a daily basis when required by the Producer to familiarize themselves with the requirements of the production before assuming duties.
(E) In every Company in which Actors signed to an Equity contract are employed, all Stage Managers and Assistant Stage Managers shall be employed under an Equity contract.
(F) No Producer or Manager of a production may be employed as a Stage Manager in that production where the impact of such employment reduces the complement of the Stage Managers herein required. No relative of a Producer or Manager of a production may be employed as a Stage Manager in that production where the impact of such employment reduces the complement of the Stage Managers herein required.
(G) Stage Managers and Assistant Stage Managers shall not be permitted to act and/or understudy, except in an emergency. In the case of technologically complex or multi- set productions, Equity and the Producer shall jointly determine the need, in order to maintain appropriate Safe and Sanitary working conditions, for the employment of additional non-acting/non-understudying Assistant Stage Managers.
(H) An Assistant Stage Manager shall be hired not later than one week prior to rehearsals and paid one week’s contractual salary.
(1) In the event any Assistant Stage Manager is required to perform pre- production work prior to the week before the beginning of rehearsals, a contract shall be signed and the same procedure and arrangement that exists for the Stage Manager shall be applicable to any Assistant Stage Manager.
(2) Any Assistant Stage Manager performing pre-production work prior to rehearsals shall be paid 1/6th of contractual salary for each day worked.
(I) All other required Assistant Stage Managers must be hired not later than the first day of rehearsal in which substantially the full complement of the Chorus commences rehearsal, but in no event later than the end of the first week of rehearsals.
(J) Experience Required Because of the responsibilities of the Stage Manager for the success of the production and safety of the Actors, the Producer will use the Producer’s best efforts to employ a person who is experienced in theatrical stage management. (K) Duties and Obligations of a Stage Manager It is agreed that the Stage Manager’s
function is a full-time one. The Stage Manager shall not be required to function in areas that impinge upon the primary duties as a Stage Manager.
(1) A Stage Manager signed to an Equity contract is obligated to perform at least the following duties for the production to which the Stage Manager is engaged, and by performing them is hereby defined as the Stage Manager. The Stage Manager shall:
(a) Be responsible for the calling and/or coordinating of all rehearsals and note sessions whether before or after opening;
(b) Be responsible for assembling and maintaining the prompt book, which is the property of the Producer and is defined as the accurate playing text and stage business, together with cue sheets, plots, daily records, etc., as are necessary for the actual technical and artistic operation of the production; (c) Work with the director and coordinate and communicate with the heads of all other departments during rehearsal and after opening;
(d) Schedule rehearsal and outside calls in accordance with Equity’s regulations;
(e) Assume active responsibility for the form and discipline of rehearsal and performance and be the executive instrument in the technical running of each performance;
(f) Maintain the artistic intentions of the director and the Producer after opening to the best of the Stage Manager’s ability, which shall include giving notes, calling brush-up rehearsals of the cast when necessary, and preparing understudies and replacements, when and if the director and/or the Producer declines this prerogative;
(g) Keep such records as are necessary to advise the Producer and/or the Producer’s representative on matters of attendance, time, or other matters relating to the Actors and/or the Producer;
(h) Maintain discipline as provided in the provisions of this Agreement;
(i) Notify the Producer or the Producer’s representative if the safe and sanitary provisions of this Agreement are not being maintained; and
(j) Implement provisions designated by the Producer for the security of personal property and notify the Producer or the Producer’s representative when security provisions for Actors’ valuables are not available/operable.
(2) The following duties are not Stage Managerial duties and members of the Stage Managerial staff shall not be required to perform them:
(a) Function as stagehands or box office personnel, etc.;
(b) Design, build, hang, transport, operate, shift, run, shop for, or maintain lights, sound, scenery, props, video, animals or wardrobe, etc.;
(c) Arrange living accommodations; (d) Order or distribute food for the cast;
(e) Transport the cast or be responsible for the maintenance of any vehicle; and
(f) Do laundry or handle dry cleaning.
However, for additional compensation, those duties may be agreed to by the Producer and the Stage Manager in an agreement separate from the Equity contract that shall be discussed, issued, and signed subsequent to the signing of the Equity contract. The Equity contract shall not be contingent upon the signing of said separate agreement, which shall neither be attached nor ridered to the Equity contract.
(3) The following activities are prohibited, and members of the Stage Managerial staff shall not accept responsibility for:
(a) Having contracts or riders signed or initialed or performing any other function which normally comes under the duties of the general or company manager (which is not to preclude delivery of contracts and/or riders in a sealed envelope addressed to the individual Actor);
(b) Signing the closing notice of the Company or the individual termination notice of an Actor (which is not to preclude posting of all closing and other pertinent Company notices);
(c) Doing the payroll or distributing payments (including, but not limited to, salary and per diem) except when such payments are delivered in a sealed envelope addressed to the individual Actor; or
(d) Doing building maintenance, janitorial, or custodial work.
(L) There will be at least a ten-hour rest period between the end of work on one day and the beginning of work on the following day.
(M) In the event that for any performance the Stage Manager is not present at the theatre in his capacity as Stage Manager and no replacement Stage Manager is hired, the First Assistant Stage Manager shall serve in the capacity of Stage Manager and shall receive not less than the minimum salary for Stage Manager for that type of production. Should no replacement Stage Manager be hired and the Second Assistant Stage Manager is required to do the work of the First and Second Stage Managers, the Second Assistant Stage Manager shall receive an additional 1/8th of his own contractual salary for a full-length show or an additional 1/10th of his own contractual salary for a tab show for that performance.
This compensation shall commence with the first day of said absence. The full Stage Managers’ complement for any particular production shall not be reduced except in case of emergency. Such an emergency shall not be allowed to extend beyond one performance day or one rehearsal day.
(N) Short-term Stage Managers Stage Managers may be employed on a daily and per performance basis as follows:
(1) A Stage Manager must be signed to an employment contract for all work performed (including any training) as required by Rule 16, CONTRACT
(2) Salary will be no less than the minimum salary for an Assistant Stage Manager, pro-rated at the rate of 1/6th of weekly salary per day prior to the first public performance, and 1/8th of weekly salary per performance after the first public performance.
(3) A Short-term Stage Manager substituting for a specific Stage Manager will be paid at no less than the appropriate pro-rata salary of that Stage Manager's category and tier.
(4) After a Short-term Stage Manager has worked for three days or four performances, whichever occurs first, a Health contribution will be made on that Stage Manager's behalf. Thereafter, a Health contribution will be required after every six days or eight performances worked. Said Health contributions will be due whether or not the days or performances worked are consecutive.
(5) Pension contributions as required by Rule 46, PENSION FUND AND 401(k) PLAN will be made on all monies earned by the Short-term Stage Manager.
(6) The employment of Short-term Stage Managers is not intended to replace additional Assistant Stage Managers as may be deemed necessary under Paragraph (G) above.
(7) For "advance work" and/or if any Stage Manager is absent for one week or more, a Temporary Replacement contract of at least one week will be used. It is not the intent of the parties to replace the employment of Stage Managers on Temporary Replacement Contracts with the employment of Short-term Stage Managers.
(O) Should the Stage Manager and/or Assistant Stage Manager(s), while providing services hereunder, be called upon to perform services for any other company of the play in which the Producer bears a financial interest, the Stage Manager(s) shall be paid not less than one additional week’s contractual salary (and for days in excess of one week, 1/6th of contractual salary for each day worked). If the Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager prepares a script for publication or for use in any other version of the production, the Stage Manager or Assistant Stage Manager shall be paid no less than one additional week’s contractual salary for each version.
(P) When the theatre is used for purposes other than the Equity Production and a Stage Manager is requested to be in the theatre to protect, strike or restore the production or to generally oversee the interests of the Production, said Stage Manager(s) shall be compensated at the overtime rate of $15 per half-hour for a minimum call of three hours.
(Q) For any services rendered on the Stage Manager’s day off, the Stage Manager shall be compensated for said services at the rate of two-sixths weekly contractual salary in addition to said Stage Manager’s usual weekly contractual salary. [See Rule 20, DAY OFF, DAYLIGHT DAY OF REST, AND REST PERIOD]
(R) If a Stage Manager is called to manage an audition or to rehearse a replacement on the day following the Stage Manager’s own day-off, said Stage Manager shall be compensated at the overtime rate for a minimum of four hours. [See Rule 20, DAY OFF, DAYLIGHT DAY OF REST, AND REST PERIOD]
(S) The Stage Manager shall be consulted in the selection of Assistant Stage Managers and Short-term Stage Managers, but the Producer shall retain full and final authority in his sole discretion to make all employment decisions.
(T) Overtime The Producer shall pay overtime at the rate of $15 per one half-hour or part thereof. [See Rule 54(H), REHEARSALS: Overtime.]
Payment for such overtime shall be made no later than the week following the week in which such overtime occurred. The Stage Managers in attendance shall be entitled to overtime payment whenever an Actor receives overtime payment.
65. TELEVISING, RECORDINGand MOTIONPICTUREFILMING [SeeRule 38, MEDIA: