More Personnel
More About Directors
Designers
Director & Choreographer Contracts
Payment & Schedule
Intellectual Property
Right of First Refusal
Electronic Rights (rules for taping & broadcast)
Billing, Comp Tickets
Share of Subsidiary Income
Pension & Health
Contributions of an Artistic DirectorErnie Nolan- AD for Emerald City Theatre in Chicago
January 2016- fired with no warning; company “going in a different direction”
Press release already written and new AD already hired
No red flags in annual reviews
10-year progression from guest to artistic associate to associate AD to AD
Illinois is at-will state
Contract makes answerable directly to Executive Director
What is appropriate recognition/ownership of programs he started?
Spokane, WA
Music Director fired for using mentioning employer when posting on
swinger websites and when posting nude photos on Craig’s List
After fired, started blog campaign against Artistic Director
AD sued for defamation and for harming the business
Lost suit- said site was personal not professional
Then she was fired for being a bully and difficult to work for- despite
financially rescuing the company
Is it Protected?
Can you be inspired, or is it always theft?
If YouTube is illegal, what about the Lincoln Center archive?
Is it actually good to publish all of those stage directions?
Going to the Library
Fight Directors
If an SDC member, can use those contracts
Otherwise negotiating independently with theatre
Equipment
Actor Safety
Training/Appointing Fight Captain
Designers
Intellectual Property
Deliverables & Dates
Transportation & Housing
Construction Guarantees
Supplies
Assistants
Ownership
Is This Okay?
Liability & Expertise
Responsibility when people get hurt
Who makes decisions about set/props
Employee conduct on and off the job
Professional TD
Technicians & Construction
Determination of “expertise”
IATSE
Rigging Certifications
When do local building codes apply
What do other unions specify
What happens when the audience is “onstage”
Bishop v. Texas A&M University
Guest director & fight choreographer/prop master
Used a “real” knife for a production of Dracula
Actor got stabbed
Sued school- Guest Director & Designer, Faculty Advisor
At issue- independent contractors or is the school responsible? Who is
charged with safety?
Murder at the Met (1980) Orchestra member murdered by stagehand during intermission
Stemmed from musician slapping him for indecent comment in an elevator
Should Met be liable? Happened during work but not as a result of work
activities?
Musician’s husband filed Workers Comp claim- Met fought because not “work”
What is an employer’s full responsibility to an employee?
The Simpsons- AFM Got clearance/owned creative material to take from show to ride
Did not ask for permission for theme song recording
…no added compensation "shall be payable for the reuse of any portion of the
music sound track of a motion picture in the following circumstances: (a) When
used for promotional, trailer, news or review purposes…”