Not sure I follow all of that but most actors do not rely on their Broadway paycheck and just twiddle their thumbs waiting for their next call (even if it is at 7:30). Many are also doing TV gigs, voice over, coaching, commercials, industrials, etc etc etc, while others have "day jobs." That's not what this is about.
We are not talking about most shows, just the ones that explode at the box office. Bonuses are not an alien concept in other successful businesses, at least for the folk who have contributed to the success in a meaningful way. The difference is that bonuses in "normal" businesses are about employee retention and the like, something that doesn't really obtain in the theatre. And we are not talking about living in Manhattan per se; that's really pretty irrelevant nowadays.
The more interesting and controversial aspect of this, at least coming from some producers, is that the sort of early stage remuneration being discussed ought to be, at least in part, the responsibility of the authors, not the producers. It's a messy and complicated subject. Writers have their friends come over for readings and schmoozefests. If that ends up costing the writer a point, will it chill the process, and will the theatre overall be worse for the chill? Nothing is easy. |
