Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Let’s show some love to the pit musicians | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 11:56 am EST 01/13/22 | |
| In reply to: Meanwhile, what's actually going on... - reed23 09:38 am EST 01/13/22 | |
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| Some more words from Masse, Broadway conductor, which contained this truly shocking tidbit about how musicians are regarded by production: Producers, said Masse, “have zero responsibility for any musician to have even one person to replace them—in any event, be it illness, vacation, or whatever. Unlike an actor, who has a producer-provided understudy, any full-time musician at a Broadway show is 100 percent responsible for all performances, and must train substitute musicians at their own time and expense. “Those subs, who are under no obligation or contract to be available at any given time, are expected to learn a show without compensation and able to perform at a moment’s notice, without ever having rehearsed whatsoever. There are benefits to this system, but during this particular moment it is an astonishing fact that no effort has been made to improve upon it, and is a testament to the way shared success and symbiosis works among our musicians that the rest of the industry could stand to borrow from.” The full article is worth reading for its sober, complex dive into the pain Broadway is going through as everyone grapples with the deep problems of the business model. |
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| re: Let’s show some love to the pit musicians | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 04:58 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
| In reply to: Let’s show some love to the pit musicians - Singapore/Fling 11:56 am EST 01/13/22 | |
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| “Those subs, who are under no obligation or contract to be available at any given time, are expected to learn a show without compensation and able to perform at a moment’s notice, without ever having rehearsed whatsoever. There are benefits to this system, but during this particular moment it is an astonishing fact that no effort has been made to improve upon it, and is a testament to the way shared success and symbiosis works among our musicians that the rest of the industry could stand to borrow from.” What exactly are the benefits of this system? I can't think of another job category where someone in a position must find and train potential covers or replacements at their own expense on their own time. I had no idea that producers didn't audition musicians, hire them, and then pay them to rehearse and learn the material the same as they pay actors. That's awful. I cannot imagine why their union wouldn't have addressed this issue decades ago. |
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| re: Let’s show some love to the pit musicians/crew | |
| Last Edit: waterfall 11:48 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
| Posted by: waterfall 11:35 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Let’s show some love to the pit musicians - JereNYC 04:58 pm EST 01/13/22 | |
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| "I can't think of another job category where someone in a position must find and train potential covers or replacements at their own expense on their own time." The show's musician is the one that has to find their sub, but it's the sub putting in the unpaid time and work, as they "shadow" the musician as they perform during the show. " I cannot imagine why their union wouldn't have addressed this issue decades ago." They may well have. Unions do not always get what they negotiate for. Back in the aughts, 802 struck over a proposed "virtual orchestra". Its purpose was to replace multiple live musicians with a machine in order to bring costs down. The strike closed Broadway for 2 days. They were successful in that case, because the "karaoke machine" (as it was derisively known) was actually tried out and was a miserable failure. IATSE (Local One and International, can't speak to the others) was in the same situation until some years ago. Crew still have to find their own subs (which honestly, does make sense), but now subs are paid to train. Here's the thing. Most of you know that actors' standbys and understudies are contracted for and paid to be dedicated to one specific show, available at a moment's notice. They are on site. This is not true of musicians and stagehands. Subs are trained, but since they obviously can't survive on one show's occasional work, they are forced to learn other shows. As a result, they are often unavailable, particularly in the case of an emergency. More than once, I was working on my own show when an accident/sudden illness occurred, on a show I had subbed for in the past, close to curtain. None of their subs were available on such short notice, so my sub, who lived in Times Square, raced to my theater to run my show, while I dashed to revisit a show I hadn't run in years. |
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