Out of town workshop question

[Missk1717]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 6:53pm

When shows do an out of town Pre-Broadway run how do they determine where to live for that time. .Does the company pay for their lodging or are the cast/crew responsible for their own living arrangements. It's something I'm curious about..

Thank you!!

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 7:26pm

What they do is since it is out of town they must pay you a per diem. The catch is, they offer you housing or recommend housing that is usually quite more expensive than what you could possibly find on your own. I would check air b n b for where ever you're going. It's often nicer and cheaper. And you'll probably have a full kitchen which is a money saver. Living and dining from a hotel gets costly. Also get a group of 3 or 4 people and try to find a spot. This is the best and cheapest way to do an out of town stay Hope this helps!

[dramamama611]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 8:19pm

It doesn't sound like the OP is involved, just interested in the process. But, it works very much like the way they pay for accommodations for a tour.

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 8:24pm

It's nothing like they pay for the accommodations on tour. They pay for your accommodations on tour OR you opt to find your own. Out of town try outs etc....you are given per diem and lodging suggestions. You can pay for what they offer or find your own.

[kmccoy2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 9:31pm

Actually, Broadwaystar2, on full production contract tours, the cast and crew are responsible for their own housing. Company management finds suggested options and negotiates some group rates with hotels, and a per diem is paid, but the housing is at the expense of the employee. A similar situation exists on some of the tiered contracts, though on those contracts there are rules about the maximum housing cost for the "official" options. And, as you say, on some contracts, the housing is simply paid for (unless you "opt out".

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 10:15pm

Well on the production tours I've been on lodging was paid with the option of taking full per diem if you found your own lodging.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 11:14pm

The tours that are going out (or are already out) on the Full Production or Tiered Production will be receiving $868 a week/$124 a day as of September 29. According to the Production rulebook they will be offered two choices that are considered official company housing. If the average daily price over each 26 weeks of the lower cost of the two options is over $73 then company members will be reimbursed the overage times how ever many nights they were staying in the lower cost option. So should the average work out to $77, and somebody stayed in the lower cost options for 100 nights of the 26 weeks then they would receive a reimbursement of $400.

On the SET Agreement things work very differently. The producers agree to provide either single or double occupancy hotel rooms. The hotel must be rated AAA Double Diamond or better (or a comparable rating from another organization). As of June 2 of this year if the actor chooses a single room they will receive $49 a day, $67 a day for a double room, and $86 if they choose to decline the producer provided housing.

Edited to Add: Most out of town tryouts will be under the Production Contract. Things change even further if it is being produced at a LORT theatre. The LORT contract has its own set of rules regarding housing and per diems.
Updated On: 7/27/14 at 11:14 PM

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 11:28pm

AEA Thank you for this breakdown Very helpful.

[kmccoy2]

Posted: 7/27/14 at 11:45pm

AEA AGMA SM, on the IATSE side of things, the hotel cost limit calculation only gets used at the "modified" and "SET" side of things. These generally equate to the AEA "tiered" and "SETA" levels, so I went back and re-read the relevant sections in the AEA production rulebook and it appears to me that the hotel cost section (on page 133) is only applicable to "tiered tours", as it's a subsection of "terms for tiered tours".

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 7/28/14 at 12:33am

You are correct on that. Full Production does not get the reimbursement deals, just the Tiers (and not on the SET Agreement, since the producer is footing hotel costs, obviously). My bad for not noticing how many subsections in I was while scanning through there.

[Nateben2]

Posted: 7/28/14 at 2:22am

If you show is doing it's out of town tryout at a LORT theater (ART, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodman, etc) - you housing is paid fore (as long you accept the housing the offer) - and no per diem is required as long as your housing has a kitchen - most of the time it's an apartment, or a Residence Inn type hotel.


All of these are the minimums as put forth by the union, but can be negotiated for something different.

Updated On: 7/28/14 at 02:22 AM