Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
"Pu-leeeeeaaSE! Actors want JOBS"
I was just talking with a casting director the other day about an actor who turned down an audition appointment for a show that would have been 9 weeks and was offering $2000 a week (with some room for negotiation). The reason? He would have had to cut his planned vacation short by two days (for which he was driving, from upstate NY, not flying, so there wasn't even the loss of airline tickets involved).
I know another actor who declined a role in a regional production of A Christmas Carol (Christmas Past, to be exact) because at the end of Act I Past exits the stage through a free-fall trap door. He had previously understudied the part the year before and had to go on and did not like having to go through that trap door and knew he did not want to have to do it for the entire run.
I also know someone who declined an audition for this show because he knows he has a fear of heights.
These are just a few examples of how actors will NOT do anything for a job.
To clarify for the poster regarding the LITTLE MERMAID fall, it was before an actual performance while the actors were getting into place. The word on the street is that he won a hefty sum of cash from Mickey Mouse.
I have to echo a previous poster and say: I don't understand why this is happening. With all the crazy Cirque du Soleil and Circus shows out there that seem to go off fine...what's going on here? Or, do things like that have just as many injuries that we simply aren't aware of because they are not nearly as high profile as this?
He's here...the Phantom of the Foxwoooooods
AEA...but somehow I'm thinking those jobs were less high-profile than Spiderman. Many MANY actors will do anything for a job. Especially one with this kind of publicity and high profile creative team.
"I don't like this new ending."
BG107, I worked for Cirque during the "Dralion" tour. There were very few injuries. While I was working with them the biggest was a sprained wrist sustained by the hand balancing girl.
This is just my opinion or thought, but Cirque has tents and theaters designed specifically for their shows. Spider-Man is bringing these things into a theater that was not specifically designed for these kinds of stunts. Granted if the designers do their job right, these things should not happen as often as the already have, in my opinion. I don't think these injuries can be compared to the dancing injuries. Also with "Mermaid, wasn't it a rtap door that was open when the actors were taking the stage for a show? These stunts, to me, seem a bit more dangerous. Again, just my opinion.
From the official twitter acct:
An actor sustained an injury at tonight's performance of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark...
http://twitter.com/#!/SpideyOnBway/statuses/17090602113961984
He fell several feet from a platform approximately seven minutes before the end of the performance, and the show was stopped...
http://twitter.com/#!/SpideyOnBway/statuses/17090721127342080
All signs were good as he was taken to the hospital for observation. We will have more news shortly.
http://twitter.com/#!/SpideyOnBway/statuses/17090807248982016
I'm too snarky for my own good and it's your fault BWW lol
@SpideyOnBway
An actor sustained an injury at tonight's performance of Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark...
@Eris0303
@SpideyOnBway Do tell....
I'm willing to bet that there are many horrific accidents that have happened during rehearsals or performances of Cirque de Soliel or R&B Circus. We just don't hear about them.
ETA: Didn't see Uncageg's post before I wrote this.
A post so nice, I did it twice.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
Well, as I said, the one was an actor who turned down an audition appointment for this show because he knew it would be a horrible choice for him.
"Or, do things like that have just as many injuries that we simply aren't aware of because they are not nearly as high profile as this?"
That's pretty much it exactly.
Kad, Xanadu did manage to make it through without any other major injuries (at least that were reported), but the same can not be said for Starlight Express (where the original costumes were built to be able to hide the various wrist and ankle braces the cast ended up from all those injuries).
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
No matter how much rehearsal, there's always chance of injury. In the opening of Lion King, there is always the potential that one of the actors may trip on their costume and be trampled by the actors behind him. Spiderman can only get more dangerous as it goes on.
I'm pretty sure Xanadu had other injuries during it's run on Broadway/tour. I thought Kenita Miller was injured, and Shannon Antalan replaced her. Curtis Holbrook may have been injured as well. I knew Luke Hawkins played his roles for a brief time.
How many Spiderman stunt doubles are there? Nearly all the ensemble members and swings are listed as Aerialists on IBDB.
Stand-by Joined: 6/1/06
Regarding Cirque injuries: http://ehstoday.com/safety/ehs_imp_80576/
18,000 injuries in a five year period, but less than 5% were fractures, head injuries and concussions. I've only been able to find one incident that was a technical issue, but maybe someone else knows of some?
My issue with the injuries in Spiderman is that all of them have been related to the technical aspects of the show, not the actor tripping or landing oddly from a jump.
Updated On: 12/21/10 at 12:41 AM
The difference between shows such as "Fosse" and "Starlight Express" Is that the choreography is what hurt the actors...and many of these injuries were over long periods of time...Spiderman has the actors doing some pretty risky stuff...there's a fine line...and spiderman is crossing it.
I mean...they have people doing fights in mid-air and actors flying around constantly...how the hell does a wire snap unless some serious neglagence goin on...
Broadway Star Joined: 7/13/04
Anyone saying, "hey, injuries happen all the time, it happened in Little Mermaid, and Xanadu" are missing the point at a monumental level.
Whether it's fair or not, Spider-Man is now famous for being an out of control, dangerous production. This is Spider-Man's claim to fame. When Conan performs parodies of it, he has set pieces falling on the performers. When my family was visiting this weekend, they would joke, "well, we could see Spider-Man, but I'm afraid something will fall on us."
Even if this actor is not hurt (which we all pray is the case), I predict this show closes down.
Singtopher, I know a lot happen during Cirque rehearsals up in Canada. My friend continued on with the tour and he told me that there were some sprained wrists and things like that but nobody falling off of wires. I would suspect that if something like that happened it would at least hit the local news for the city they were in. Just my thought.
it is also a question we asked when working for them and unless they lied, they said that they don't normally have major accidents. There safety measures are off the charts. I got to wath the tent go up and everthing put into place and tested.
I would suspect that if something like that happened it would at least hit the local news for the city they were in.
Especially if it happened during a performance.
We've gotten another small update via a stagehand about what went wrong tonight and that it was not a flying sequence...
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/UPDATE_FirstHand_Report_on_SPIDERMAN_Injury_20101220
Dear AEA AGMA SM
My point exactly.
When you are young and eager you will do anything. Until you see what can happen when safety isn't a priority. Until you experience an injury or see one happen- you will always trust that you are in good hands....until you aren't.
I am glad there are actors in this biz who will turn down jobs for personal reasons...good for them!
But the majority don't have that option. And even more, most actors who find themselves in an unsafe environment won't say anything for fear of being blacklisted or losing the very job they so desperately need.
The Spiderman cast is made up largely of younger actors OR actors who are making their bway debut. But I know at least 10 actors who refused to audition or walked out of the audition due to the unsafe and scary nature of what they were being asked to do.
I hope it wasn't Baileyboo who was injured...
Didn't someone say that the wire went out into the audience? I guess it's safe to assume that no audience members were injured.
"Update 12:45 AM: We're told via a stagehand that this was NOT a flying sequence and that Spider-Man was NOT supposed to drop at all. He was supposed to run to top of the ramp as if to jump with the lights then set to go to black. The cable that snapped is what stops him from going over the edge, and that is what failed.
Read more: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/UPDATE_FirstHand_Report_on_SPIDERMAN_Injury_20101220#ixzz18irFS4vl"
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
I'd be afraid to watch the show and have an actor fall on me or for wiring to snap and head straight into the audience.
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