Alex Ellis : I was over worked and under paid — Page 2

fashionguru_23 said: "Random quick question: how can a Non-Equity show, play an equity theatre?"



Ok. So a quick answer is to explain it this way: sometimes a theater is just a building and it can be rented by anyone or any company. An example of this is a venue like the Broward Center in Ft. Lauderdale, or The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. But, sometimes a theatre is owned by an organization that produces shows and has an existing agreement (or contract etc) with AEA (and other unions but getting into THAT aspect of it can get confusing) and therefore EVERYTHING that goes on that stage will involve Equity Actors and stage managers. An example of this would be a place like Papermill, or Goodspeed.

Yes, landlords at Broward and the Fox have agreements with other unions (IATSE being the main one) which can mean that you can attend a show and have a situation where everyone except the actors and stage managers are protected under a union contract.

Kalimba said: "Her attitude is a bit much. When one signs up for a non-equity production, you're at the mercy of the producers unfortunately. Her experience on the Legally Blonde tour sounds like someone in power was playing games. I'm sure this wasn't the first time that an actor/actress has experienced this. She comes off unlikeable."

This comes off as victim blaming and it is not a cute look. She's unlikeable, therefore, she deserved being mistreated?

IronMan said: "Maybe someday she'll learn to READ HER CONTRACT. And know what the show schedule is. And look at a damn map.

I did a lot of non-union tours in the pre-internet days, and I'm not so stupid to have signed a contract without knowing where I was going and what was required of me. "

Knowing what’s required of a job and actually doing it are two different things. You can hear all about what climbing Mount Everest is like, do all the research, be as prepared as possible, but until you’re actually climbing the mountain, you don’t know what it’s like. Ellis was fresh out of college and was offered the lead role on a national tour. OF COURSE she was gonna take it. Why wouldn’t she? And if she had an agent, they most certainly probably encouraged her to take the job. None of that means that her complaints aren’t valid. And while she does bring up the excruciating schedule (seriously, 12 shows a week should never be allowed. And most likely, the cast didn’t even receive a pay bump), the stuff that jumps out to me is about the culture of fear on non-AEA tours about calling out. I had a similar experience on a non-eq tour with Troika. They absolutely make you terrified to call out. I was pretty much forced to go on at times when I most definitely shouldn’t have. It’s brutal. And because you’re non-Union, you don’t really have anyone to complain to about it. But, like Ellis, I was fresh out of college, and it was a show that I loved. No one was going to keep me from doing it. When you’re that young, you feel invincible.


To be honest, I have more happy memories than bad ones from the show I did with Troika. But the bad ones were REALLY bad. I later did an Equity tour with them, thinking it would be better. Nope. That company is a mess. As for non-eq tours, I think we have reached a point where we can start re-examining them and making changes instead of just saying “That’s the way it’s always been.”

Most in the industry would regard doing a non-union tour as a part of "paying your dues". What I mean is that when working low paying jobs with grueling performance schedules you begin to work your way up. It's a part of a learning experience and a great opportunity to build stamina. Once you've proven yourself as someone who can get along with others and get the job done without causing drama you'll slowly (sometimes quickly) begin to get jobs with better pay and more reasonable performance schedules.

And nobody in the industry wants to work with a Debbie Downer.

Updated On: 4/20/21 at 10:09 PM

Tag said: "morosco said: "Most in the industry would regard doing a non-union tour as a part of "paying your dues". What I mean is that when working low paying jobs with grueling performance schedules you begin towork your way up. It's a part of a learning experience and a great opportunity to buildstamina. Once you've proven yourself as someone who can get along with others and get the job done without causing drama you'll slowly (sometimes quickly) beginto get jobs with better pay and more reasonable performance schedules."

The "paying your dues" / "you have to suffer through it, because I had to suffer through it" mentality is on the way out."



Also not all Non-Equity tours are filled with “gee-shucks” fresh faced kids just out of school.I’ve seen plenty with older folks and one in particular with a most likely 60+ year old actress helping with loadout Thats insane. Yeah, the “paying your dues” mentality needs to end.

She comes off unlikeable.

This comes off as victim blaming and it is not a cute look. She's unlikeable, therefore, she deserved being mistreated?"

Um, yes. Duh.

I would also assume that the "12 shows in a week" is actually 12 shows in a row. Broadway often does 16 shows in a row without a day off, as the official "week" is Monday to Sunday. So if you did performances daily from Tuesday until the next Saturday, that's 16 in a row, but only 8 each "week."