Big League Tours

[Neil Higginbotham]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 7:52pm

As a former employee for Big League Theatricals, I am speaking from personal experience of the unmerited treatment that the employees are subjected too.
The performers of several B.L.T. tours have had injuries that could permanently affect their career path as dancers/singers. The management has ignored the concerns and health needs of the cast repeatedly and on a regualr basis and without concern or assistance. The cast members are forced to do fieldwork for physical trainers and doctors without the assistance of the stage managers in cities that they are not familar with. From personal experience, it is not easy to search for satisfactory health care in a foreign city while nursing an injury.
B.L.T. exploits it's members inteligence. The cast of Blast! was composed mostly of former Drum Corps members. So in knowing that, we had to undergo a rigorus schedule that afected our health greatly because they knew we were 'used' to hard work and we were made to feel as though our concerns and thoughts were unimportant. The cast of 'Aida' which is composed of concert dancers is currently undergoing the same schedule. This cast is not familiar with tour life and are being treated as though this is the standard for a broadway tour. This is not the case and is completely unfair because these talented individuals are permantly injuring themselves for a company that could care less.
The management spends more time discussing the future of the company/shows and an unsatisfactory ammount of time on the health of it's members. I believe that as a performer taking 18 hour bus rides to immediately unboard the bus to do a show without a satisfactory ammount of time to prepare one's body for a performance is unacceptable. 10+ members with injuries that are not addressed and are made to feel faulty for wanting health assistance. A constant refusal for a physical trainer time and time again. B.L.T. does not acknowledge the fact that as performers, our bodies are our career and once they have been pushed beyond repair we are left without careers while B.L.T. continues to make what money they make.
Hotel accomidations far from any eating esablishment is a constant struggle with this company. The cheaper the better, regardless of how it affects the cast.
I'm not posting this to slander the name of B.L.T. I'm posting this so that hopefully any future employee of this company will understand what they are getting themselves into.

[Amneris]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:25pm

thank you for being open and honest. I hope someone will read this and listen. Perhaps maybe something will be done to help and assure this stops.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:30pm

Thanks for this post. It's rather unnerving.

Updated On: 1/19/07 at 11:30 PM

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:43pm

Occasionally we'll see posts here wondering what the point is of having Equity and the other performing and crew unions. Your post about what touring life is like without the leverage that comes from collective bargaining is the best answer anyone could offer.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:49pm

Wow... um, that sucks.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:51pm

I have heard horror stories about non equity tours....it seems so unfair.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:55pm

Yeah and it cuts both ways too. The bad actions of a few unscrupulous producers can hurt the good guys who really try to take care of their casts. Non-Eq has its place, but Union is the way to go as far as protection, and work standards.

[theaterdude87]

Posted: 1/19/07 at 11:56pm

^ agreed 110%.

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 12:25am

Your post is a prime example why those of us who are proud Equity members need to continue fighting to educate audiences and non-union actors alike. I hope your post is read by all the non-Equity actors out there who have serious intentions of creating legitimate careers in the theater. Working for these non-union producers won't advance ANY actor's career. You won't be taken seriously by the people that can make a difference; you won't make any money (you'll be lucky to break even); and you'll be worked like a dog without the most basic protections or benefits. Aspire to something better and stop helping these opportunists get rich.

[stephen3]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 12:53am

Sounds familiar. I worked for them some (not so distant) years ago.
Horrible, cramped, long bus rides that often begin at 6 (or before) AM and go on until 4 PM with a soundcheck at 5:30. AWFUL Hotels with NO or LITTLE food available closeby. Horrible company management that doesnt give a damn about injuries or sickness (because there are no union guidelines).
ITS AWFUL and although the management at Big League Theatricals are Scumbags they are certainly not alone. Troika isnt any better. THEY DO IT BECAUSE THEY CAN.
THEY ARE NOT GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY THAT THEY RUN THESE TOURS.
WE have to let potential future employees know that yes, it may look like fun and be an adventure and get experience and see the country, etc, BUT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO. No union representation means that YOU AS AN EMPLOYEE ARE STUCK WITH WHATEVER THE STATUS QUO is. BE CAREFUL, but ESPECIALLY with these losers at Big League.

[Makanthony22]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 1:51am

These tours are really terrible. The public still is not educated on the difference. They think just because it’s a big name show like HAIRSPRAY, CHICAGO, RENT.... it must be top notch and they are treating everyone great. For the money these shows pull in it is really a shame they don’t take care of everyone and make a better experience for all.
I got off tour a while ago with Disney on Ice which was a total nightmare. We were in the UK first of all which was a large problem because IATSE doesn’t cover over there.
I cannot even go into detail about the terrible time it was for me. Let me just say during load outs it was the responsibility of the stage manager to manage load out and in and most of the time he was drunk. When you are dealing with thousands of pounds of equipment your boss should not be drunk. Most skaters also would be drunk and getting sick inside costumes. Not to mention having 10-hour bus rides and getting to a new venue and having to load in after no sleep. Instead of having the normal day of they would just rather pay us double and have us work over the day off to load in the show. Many times ending up being 4 weeks before one day off. We are also talking 3+ shows a day.

I have a friend also who got off tour with NETWORKS and she had the same terrible time. These companies don’t care. She got hired to do wigs for the show and ended up doing just about everything but wigs.

I would urge anyone to really find out about what they are getting into before taking a tour. Especially NON-EQUITY, NON-UNION.

[HaveWorked]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 2:32am

Updated On: 1/20/07 at 02:32 AM

[stephen3]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 11:25am

bump

[Amneris]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 11:47am

what about Pheonix productions? Any dirt on them?

[Makanthony22]

Posted: 1/20/07 at 2:28pm

Pheonix Productions are worse than both Networks and Big League from what I hear.

[tourboi]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 12:01am

As someone who has worked in numerous Equity, and Non Equity tours I want to chime in.

I've never worked for BIG LEAGUE, but have heard the horror stories. AIDA will, likely, be their last tour. Word has it that they are shutting down their NY office.

I have had friends on Troika Non Eq, and Phoenix tours and have had glowing comments thrown at me. Not only were they taken care of, but they had a blast working on the shows, which were (I saw them) amazing productions.

I *have* worked on a NETworks non-Eq tour of a big show. I had a blast for the most part. NETworks treated me (and others) incredibly well. I was always comfortable in my accomodations. If I had any concerns, or problems, our company managers took care of them right away. I don't get the hositility to NETworks, really. My experience was such a pleasurable one that I'd leap onto another NETworks tour in a heartbeat.

I've also done big Equity tours where I've been treated better, or worse than NETworks. Take it for what its worth.

Shows go Non Eq because a majority of the markets they play (like the show I did with NETworks) for one night or split weeks are too small for a full equity tour to book (which must be one week minimum) and don't have the audience base to support such a run. YES these tours make money, but a lot of their schedules (with the occasional week long sit in a big market) are comprised of many one night/split weeks in these smaller markets. There comes a point when the big tours of HAIRSPRAY stop making money on Equity contracts, and the show needs to hit those small markets. Non Eq is the only cost effective way to do that.

So while Big League may be a terrible company, and I wouldn't know first hand, lets not condemn an entire range of companies without the proper information. I've been on both sides of the spectrum and didn't see much of a difference in treatment on the Equity tours vs. my networks experience. The big difference was just the length of runs.

[WriteInNYC]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:06am

Tourboi-
I need to respectfully disagree that "The big difference was just the length of runs." The bigger differences are that non-union performers make a fraction of what their Equity counterparts make, they do not accrue benefits such as health insurance or sick days, they cannot contribute to a 401(k) plan, and they have no recourse when asked to ride a bus for 12 hours followed by a quick bite at McDonald's (or whatever is available)before running off to sound check and a performance (then likely repeating that routine the next day or for many days to come). But I have also heard that NETworks and Troika have treated their non-union actors more humanely than other companies, so I guess if there are young actors out there looking to build their resumes, these may be the companies to focus on. That being said, the schedules these companies maintain are not conducive to healthy, energetic performers and ultimately the work suffers as well.

[Makanthony22]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 3:57am

WriteInNYC,
You are correct it is more about the money factor not the length of runs. I have worked both union and non union and I think there is a big difference. I think also it depends on the crew you travel with. Some company managers , stage managers... will take care of the company others do not.
Overall it is unfair to pay people wages like this with poor benefits. While they present shows to the public charge tickets prices that are not much difference than Equity Tours.

[Neverandy]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 11:30am

I did two networks tours and they were great to us. We were making a lot of money for them so that might have had something to do with it though.
We also had a great schedule. That is probably the number one thing to consider when being offered one of these tours. Longer sit-downs really contribute to your overall happiness.
I always likened going to dinner on tour to playing the old video game "Frogger". Trying to cross an 8 lane highway to get to the only restaurant (which always is either an arby's or A DQ with reall food) and trying to dodge 18 wheelers travelling 70 mph is so much fun. especially when 40 people are doing it with you and you only have 15 minutes until bus call for soundcheck. This is after travelling for 14 hours with only a lunch stop at a mall that turns out to only contain a TJ Max undergoing renovation, a dollar store, and a Hot Dog on a Stick and an Orange Julius!
Ah Non-Eq memories!

[PitPro2004]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 11:41am

Guys, non union tours are totally pot luck.

I've done three for Troika and they were all quite simply heaven sent. Wonderful money, always got treated well, and had a blast. I've done one tour for Big League and it, too was wonderful.

Don't get me wrong, I know that that there are more horror stories than you can fit into an lifetime, but the main problem is the "PRODUCERS" of these tours, for they are the ones holding the pocketbook strings. Dan Sher was a total nightmare for BL, he has no clue about how to do touring. He was also told on my tour that his company was the worse paying of all of them, sent out his own people to do the research on that fact, found it to be true and STILL didn't up the pay scale or conditions. Sadly, it sounds to me that nothing has changed.

I am sorry to hear what people are going thru, and yes I am quite familiar with what happened to the BLAST company, I worked with a few of them when the show played Broadway. But let me say, as someone who has marched with a drum corps, 75% of those members sustain serious injury during the marching season already, so my only beef with what happened to them comes from a purely financial point of view. They got totally screwed and made peanuts on Broadway, so for that reason alone, I feel bad for them.

The point is; if you are going to sign with a non union tour, get everything in *writing* first and ask around to be sure of what you are in for. I look back fondly on my tours because we had superior company managers who looked out for us, producers who weren't too sadistic, and company members who had all done them before, had been around the block so to speak, and knew what they were getting into, so they could look ahead to upcoming dates and plan on what to eat, where to shop or what the hotel would be like, and make changes if need be.

[scot]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 12:45pm

Just a thought...
what is the usual
mode of transportation
for these touring shows?
Bus rides would be a
bummer...but a close
friend of mine did alot
of flying during a equity
tour.

[Amneris]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:12pm

are there nights when you don't sleep in hotels at all? What is the longest length of time you had to ride on a bus without stopping at all/no hotel/no food?

[Neverandy]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:30pm

The first non-union touring show I did was all 1 and 2 week sit-downs in major markets. We Did 8 show weeks tues wednesday thursday and friday nights and then doubles saturday and sunday. We generally flew on monday morning. There were a few weeks where we had a bus.
the second was a lot more split weeks and one nighters. We always stayed in a hotel and the most we ever did on the bus was about 10 hours. This happenned only once or twice. We had a great company manager on both shows and they always made very smart decisions. A lot of times we would get up early (6 AM) and leave so that we would arrive in a city early. It sounds tough but most everyone would just sleep on the bus. We would then arrive around 2pm to the hotel and have some time before we would have to go to soundcheck.
There are a lot of variables that combine to make one non-union tour better than another. Both of my shows were with NetWorks, but that doesn't necessarily mean that all NetWorks tours are Heavenly. My buddy did two Big League tours and loved it, and he is a big complainer. He also did the first national of 42nd st. (on the Equity experimental touring contract)and said it was very much the same as the non-union show he did.
Another friend did a Troika tour and she loved it as well. While I have heard some nightmares as well.
A good company manager is invaluable but you really can't ask about that when you are hired and expect an honest answer. The route is really your only clue as to what you are getting yourself into.

[MotorTink]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 1:36pm

This thread makes me respect the actors I saw last night at the Aida tour even more! Bless you all, I don't know how you do it!

[tourboi]

Posted: 1/21/07 at 2:27pm

On the NETworks tour I did the cast was making a pretty decent wage, comparable to some Equity "Experimental Touring Contracts". I don't think they got insurance, no, but when you are in any other profession and you get an "entry level" job or what not at a firm, you don't get benefits right away sometimes. Whats the difference? It's a launch pad to a career.

As for the travel question: We did QUITE a bit of flying on the NETworks show I did. There were long bus rides yes, but there was also a lot of flying. And the bus rides were comfortable for the most part. We all had our own double seats to stretch out in and sleep if we wanted.

THere was NO overnight bussing. Even on one nighters we were ALWAYS put in a hotel. Any company that wouldn't do that would be a bad company, its true.