Dress code for tours?

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Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 6:37pm

I have a friend who's touring with South Pacfic non-eq, and I'm going to see him in Boston next weekend. The thought occurred to me that I have no idea if there's a "standard" way that people dress for tours. I have no qualms going to a Broadway show in jeans and a t-shirt, but I was thinking that the theater might not be a part of other people's daily lives for a touring production, and folks would dress up more.

It's a Saturday evening performance, BTW.

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 6:43pm

I always dress up when I see a national tour. I think wearing jeans is fine as long as they are in a darker wash and aren't baggy, but you're better off with a nice shirt instead of just a t-shirt.

"You have two kinds of shows on Broadway – revivals and the same kind of musicals over and over again, all spectacles. You get your tickets for The Lion King a year in advance, and essentially a family... pass on to their children the idea that that's what the theater is – a spectacular musical you see once a year, a stage version of a movie. It has nothing to do with theater at all. It has to do with seeing what is familiar.... I don't think the theatre will die per se, but it's never going to be what it was.... It's a tourist attraction." Stephen Sondheim

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 6:48pm

At all of the touring shows I've gone to, the dress code seems to be semi-casual. Nice pants, a sweater maybe, nothing too fancy but a step above street clothes. I personally would nix the jeans, but honestly I don't think anyone would judge you for them as long as they weren't stained/torn.

Updated On: 9/24/11 at 06:48 PM

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 7:29pm

If you have no qualms ON B'way, why would you care here?

I would never wear a tshirt to the theater. (unless it were outdoors.) Nice jeans? Yes.

If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it? These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 8:09pm

I guess I am a nerd from the hinterlands, but I always wear a sportcoat over a polo or dress shirt (sometimes a tie) in the evenings, and something more casual for matinees. Never wear jeans or short sleeve shirts to anything like that. I wear the same thing if I go to a concert or a community theatre also. And it takes me h-o-u-r-r-r-s-s-s-s to get ready...LOL! "All the world's a stage", you know...

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/24/11 at 11:09pm

Personally, it highly depends on the venue.

The Pantages in L.A. is very relaxed, with most audiences going in very casual wear. The Ahmanson, on the other hand, sees most of its guests arriving well dressed.

Broadway is a mixed bag with some people wearing suits and formal dresses and others in shorts and T's. I'm a slob at heart, so I usually try to find any excuse to wear the old jeans, polo, and sneakers. But, ultimately, I've been to the theatre enough to feel confident in what I choose to wear that I hardly think about it anymore.

Although I did horrify myself at a 2006 performance of Chicago, when I looked in a large mirror in the lobby and saw the sweater I was wearing had a crap load of those awful lint thingies that form when you know jack sh*t about washing certain delicate fabrics. I couldn't take it off either, cause the slob in me wanted to wear some nasty old T-shirt underneath so I opted for nasty lint thingies, reasoning I'd soon be in the dark for act two.

Recreation of original John Cameron orchestration to "On My Own" by yours truly. Click player below to hear.

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 12:23am

wear a yankees shirt and see what happens.

Updated On: 9/25/11 at 12:23 AM

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 12:44am

Out here in Arizona nice shorts/jeans with a nice shirt are the norm.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 2:52am

What to wear to the non-Union tour of South Pacific? Hmm.....how about a t-shirt that states you think it's wrong that you just paid the same price for your ticket to see the non-Union production as the producers charged for the Union production, yet the performers and crew work for less salary, less benefits and less per diem?

You don't know anyone in the audience. So why worry about what they think of how you are dressed? Meanwhile - Your friend would appreciate your T-shirt of support for his working conditions.

#10

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 4:31am

Hmm.....how about a t-shirt that states you think it's wrong that you just paid the same price for your ticket to see the non-Union production as the producers charged for the Union production,

Oh this again. Psst... Prices are set by the presenter and every Networks Non-Equity Tour I've been to (Which is QUITE a lot) the top price was $55. Please kindly step down from your pedestal now.

And I even looked up it up my theatre's website, South Pacific (As well as well as the rest of Networks shows (The rest top ticket is $60)) is only $55! Look at that Union price!

Ticket Prices:
$55 Orch / Mezz
$45 Rear Side Orch / Lower Balcony (DD - HH)
$35 Upper Balcony (JJ - NN)
All prices include $2 Facility Fee
http://broadwaybinghamton.com/show-detail.asp?id=108

Updated On: 9/25/11 at 04:31 AM

#11

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 4:11pm

That show, even scaled down, will not fully fit in Binghamton lol....

That said... you're right. Prices are generally lower, and prices are set by local PRESENTERS not the producers. If you have an issue with that, take it up with your local presenter.

#12

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 4:49pm

Tourboi- do you happen to know how scaled back the non equity tour is? Just wondering because I am seeing it in January and want to know what to expect!

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#13

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 8:06pm

That show, even scaled down, will not fully fit in Binghamton lol....

Of course not. None of the shows we get can fully fit if it's not a unit set. lol. Wizard of Oz really failed having to cut a lot of their set, but most shows can manage.

#14

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 8:25pm

I was there this past season with a show and we cut a lot, but thankfully our crew was great at making it look like nothing was cut.

As for cuts on SP, I'm not sure of specifics (though I was on the equity tour). I know the plane is cut, and some things that were automation are now done manually. But surprisingly not a lot else. It's still a big show.

#15

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 8:39pm

I don't have a dress code rule anymore because I know there's always going to be plenty of people that look like they are going camping.

"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"

#16

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/25/11 at 10:58pm

Thanks for all the input! I found that the suggestion of a t-shirt explaining the non-union aspects funny, but sadly true.

I texted my friend a few weeks back to see if he wanted to go to BOM after rehearsal (I was in the standing room line) and he said he got caught up late in rehearsals, and it's non-union, so he could do nothing about it.

I also mentioned in passing that the hotel room I was staying in wasn't all that cheap - he groaned, because apparently he has to pay for his own lodging in every city. If my employer tells me I have to go somewhere for work, you better believe they're paying for my lodging! (I don't work in the theater industry in any way, BTW). He said the pay looks really good, but after all that it costs him it's actually not that great

I think I'll leave the jeans in the hotel room and have a nice polo and pair of khaki slacks for the show. Not too dressy, but not a slob either :)

ETA - the prices seemed pretty union to me (at least in Boston). I paid $90 for a orchestra ticket (and then Ticketmaster gouged me on top of that, but that's another thread entirely).

Updated On: 9/25/11 at 10:58 PM

#17

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 12:39am

Again, that price is decided on by the presenter (Broadway Across America) not NETworks. Further, when you factor in the prices in ALL the markets its playing, the average is far lower.

As for him having to pay for his own hotel... duh. Most tours (except the SETA and some Tier contracts which have producers paying for hotels, and offering a small per deum) have it structured so it is the actor's responsibility.

That's why actors get per deum (to pay for said housing). On most non union shows, actors double up in a hotel room to keep that cost down. But the cost isn't coming out of their salary. Per deum is a separate thing entirely.

#18

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 12:42am

That's too bad about the plane being cut! The venue I work at is huge so there are no additional cutbacks that have to be made luckily.

Theatrefan4 - For Wizard of Oz what did they end up cutting?

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#19

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 1:00am

Do non-Eq tour actors really have to take care of their own housing costs on tour? You say they get a per diem, but that still sounds horrible not to have it taken care of for you!

#20

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 1:21am

While prices are indeed set by the local presenters, they have to price their tickets in order to meet the guarantee to pay the producer, so in an indirect way NETworks is indeed setting the ticket price. If the presenter is paying a $200,000 a week guarantee for the non-Equity South Pacific and they paid a $200,000 guarantee for the Equity tour of Next to Normal (and I'm just using hypotheticals, though since Next to Normal went out under the SETA contract their average guarantee wouldn't be too far from that), then the presenter is pretty much forced to charge the same prices if they want to see any profit from the show.

And yes, the majority of actors pay for their hotels out of their per diem, both Equity and non-Equity. The SETA contract is the only Equity touring contract where the producer pays for the hotel costs (and the per diem is lower on that contract because of that).

#21

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 1:46am

Theatrefan4 - For Wizard of Oz what did they end up cutting?

All of the background projections, Glinda's bubble, Munchkinland was reduced to some bushes.

#22

Dress code for tours?

Posted: 9/26/11 at 1:22pm

"If the presenter is paying a $200,000 a week guarantee for the non-Equity South Pacific and they paid a $200,000 guarantee for the Equity tour of Next to Normal (and I'm just using hypotheticals, though since Next to Normal went out under the SETA contract their average guarantee wouldn't be too far from that), then the presenter is pretty much forced to charge the same prices if they want to see any profit from the show. "

Well, yes that guarantee would be fair. N2N is a SMALL show on tour compared to most, and 200K is on a lower side of the guarantee as a result. The Eq SP tour cost a LOT more for presenters. It was one of the most expensive shows on the road to book. So to be able to present that staging for a guarantee comperable to a N2N, well, that's quite a discount.

As for the shock of having to pay for hotels out of per deum... per deum is NOT part of your salary! It's an additional allowance that IS NOT taxable, and is specifically for housing costs and what not on the road.

So in a way, the producer is paying for it (by giving you the per deum), but they're just making the individual responsible.

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