Equity Tour Switch to Non Equity Question

Non-equity tours typically scale back production values. In terms of talent, equity vs. non-equity doesn't mean anything. There are incredibly talented talented actors who are both in the union and not in the union, and there are horrible actors who are both in the union and not in the union. Equity vs. non-equity is not a good or fair predictor of talent.

Thanks to both of you! That's great to know about Work Light and the talent etc.

Would you know whether or not the non-equity tour would still use the same broadway direction and choreography like an equity broadway national tour? That's a big reason why I want to see something rotten again and again.

The non-Eq Miss Saigon tour was really good, although I think The Enginer and Kim, who had played their roles before in Equity tours, had either dropped their cards or worked something out with the union. Everyone else’s bio was like “recent BFA graduate” though. And yeah, the projected helicopter was fine, the original one was such a gimmick.

P.S. Why I remember this stuff from half my lifetime ago so well is weird. I guess when you’re a young theatre fanatic, your first experiences can be really impactful.

Updated On: 9/2/18 at 04:02 PM

I've had positive experiences with most non-equity tours I've seen. I feel that the tours that get to 'sit down' for a few days or a week at a time are more impressive and retain most of their set designs.

"Ghost" had such a high-tech production value that I wouldn't have guessed it was non-equity if I wasn't aware of it beforehand. "Bullets Over Broadway" was also very good production-wise.

I saw a one-night-only performance of "Pippin" which retained most of its set design, but removed all of the aerial work. The commercials with the non-equity cast showed them doing the aerial stunts, but I'm guessing they didn't have enough load-in time to do safety checks for a one-night-only performance. If I hadn't been so familiar with the production, I wouldn't have missed it.

The only time I've felt seriously disappointed was seeing a one-night-only stop of "Cabaret" earlier this year (I'd seen the Equity tour in 2016). Even though the promo photos and commercial showed a full set, all they used was a riser a few feet off of the ground, the large angled frame (resting on the stage) and two door frames. That was it. I know some non-equity tours have a second "more" scaled-down version of the set they can use for short stops, but this one was just plain lazy. It was the only time I felt ripped off.

RippedMan said: "sbflyfan, what is your tour stop? A lot of it depends on what that theater can handle. Funnily enough, I did a tour of Cabaret awhile back, and we had different tiers depending on what could fit in. When we were in a normal size house, we'd have the full set, lights, etc. But once we played an old vaudville theater, and their load in door was literally just a standard door. So we did the whole show with no set, just chairs/tables. For a show like Cabaret, I think a scaled-down version is okay. But yeah, that def. sucks."

"Ghost" and "Bullets..." were in larger touring houses in Pittsburgh and Cleveland and ran for 1-week and 2-weeks. I saw "Pippin" at the Warner Theatre in Erie, PA (seats 2,250) and "Cabaret" at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling, WV (2,400 seats). I don't normally go out of my way like that, but I wanted to see those last two because I was particularly fond of the productions. I also enjoy visiting theaters I haven't been to before or wouldn't normally have a reason to visit, so that's always a fun part of it, as well.

Updated On: 9/3/18 at 12:58 AM

Oh that’s interesting! I’ve played the Capitol and it’s quite massive. Maybe they just didn’t have time to put it all up or maybe that’s just how the tour is? It’s a Prather tour and their two home-base theaters have no fly space and are quite short in terms of height, which could be the reason for cutting the second level.

Updated On: 9/3/18 at 07:40 AM

Miles2Go2 said: "When I caught the non-equity tour of Rent earlier this year, they had quite a bit of merchandise. Probably not as much as you’d see with most touring equity productions, but more than I was expecting. I don’t know if that’s the norm, however."



Good to know, thanks! Really hoping to find the "Make an Omelette" Something Rotten Apron on sale haha.

Work Light tours, even non-equity, the past few years have all had Merchandise touring with the show. However, the decision for merch/no merch on a non-equity tour comes down to two things-Does the third-party merchandise company think they will be able to at least break even on the operation, and is there room on the limited number of truck for the merchandise cases to travel with the show.

To address a couple of other things which have come up here, the recent Pippin and Cabaret tours produced by Prather bought the physical show-sets/props/costumes from the equity producers, cut it down, and sent it back out as a fairly full representation of the full show. The variance come from the size venue the show is booked in, and at times, how late the trucks arrive in the morning. I know that Pippin was booked in a few houses that simply could not accommodate the aerial rigging, whether the show would have been there for a day or a month. I saw the tour in a venue that had the fully aerial in tact. I didn't see the Cabaret tour this spring, but from the new b-roll they shot, it seems like they were traveling with a full approximation of the Roundabout set, complete with the second level. For whatever reason, whether space in the venue, or timing loading in, it may have been cut-I have known one-night shows to get caught in a storm driving overnight, miss load-in by a few hours, and need to do a cut-show in a venue that could have fit the full tour, but there was not time to build the full show.