Posted: 5/14/21 at 11:48am
Joshua Rosenthal said: "I believe, if whst someone who I know who used to be on Broadway told me is correct, every hour of rehearsals or performance, the performers and I believe crew as well are obligated by union rules to a 15 minute break. Even for shows that are in between 1 to 2 hours, their break I believe is then technically before the show starts since there won’t be intermission there. In terms of most musicals however, there would then have to be a break by union rules unless they plan on changing that which I highly doubt considering many people on both sides of the curtain really need a break during the show at some point."
I'm not in the union, so I can't claim to know the rules for sure, but what you're saying doesn't sound totally correct to me. Don't most actors have a half hour call before curtain? In theory, I guess that could count as a "break" since they aren't performing, but aren't they spending a big chunk of that time getting in costume and makeup? It seems to me that Equity wouldn't let that fly as a "break." Unless the call-time is earlier for shows that have no intermission, but that doesn't seem right either. Is it possible that the rule you're thinking of only applies to rehearsal, not performance?
