Melissa Errico Fired From PASSION?- Page 7

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 10:31am

Agreed with Gaveston and Kad on why the producers possibly didn’t want to wait until Tuesday to see if she was cleared. Also, perhaps they feared that even if she was cleared, her voice might not hold up for the rest of the run. (Also, just speculation.)

Maybe I am missing something, but in blog 5 when she is talking about getting an e-mail that says “Urgent”…is she assuming we are supposed to know what that e-mail is or is she leaving us hanging until blog 6 to know what that e-mail is? I have been able to follow everything fairly well so far, but blog 5 seemed particularly convoluted to me.

Intrigued to see how it turns out that she needs surgery, since, as of blog 5, she seems to have been given a clean bill of health. Maybe it ended up being a good thing she didn’t go back into the show for the last 2 weeks!

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 10:32am

The unsigned contract issue is a bit strange, because there are so many people who should have been on her about returning that; Equity, the production and/or company management at CSC, and her agent. At every business meeting I've been to, which is held before the first rehearsal of pretty much every contracted show that takes place in NYC (i.e. not a Showcase) the business rep from Equity will flat out say, "If you haven't filed your contract with Equity then give it to me now and I will take it in for you." The back of her Equity card flat out states, and this is a direct quote from the back of the card:

1. Under no circumstances may you rehearse or perform in any company without a properly executed and signed Equity contract.
2. Anytime you sign an Equity contract your copy should be filed with Equity immediately.
3. You are not permitted to perform with or stage manage a non-Equity company (with or without pay) without written permission from Equity.
4. Temporary Withdrawal or Suspended Payment status does not grant you the right to work in a non-Equity company. You are still a member of Equity.
5. When in doubt call the Equity office.
My signature on the reverse side of this card indicates my knowledge and understanding of the above.

So, as others have said, from what she has posted on this blog, she has willfully kept herself unaware of her responsibilities to the business aspect of this BUSINESS.

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 10:38am

Maybe I am missing something, but in blog 5 when she is talking about getting an e-mail that says “Urgent”…is she assuming we are supposed to know what that e-mail is or is she leaving us hanging until blog 6 to know what that e-mail is?

She initially explained that she'd read the email, but deleted it and only had a foggy recollection of what it said. She gave a synopsis, but implied that the contents were so upsetting that she couldn't rely on her memory of it.

She later deleted that part of the blog entry.

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 10:46am

Thanks for the clarification, John Adams. Seems very odd she decided to leave any mention of the that in this blog, then. Also, I am confused as to what it could have said that would have been worse than getting fired. Perhaps telling her she wasn’t going to be on the cast recording?

[John Adams]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:15am

>> Seems very odd she decided to leave any mention of the that in this blog, then.

To my mind, that's a reflection on a larger issue that's not limited to just Errico. In general, too many people believe that because Internet publishing (especially via social media) is SOOOO easy to accomplish, they can and SHOULD take every opportunity to utilize it.

Few take the time to consider the implications of broadcasting to such a large audience. They do not weigh the possibility that "old-fashioned" communication that's limited to a much smaller and more private audience can still be a viable (and in some cases, better) option to express personal thoughts and experiences.

So now Errico (like so many others) has published using a much louder voice than necessary and is editing in front of a large audience. Now, we're not only reacting to her thoughts, we're reacting to how she's compiling them.

Unfortunately, she does not understand that line from The Social Network:

"The Internet's not written in pencil, Mark, it's written in ink."

Updated On: 6/13/13 at 11:15 AM

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:29am

Another thought in re: the contract.

Actors generally receive numerous copies of the contract. One for the theatre, for the agent, etc. The unsigned contract Errico (in my opinion, extremely unwisely) shared could very well be the copy intended for her own records. In that case, it doesn't necessarily need to be signed- so long as she signed and returned the copies intended for the other parties.

Doesn't explain the other documents, but those could also be duplicates. Who knows?

Updated On: 6/13/13 at 11:29 AM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:41am

Kad, that is not just one of multiple copies. It's a carbon form (i.e. press really hard so it goes through all copies). One for the actor, one for the producer, one for producer to file with Equity, one for the actor to file with Equity, and an agent copy. If she didn't sign that she didn't sign any.

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:46am

Are you sure about that? While I know some people still use carbon forms, most contracts I have seen have simply been printed in triplicate for the actor to sign each copy. (I did not see the blog, but I can't tell if you are saying that Equity contracts are ALWAYS carbon forms.)

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:46am

Ah, you're right. The theatre I deal with prints out multiple copies- not carbon. But looking closer at the photo she's provided, that is indeed a carbon form. I was eager to give benefit of the doubt.

I do think, however, the unsigned contract is sort of beside the point (whatever it is)- rather it's, as you and others had said- indicative of Errico's irresponsibility.


Edit: the red text at the bottom and the quality of the paper itself indicates it's carbon.

Updated On: 6/13/13 at 11:46 AM

[Yero my Hero]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:48am

Ah, okay then. Like I said, I have not seen it. Thanks!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 11:58am

Kad, I wondered if the unsigned copy could have been the one for her records, too, but she seems so completely bewildered by paperwork in general (as you have already pointed out), so who knows?

At least that logan2 seems to have gone back under whatever rock it crawled out from under.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 12:04pm

Either way, I can't wait for the exciting conclusion to her saga. I hope it ends with her sitting down to write, peppered with italicized quotes from Passion that are tangentially related and comparisons to actual tragedies followed by disclaimers.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 12:10pm

I don't get the dates at the top of each blog. At first I thought it was the days the blogs were posted, because the first four were May dates. But the fifth one has a May date, too. Are these the dates all this stuff went down? I didn't follow Passion's run all that closely to know.

Did she have more blogs that we don't see? I just can't wrap my head around the Donna McKechnie quote on the main page of her site, calling her blog a work of art.

[logan2]

Posted: 6/13/13 at 12:29pm

If only LuPone and Dunaway had blogs during the whole Sunset fiasco.

Supposedly, there are tapes of Dunaway in rehearsal with Rex Smith. Has anyone ever heard them, and where do I get a copy? I'm willing to perform acts usually only associated with a gymnastics team.

Day 3 post 12

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:37pm

Blog 6 is up, if anyone is interested: http://melissaerrico.com/blog-6/

Is there any sort of schedule to when she posts these?

[newintown]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:51pm

I find that she's far crazier than her slightly-above-average talents warrant...

This thread is more about the crazy than the talent, and justifiably so.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 1:54pm

I don't get the dates at the top of each blog. At first I thought it was the days the blogs were posted, because the first four were May dates. But the fifth one has a May date, too. Are these the dates all this stuff went down? I didn't follow Passion's run all that closely to know.

I think the dates are the dates she started writing the entry, or maybe the day she published it -- it's just that they weren't made public until recently. I'm not sure, though.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 2:10pm

I skimmed that last one. It's so overwrought and melodramatic, and the continued referencing of The Year of Magical Thinking still rubs me the wrong way.

At the end, she even admits her mourning is excessive.

She needs to ditch her holistic things and see a shrink.

[Taryn]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 10:29pm

A lot of words to say, "I got fired from a job I loved."

It's a sad thing, but it's not worthy of a five act tragedy.

[jackieoh]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 10:33pm

At first I felt sympathy for her, but it has become so melodramatic and self-pitying that I just want her to shut up and stop embarrassing herself.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 10:41pm

I think the dates are the dates she started writing the entry, or maybe the day she published it -- it's just that they weren't made public until recently. I'm not sure, though.

Ah, okay. Many thanks, Lizzie.

I went to skim this last one, but I'm over it.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/19/13 at 10:50pm

I feel like I might faint.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 12:09am

Bottom line is that there was a clause in her contract which stated that an absence of more than 10 days was cause for termination. It would seem to me that the producers decided to honor the contract instead of making a special exception for her due to her illness. Instead of having to continue to pay her for not performing, they fired her. It's a sh!tty thing to do, but they were completely within their rights to do so, correct? Do I have all that right?

I don't really understand what all the fuss is about.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 1:19am

Does Melissa sign at the stage door?

[chewy5000]

Posted: 6/20/13 at 2:51am

Can we please get the guy who did dramatic readings of Kyle4's reviews to tackle this?