Questions about Contracts/Renewals

1.) No. It is up to the producers.

2.) Yes.

3.) Depends. If the gig pays more than their current show then they can break contract to do the other show.

1) Most contracts state that they will terminate on a specific date. The producer has to specifically make an offer of renewal, which the actor can accept or reject, in order for the contract to be extended.

2) There are plenty of reasons why an actor would leave at the end of his/her contractual term - needing a break, wanting to look for something new, etc etc. Leaving in the middle of a contract is more rare and difficult, usually requiring an extenuating circumstance. After a certain number of weeks, actors often get the option to give several weeks' notice and then leave. For example, a performer could be in Wicked for thirty weeks and then be able to tell the producers that his last performance will be four weeks later, for any or no reason.

3) Leaves are often built into contracts, yes. If the performer knows in advance that she's doing a workshop in a certain week, she can ask for those dates to be included as time off in her contract. Think Aaron Tveit's three months off to do Catch Me If You Can - that's part of his N2N contract. More well-established actors often get clauses stating that if they are offered a tv/movie role or original role in a new production, they can leave with a few weeks' notice. Also, these things can be negotiated as they come up, but the producers always have the right to say no.