PThespian said: "The goal is to become a regular and have a steady house. That's really hard to do because people rarely give up their spots unless they die or retire.
That's not everyone's goal. Some people are perfectly happy to be subs.
It's really just a question of being in the right place at the right time (i.e. Subbing for someone who doesn't come back) or having a Chief Usher/House Manager fight for you.
It's entirely up to the chief and house manager. There is a union rule that requires automatic placement as a regular if you sub for the same person for, I think, 12 weeks. Chiefs will alter the schedule to prevent that if they don't want that person as a regular.
If you are a regular you are allowed to take up to two shows a week off. For example I take off a lot of Wed matinees because of my day job and sometimes like to take a night off as well.
If you need more than two shows off in a week you have to take the whole week off. I don't know if that's an union rule or a Shubert rule, though.
It's neither. The contract only requires regular ushers to work an average of 6 performances per week. Ushers that are being required to take off an entire week by the chief or house manager should contact the theater operations manager or union representative.
They do monitor attendance very carefully. Too many absences can get you in trouble just like at any other job.
That's questionable. Ushers at the Majestic for years were only working half of their shifts. It took a new house manager and chief usher to finally correct the problem.
Keep in mind that it's very hard to get hired as an usher even as a sub. They literally get over 1,000 applications for a spot.
I don't know how true that is, but like everything else in the industry, it is all about who you know.
dramamama611 said: "Can I be so bold as to ask about salary for a sub? How much per shift is average?"
Somewhere around $58 per performance based on 4 hours of work, though only when working the late shift will an usher even approach 4 hours (and a lot of shows don't last that long). Report time is 1 hour prior to performance start). If a show runs past 3 hours (curtain down, excludes curtain call), they get overtime. Ticket Takers, chief ushers and floor directors make more.
