Standby questions

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 7/28/12 at 9:24pm

In a show like Jersey Boys or Wicked where a lead role has both a standby and an understudy... if the lead actor was sick or on vacation for a week or so, does the standby usually take over, or do they split it between the two understudies? Also, if an actor is the understudy and also in the ensemble (like the Elphaba u/s), if they were with the show a long time and were leaving, and never got to play the role, would the standby or stage manager "gift" them a performance, or would that be unprofessional? Last... do actors ever insist on going on when sick and are unable to perform well and the stage manager has to insist they call out... like what if an Elphaba was trying to muddle through with bronchitis and sounded horrible? I thought about this when watching Audra on Show People, and she said it's so devastating to miss shows and she hates the bad press/gossip that comes with it... Sorry for the rambling... iPhone post!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/28/12 at 9:25pm

Yes.

[Becky]

Posted: 7/28/12 at 10:00pm

Something about "gifting" a performance.....

I had a friend doing a national tour who was in the ensemble, but understudeied a lead role. If she went on as the understudy, her pay for that performance was increased (quite a lot actually). However, when the show went to her hometown and she wanted her family to see her do the lead, the lead got the night off, my friend went on, but the pay was her standard ensemble pay since it was arranged. The pay didn't affect her understudy because it was ensemble-to-ensemble covering her when she went on as lead. It got tricky when leads/understudies negotiated "days off" under the table, because the pay scale was affected. That was how it worked in her show, and I'm assuming that's standard?