What does "swung out" refer to?

[Kitsune]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:11am

A few weeks ago, Raymond J Lee of Groundhog Day posted on Instagram that he was "swung out" for that evening's show and was instead visiting as a patron.  When I looked at the tag on Instagram I saw a few other similar pictures of actors doing similar things.

Does anyone know what the term actually means?  Google didn't reveal anything.

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:18am

It means a swing is covering his role/track.

I think, it's usually used to refer to a planned absence. For example, if the Dance Captain of a show is part of the regular ensemble and gets "swung out" every so often in order to watch the show and take notes to make sure the choreography is still being done correctly.

[phan24]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:19am

It means the stage manager asked them to step away from the show that day so an understudy/swing can practice their track.

[Kitsune]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:23am

That's what I figured, but I appreciate the confirmation!

[Tag]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:29am

It means the stage manager asked them to step away from the show that day so an understudy/swing can practice their track.

That doesn't really happen, as it costs money.

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 02:29 AM

[IronMan]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 4:42am

It means a swing is going on for that actor so that he/she can watch the show.  This happens when someone is learning a new track as an understudy/cover so that they can either just watch from the front or trail backstage and see things they cannot see while in their regular track (traffic patterns/costume changes/etc).   Or as 10086Sundays said, for an in-show dance/fight captain to watch. 

[mrsmig2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 9:17am

Tag said: "It means the stage manager asked them to step away from the show that day so an understudy/swing can practice their track.

That doesn't really happen, as it costs money.

 

"

Actually, this is incorrect. On Broadway (and in any other union house), a swing is on a weekly salary, the same as other company members. The "swung out" company member receives their regular pay for watching the show and noting roles s/he covers; the swing receives their regular pay as well.

The only time that a swing's performance costs a company additional money is when the swing goes on in a leading role.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 9:41am

phan24 said: "It means the stage manager asked them to step away from the show that day so an understudy/swing can practice their track."

Close but not quite. An actor will be swung out so that they can observe a role that they understudy. I've never encountered a swing-out for the purpose of giving a swing some practice. It's also pretty rare for a dance captain to be part of the regular playing company (they're almost always swings), but if for some reason the dance captain were not a swing, they'd be occasionally swung out to observe the show. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:15am

and also...

An actor cannot be asked to relinquish a performance for the benefit of another actor (as opposed to for his or her own benefit).

Offhand I cannot recall if this is a specific contract provision or an interpretation, but among other things it would have potential application in the Comet scenario with Oak and Mandy (although that's a scenario with far more complications we need not dredge up again). FWIW this works similarly in reverse: an actor who wants to take off time without sufficient accumulated leave (e.g., perhaps most often to film a pilot or something like that) may have to deal with the possibility of being terminated.

[JustAnotherNewYorker]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:26am

In the particular case of GHD, they do seem to be making an effort to give each swing and understudy a chance to play the role when they can. For example, Barrett was out this week and they split the covers between Taylor and Jenna. John Sanders was also out and they split coverage between Joseph and Sean.

Not clear why Ray was swung out, but given he's apparently never seen the show from the audience side, it's probably not something he'd refuse if it's just a one-off.

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:07pm

Yes to a lot of this. Seeing a show you've built from the audience is an eye opening experience. Ray may have wanted to sit in the audience as well as give his cover a chance to go on and perhaps invite family and friends. Knowing the show is closing gives people the opportunity for things like that. 

 

And it doesn't cost the show a cent. As mentioned above the only time is is extra pay is if they are on a principle contract.