Submission for 2015-2018 CTA negotiations

1) "OUT OF TOWN ACCOMODATION" Considering that, during the course of an out of town run, were likely to spend the majority of our time (or, at least sleeping and some eating hours) in our lodgings; quality is important. It becomes even more important when we consider that the cost often comes out of our own pay. These are full cost, market value rentals that we are expected to cover out of our weekly fee, and for many, on top of an already existing monthly rent/mortgage payment back home. 29:01 Theatre's Responsibility (Or, The Accomodation List) At the request of the Artist, the Theatre will furnish the Artist with an up-to-date list of available accommodation, in a variety of price ranges, at the time of offering the Artist the engagement. The list will comprise no fewer than three (3) available accommodation options which may include hotel, motel, billets, etc. Where the Theatre can demonstrate that three such options do not exist, the Theatre shall only be required to provide the accommodation options that are available. As far as responsibility goes on the part of the theatre, they get off really easy. Essentially, this paragraph ends with absolving the Engager of the need to even provide a list. Yes, they have been asked to provide a list of 3 options (hotel, motel, billet etc.), but if those options are already booked... well, if there are no options then there are no options. You end up relying on the kindness of strangers. While that might be a romantic ideal for some, were talking about professional standards here. It should be a requirement for our members that we are guaranteed to receive acceptable lodging while engaged out of town under the CTA. It is not always the case that an Accommodation List is a) available or b) accurate. If we cannot improve upon this, how can we enforce what little we have right now?

29:02 Accommodation All accommodation listed shall be within a reasonable distance of the Theatre and the Theatre will, to the best of its ability, ensure that such accommodations are clean and sanitary. In all cases a full description, price and location of each accommodation will be given. In many cases, the price is the fullest description that youll nd on a list. Locations and other particulars vary. The denition of what is clean and sanitary should be addressed to its fullest.

Clean and Sanitary

! During a recent contract, I rented a room in a house for $150/week ($600/month). The house was shared with the owner, who ran an independent cleaning business. The place was lthy. There were no other available options from The Accommodation List. What recourse would I have as a member to address this? Luckily, I was able to take over the directors rental (again, $150/week) when he left after opening night. I had to spend the rehearsal period in an unclean house that had cats. Im allergic to cats and this was not disclosed on The List. ! Within a reasonable distance

! What metric do we use to gauge what a reasonable distance should be between accommodation and the theatre? ! I once did a show in Winnipeg in the middle of winter. It was my rst (and last) time there. The Accommodation List that was provided only had one option that was below $1100/ week (we were getting paid $700/week and paying rent back home). It was a room in a house to be shared with the owners. Lovely people, but they had some strict rules (i.e. - kitchen hours, no noise after 11:00pm and I could only use the phone for 10 minutes per day... no joke - this was before cellphones were everywhere). The Accommodation List stated that the house was a 15minute bus ride/30-minute walk from the theatre. It turned out to be a 45-minute bus ride and even the owners admitted that it would take at least 90 minutes to walk to the theatre. ! I took my grievance to the General Manager of the theatre and they simply said that there was nothing that they could do. I said that the accommodation had been misrepresented on The List. They could only move me into the Fort Garry Hotel, at my own expense, of course. In response to my grievance, the theatre put a staff member on a bus with a stop watch and they timed the ride. Then, they called my agent to complain about my complaint and I got a scathing call from the agent saying do you understand that youll never work there again?. I suggested that the theatre, if they had the time/energy/resources to put a staff member on a bus to challenge me, should try timing the bus ride at the times that I was riding (i.e. - I rode during rush hour and the staff member went out mid-day. P.S. - I red the agent when I got back home.). ! My point is: the negotiation regarding housing is left to the member. We require specic language for this issue. Where we lay our head at night and cook our meals should be considered as professional standards. ! Allergies

! If the accommodation is to be shared with the owner/landlord, disclosure of potential allergies (cats, dogs, birds... smoking... anything) should be on The Accommodation List. ! !

Kitchen Facilities

! More than once, I have billeted in places that have strict rules regarding which hours you can use the kitchen. In one instance, my dinner hours were limited to 5:00pm-6:00pm. When I told the owner that we worked until 6:00pm most days, he graciously changed the hours from 6:15-7:15pm. Within that hour, my meal had to be prepared and all dishes cleaned and put away. Sufce it to say, I ate out more than I really wanted to. ! More often than not, I have had to supply even the most basic of kitchen utensils. I know of members who travel with their own kitchens because a poorly equipped kitchen is commonplace in our out-of-town accommodations. ! In another instance, I worked for a major regional theatre a couple of years ago which was only able to nd accommodation for us at the local University. When I noticed that there were absolutely no kitchen facilities on-site, I phoned the theatre to address the issue. The response was, we have great restaurants in town. To their credit, someone on staff found a mini-bar-fridge for me to keep in my room, but the rest of the cast was left without anything. Hardly fair, no? Eventually, after we pressed the theatre, the theatre rented a separate dorm room, and supplied a fridge, a few dishes and a hot plate. This happened in the third week of a veweek contract. For the rst three weeks, we had to eat out, and some cast members went out to purchase their own hot-plates and dishes so that they could prepare food in their bedrooms. Again: this should be a professional standard. ! Having to purchase kitchen utensils and needing to eat out because of less than ideal conditions is a hidden tax when working out of town. ! ! We need specic language detailing the basic expectations of food preparation. Rent Control

! Rent control might be a more appropriate term than subsidy. While our minimum fees are determined by the size of the theatre, the rent were charged is determined by the local market. We have to rent housing in major cities, tourist traps and out of the way places that charge 10 - 20% of our paycheques because they can. ! Is it possible to open a dialogue with our Engagers with regard to sharing this burden? Some Engagers offer nancial assistance, and some even cover it outright because they know its the right thing to do. If a theatre cant afford to even think about accommodation in their own town, how can they expect that much of an Equity member? 2) "INSTRUMENT RENTALS" Shows that require performers to play an instrument are becoming commonplace. Also becoming commonplace is the theatre's assumption that the performer will provide said instrument without

any language to cover: a) a set rental fee, b) who provides breakables [ie. - strings], c) instrument insurance. ! ! Instrument Rental Fee

! Instruments can also include, but are not limited to, things such as: ampliers, instrument cords, wireless systems, microphones etc. ! Some theatres offer a rental fee for using a performers own personal instrument in a production while others do not. The rental fee is arbitrary and the amount is derived at the discretion of the theatre. While it might be obvious to say just dont let them use your instrument, this is not always a practical solution for the performer, the Engager or the production. ! Recently, I did a production that was mounted by two separate theatres (it wasnt a copro... but thats another story...). One theatre paid $50 (for the entire run) to rent our instruments while the other theatre paid us $150 (again, for the entire run). ! Far too often, it is my experience that a theatre will offer nothing for the use of a performers instrument while expecting them to supply it. ! My suggestion for addressing this issue is to set a rental fee on par with a music rental store such as Long & McQuade. The rental fee should reect the comparable value of the actual make and model of the instrument. The fee should not be set based on what the theatre has budgeted for the production (because, as it stands, they can budget $0 for instruments). If we can have a realistic fee structure that reects the instruments required, theatres will be able to construct more realistic budgets in the future, instead of panicking during production, wondering why instruments cost money that they dont have (and leaving the burden of supply and cost to the performer). ! ! Breakables Breakables are items such as: strings, reeds etc.

! The average price of a set of guitar strings (for instance) is anywhere from $5-$10. Bass strings are considerably more, ($13-$50, although they dont break as frequently). Depending on the type of production, I have had to change strings every other performance due to regular wear. Strings can break mid-performance for a variety of reasons. This can get very expensive for a performer, especially if they are working for a smaller theatre out of town. ! If a theatre programs a show which requires performers to play instruments, the theatre should be responsible for covering the cost of breakables. !

Instrument Insurance

! I mention this because recently, I worked for a major theatre in Toronto that was unwilling to a) pay a rental fee and, b) wanted the performers to sign an insurance waiver. In this instance I did refuse (as did most of the performers in the show) to let them use my instruments. Instead, the theatre rented from Long & McQuade. This turned out to be a more suitable choice since Long & McQuade offers instrument protection for $4.00 that you can opt out of, if you so choose. ! Perhaps instrument insurance is a Pandoras Box that shouldnt be opened in the CTA, but the idea of insurance could be addressed while addressing the rental fee. 3) "ORIGINAL CAST RECORDINGS" While the CTA is exceedingly generous to CAEA members in terms of remuneration for "cast recordings" (we get an additional weekly fee for each day in the studio), this payment scheme is cost-prohibitive for producers and therefore, detrimental to the growth and development of new work. In the spirit of encouraging and fostering new works of Canadian Musical Theatre, a fee scale that is more realistic and in keeping with what actual studio musicians get paid for a day's work. There is no set fee for a studio musician and that fee is usually determined by demand for the musician as well as the musicians experience and ability to record efciently. That said, out of the professional studio musicians that I know personally, you can expect to pay anywhere from $100 - $500/session. Of course, there are studio musicians who can command a higher fee than that, but for the sake of setting a reasonable professional standard for CAEA members who cannot negotiate a higher fee, even the upper end of $500/session is a handsome fee. Getting paid the equivalent of a weeks pay is not realistic and it makes a Cast Recording a complete impossibility in most cases. I would wager that most members would be willing to amend this fee structure if it meant getting a recording done. Today, there are members who are already agreeing to work with Engagers on Cast Recordings outside of the CTA, in an effort to just get it done. If members working outside of the CTA is an issue for Equity, I highly recommend that Council review and discuss the possibilities for a brand new fee structure with regards to Cast Recordings.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these points. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at: jasonchesworth@gmail.com Many thanks, Jason Chesworth