Tweet
I'm curious as to what other performers think of this situation.
I run an act that I see as a waystation - I'm not a big enough deal for it to be anyone else's permanent livelihood as it is mine, but I work with younger people who are not independent performers on their own, and who learn skills and performance techniques from me before moving on to other things. I have ex-group members who are in Chicago or LA pursuing commercial and film careers, someone trying to get into Blue Man Group, someone who I'm helping make a solo show, one person joined the Peace Corps, one went on to grad school, etc. I generally get them from colleges I've been a guest artist at, or from people who approach me at festivals and want to learn how to do what we do.
People who work for me generally make a living wage equal to Equity minimum at the very least and often much higher for less work, plus tips which can be substantial and are equally split. I provide transportation to gigs, handle the lodging (either the client buys it or I structure our fee so that I can buy it - it's not standard in a lot of our venues), and sometimes pay tuition and expenses to workshops we attend to learn advanced skills. Each year I also take one college student intern who makes very little in pay (though still more than what an intern at a traditional theatre would make) and shares equally in tips, usually doubling the flat pay or more. I buy all costumes, props, and equipment and provide rehearsal space.
Our first couple of years as a company, the performers have been good, but the majority of our gigs have been gotten on my reputation as a 10-year+ performer in the venues that we mostly work in. I do all the booking, which I build into the fee I charge the client.
I ask my performers to sign a year-long contract that contains a non-compete clause - they cannot work for anyone else while they are working for me, unless they book it through me and I take a cut. They also cannot work for any venue we worked for, or for any client we met while they were working for me, unless they book it through me, for a year after our contract expires. This is to prevent them from going to a client and selling them a cheaper version of the same show next year.
I had a person who worked for me this year and was very good tell me that s/he wants to work for another company that performs in the same venues we do with a similar but not identical show, that my person met because we were performing in the same venue. I was told this after being fed a line about "not knowing what I want to do with my life next year" as a reason not to re-sign with me, on the eve of having been offered the other job. I don't have a problem with him/her working for the other company, as there were personality conflicts with us and I think it will be an excellent learning and training experience, but I am insisting that since they met through my company's gig, it needs to be booked through me, and since it violates the non-compete about venues for the next year, ditto. My person is very unhappy about this, feels that s/he is being "owned" by me and complains that my "business ethics suck."
I don't want to stop anyone from working - I just want the 10% I think I've earned by taking an (in this case) unemployed college dropout with some circus skills who had never spoken a line on stage and spending a year making him/her highly employable as a performing group member in our venues. I'm also willing to help with contract negotiations if the person desires.
Legally, I'm also in a venue where poaching other people's performers is starting to happen more, and I'm willing to make an expensive and time-consuming issue of this for the sake of precedent as well as my own financial well-being.
Any thoughts?
I run an act that I see as a waystation - I'm not a big enough deal for it to be anyone else's permanent livelihood as it is mine, but I work with younger people who are not independent performers on their own, and who learn skills and performance techniques from me before moving on to other things. I have ex-group members who are in Chicago or LA pursuing commercial and film careers, someone trying to get into Blue Man Group, someone who I'm helping make a solo show, one person joined the Peace Corps, one went on to grad school, etc. I generally get them from colleges I've been a guest artist at, or from people who approach me at festivals and want to learn how to do what we do.
People who work for me generally make a living wage equal to Equity minimum at the very least and often much higher for less work, plus tips which can be substantial and are equally split. I provide transportation to gigs, handle the lodging (either the client buys it or I structure our fee so that I can buy it - it's not standard in a lot of our venues), and sometimes pay tuition and expenses to workshops we attend to learn advanced skills. Each year I also take one college student intern who makes very little in pay (though still more than what an intern at a traditional theatre would make) and shares equally in tips, usually doubling the flat pay or more. I buy all costumes, props, and equipment and provide rehearsal space.
Our first couple of years as a company, the performers have been good, but the majority of our gigs have been gotten on my reputation as a 10-year+ performer in the venues that we mostly work in. I do all the booking, which I build into the fee I charge the client.
I ask my performers to sign a year-long contract that contains a non-compete clause - they cannot work for anyone else while they are working for me, unless they book it through me and I take a cut. They also cannot work for any venue we worked for, or for any client we met while they were working for me, unless they book it through me, for a year after our contract expires. This is to prevent them from going to a client and selling them a cheaper version of the same show next year.
I had a person who worked for me this year and was very good tell me that s/he wants to work for another company that performs in the same venues we do with a similar but not identical show, that my person met because we were performing in the same venue. I was told this after being fed a line about "not knowing what I want to do with my life next year" as a reason not to re-sign with me, on the eve of having been offered the other job. I don't have a problem with him/her working for the other company, as there were personality conflicts with us and I think it will be an excellent learning and training experience, but I am insisting that since they met through my company's gig, it needs to be booked through me, and since it violates the non-compete about venues for the next year, ditto. My person is very unhappy about this, feels that s/he is being "owned" by me and complains that my "business ethics suck."
I don't want to stop anyone from working - I just want the 10% I think I've earned by taking an (in this case) unemployed college dropout with some circus skills who had never spoken a line on stage and spending a year making him/her highly employable as a performing group member in our venues. I'm also willing to help with contract negotiations if the person desires.
Legally, I'm also in a venue where poaching other people's performers is starting to happen more, and I'm willing to make an expensive and time-consuming issue of this for the sake of precedent as well as my own financial well-being.
Any thoughts?
Comment