Actors’ Equity and the Broadway League have negotiated additional terms for the industry’s reopening, including an allowance for prorated weekly pay.
If a Broadway production plays less than the typical eight shows per week, producers are allowed to prorate salaries for actors and stage managers, per the Actors’ Equity agreement. However, even if a production plays six or even fewer performances, producers have agreed to pay actors and stage managers for at least seven shows per week.
These terms apply to any Broadway productions that begin or resume performances before March 1, 2022 and are in place for the first eight weeks of performances.
There’s an exception for the first paid week of performances, in which producers are allowed to pay based only on the number of shows performed.
The new rule comes as the Broadway industry plans a staggered reopening of productions and as it faces uncertainty around audience demand.
As it stands, a handful of Broadway productions have set performance schedules with fewer than eight shows per week for multiple weeks. However, schedules have been fluctuating since Broadway was cleared to reopen and returning shows have been gradually adding more performances to their calendars.
The agreement between Actors’ Equity and the Broadway League also eliminates the practice of 10 out of 12s — in which actors work for 10 hours in a 12-hour tech rehearsal call — for returning Broadway shows. The rule applies to productions that either began performances or opened before the March 12, 2020 shutdown.
Additionally, the agreement includes anti-harassment language, including the prohibition of bullying, race discrimination, sex-based discrimination or sexual harassment, with specific examples of what constitutes each, ranging from jokes to written statements.
At the end of July, the Broadway League and Actors’ Equity announced health and safety protocols for Broadway’s return. In addition to a vaccination mandate, the protocols include a weekly testing requirement and the hiring of an onsite COVID-19 safety manager.
