Welcome back!
And thanks for reading! As actors, we are told over and over that in order to be successful, we need to be reliable and easy to work with. If not, productions won’t want to call us back. What we never hear is that productions, and more correctly, producers also need to be reliable and easy to work with! Being easy to work with can be an entire post all its own, so let’s concentrate on being reliable. This week I’d like to spend some time talking about the things producers/production companies do that make acting a rough business.
REMEMBER:
Just a reminder here that when I use the term “actor” I mean it to encompass all forms of acting including voice, stage, and screen. Yeah, I know I say this every week, but it falls under the heading of “The things that go without saying are the things that most need to be said”. What follows applies relatively equally to all of these forms of acting.
Reliability
What exactly does it mean to be reliable? Well, just to make sure we all have the same definition, here is what Merriam-Webster has to say about it:
1: suitable or fit to be relied on: dependable
2: giving the same result on successive trials
Both of those describe it well, but we should also take a look at dependable to make sure things are clear. Here is Merriam-Webster again:
1: capable of being trusted or depended on: reliable
So, dependable is reliable and reliable is dependable. I love it when they use one word to define another, and then use that other word to define the first one again. Apparently, the dictionary is not a reliable or dependable source of a definition for these words.
In simple terms
OK, so I’ll just make up a definition of both terms based on my understanding of them. To be reliable and/or dependable means, to me anyway, that you will do what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it and that the quality of what you are doing remains consistent. For an actor, that means you will arrive on set on time (or ***GASP*** early) and prepared for the work you have agreed to do.
Productions are expensive.
Even the lowest budget productions cost money. There is equipment to buy or rent, locations to secure, a crew to put together and actors to pay. I know there are productions that are done where crew and actors are not paid, but even removing those costs there is still likely some cast to a production. But the projects I am talking about are the ones that DO pay the crew and actors. And those productions are expensive…and on a schedule.
Being unreliable…
An unreliable actor (or crew member for that matter, but we are talking about actors here) who shows up late or unprepared slows down the production and costs money. Sometimes a LOT of money, particularly if the location is being paid for. Imagine having to pay an entire film crew for an extra day (or more) because one of the performers is late? Even paying overtime for a single day can be thousands of dollars.
But what about the producer?
Sure, the producer is paying the bills, so if the production runs over due to something the producer does, he (or she) is paying for it anyway, so their own problem. But an unreliable producer creates other kinds of costs. Time, frustrations, and inconvenience to name just a few. So, let’s talk a little bit about some things I have experienced as a result of unreliable producers.
Disorganized producers.
I’ve been on a couple sets where the production is completely disorganized. And not just small independent sets where the producer/director lack experience, that’s almost to be expected. I’ve been on one set for a major production (you’d recognize the show) that was SO disorganized many of the crew walked away from what would have been a nice paycheck. My experience was that I was called in to work one day, arrived on time, went to wardrobe and hair and makeup and then…sat for 12 hours. I sat all day and never made it in front of the camera.
Why is that bad?
I mean, I got paid, I got fed and I got to network with other actors. Those things are great; however, those things are not why I (we actors) do this. The great thing is they wanted me back the next day (so I would have gotten another day of pay). The bad news is, I wasn’t available. Not only did I miss out on a second day of pay, but I also missed out on being in the production. I don’t know about everyone else, but part of what I love about acting is appearing in the production!
Hold the date.
Here is another one I dislike but think it will never change. You submit, audition, and then get called back. They like you, so they put you on hold. These are very positive and exciting. And then, just before the hold date…they release you. So, you potentially miss out on other jobs around that date. To be sure, the way to handle this is to not avoid submitting for work on that date until you are under contract and if you get offered another role that is in conflict, ask production for a book or release right away. This is a much bigger problem on smaller independent projects that do not offer a written contract.
And my favorite
This one just happened to me on Saturday. And it is not the first time it’s happened like this. I had submitted for a role in a local, non-union, commercial. Obviously, I thought I fit the specs for the character. At around 10AM Saturday I received a call asking me if I could be on set at 2PM that same day. I asked for 3PM (I had some stuff going on) instead and the producer agreed. We discussed wardrobe, pay and location as well as how long I should need to be on set.
We struck the deal.
I agreed to the pay and duration, location was local, so no sweat (30 minutes from home), and I had appropriate wardrobe. So, an hour before call time, after rushing through what I had to do at home, I jumped in the shower, got dressed and headed out to set. Easy-peasy.
But then…
As I was exiting the highway 5 minutes from the shoot location…my phone rings. It is the producer. I assumed he was calling to make sure I would arrive on time given the last-minute nature of the arrangement. I was wrong. He told me, 5 minutes before I was to be on set, that he no longer needed me. He “had the person they needed for today”. In other words, the person they originally cast and who may have said they couldn’t make it (there was snow Friday) had apparently been able to make it after all.
Easy come, easy go…
This was not a tragedy, but it certainly was frustrating! What was the cost? To production, nothing. To me? Time…which I consider our most precious commodity. I had to rush through the things I needed to get done before leaving, missed lunch because of that, spent time getting ready and prepared, spent time traveling to set…all for nothing. No work, no pay. And while it is not common it was also not the first time this has happened to me.
Actors beware…
The truth is, I did this to myself. As a caution to other actors, here is my advice: do not accept work without a written contract. Insist that you are paid regardless of whether or not you are actually used in the project, and even if they cancel at the last minute. It was naïve of me to accept the work based on a verbal agreement, although a reliable and dependable producer would have honored that agreement anyway. Rest assured I will not accept work from that producer again.
At the end of the day…
It is, as we are told, imperative that we as actors are reliable and dependable. If not, we can cost the production a bunch of money. I submit that is equally important for producers and production companies to ALSO be reliable and dependable. Otherwise, we as actors are just being taken advantage of. We can probably file this entire post under “Reasons why union representation is important to actors”. I’d love to hear any of your horror stories!