Friday 17th December 2015 - PAB Criteria 3 Scenario

I am taking my performance of Annie to the Edinburgh fringe festival, but I have a number if tasks that I need to complete before hand, as part of my role as producer.

I am going to need to get insurance to make sure that I am fully covered in case anything goes wrong during rehearsals or performances. I wanted to use a well known company that have had experience in the performing arts industry, this is because there is a lot of specialist equipment that is used such as strobe lighting and large set design. This means that it was better for me to use a specialist company that have worked on projects and shows before, because if anything was to go wrong I wouldn’t have to worry about large costs and problems with claiming on the insurance. There are no major dangers with my show apart from any problems that could potentially arise with the set or lighting equipment, or if any of the performers fall off stage and injure themselves. Showtime insurance is a private business that provides insurance to entertainment companies and projects. They offer both short and long term insurance cover and their premiums start form £135. Short period cover lasts for 180 days, public liability insurance protects you from legal claims against you for bodily harm and to their property. It also covers the cost of defending any legal action against yourself. However it doesn’t protect you from any activities involving animals classified by the dangerous dogs act 1991 as well as the use of fire and guns. As my show is Annie I  use a small dog that is not classified by this act and we use no dangerous hazards such as fire, therefore this type of insurance is perfect for us to use. 

It is important to have a lighting technician for a show, as it can be difficult to tell someone else on the day what is needed if they have not been to any of the past rehearsals. They may also have more knowledge than anyone else, and so can help to improve the show. I talked with the Arts Organisation BECTU to work out the appropriate hours that my technician should work, and how much pay I need to give them. BECTU is a company that works alongside media and entertainment businesses to make sure everyone is working fair hours, with fair pay; like a trade union. They work for everyone in film, theatre, live events and other forms of digital media. This is important because it means everyone can work fairly, and will be able to live off of the money they make from their jobs. It is easy for people to work for less money than fair, and so trade unions such as BECTU are created so that everyone can work fairly. For specific information on ideal payment rates for theatre technicians, we would need to speak to BECTU more specifically. Most rates and pay rates listed are for technicians that work in film and TV. While these are not exactly what we need, they can give us a rough guideline of what a technician may be earning, dependent on the size of the production. In my opinion I think it is important for people like lighting technicians to have a company like BECTU as they are a trade union and therefore they are entitled to rights such as appropriate payment and fair treatment.  

The questions I need to ask the hire company are…
What kind of space is suitable to use strobe lighting in?
How much it will cost to hire for the time we need?
How long is the recommended time for a strobe lighting to be on for?
What kind of connections and fixings does the light need?
What size is the light?
I need to give the hire company information about the kind of lighting desk that the venue we are using is, as well as this I need to give them the room measurements and sizes to see what size strobe light would be most appropriate, this is to make sure the audience are safe as well. If the light was too big for the space being used it could have some effect on audience members and performers and may not be safe. Although there are no legal requirements when using strobe lighting, there are some dangers including, people with epilepsy and those who suffer with photo sensitivity may have difficulty when watching these effects. Therefore I am going to put a warning on all types of advertisement that it is advised that anyone with these conditions shouldn’t attend the performance to avoid any Issues, to make sure that no one is discriminated against I will hold one performance of the show where the strobe lighting will not be used to make sure that no one is discriminated against I will hold one performance of the show where the strobe lighting will not be used to make sure that everyone who wants to see the performance is able to. As well as advertising that strobe lighting is going to be used there will also be an announcement before the show starts to further warn the audience. 

For some of my group numbers I need an experienced stilt walker to find the appropriate performer I am going to use spotlight. Spotlight was first founded in 1927 and is a UK casting resource with contacts in the industry. Currently on Spotlight there is over 60,000 performers including actors and actresses, child performers, presenters, singers and dancers. It is thought to be the best way to market yourself as a performer for professional film and television as well as stage. There are thousands of production companies, advertising agencies, independent casing directors and broadcasters that use spotlight as their casting resource. Some clients include the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 as well as smaller production companies and individual casting directors. If you join as a performer you will receive a web page including your acting cv, photos and video clips that is available to casting agents working in the industry. Daily job updates that may be suitable for you to audition for, as well as career advice that includes one-to-one advice on CV's and career development. I have chosen Spotlight because it is used by many performers and directors etc and is well known, I thought that this would give me the best choice of  performers as it has more members then any other online casting directory. However if I do not find the right person I can look on casting call pro, which is a free version of Spotlight. On the other hand there are some issues with using online casting directories such as spotlight and casting call pro, such as unlike an open casting call you do not get to meet the performer. This is more of a problem for us as we are a small theatre company therefore we all have close friendships with each other and we need to find a performer who is going to fit in well with our company. As well as this the fee of Spotlight is a lot for a small company like us and therefore we will have to review our budget to make sure that we can afford to pay out for this.  

The Stage is a theatre industry newspaper that serves to provide news for the UK performing arts and entertainment industry, it was first set up in 1880 and is owned by the family of one of the founders. The articles are published online and printed every Thursday. The stage provides information from across all aspects of the performing arts industry from advice to help performers, directors and casting agents to reviews on shows on and off the West End. There are also jobs listed on The Stage from auditions for different types of theatre, to back stage and behind the scenes jobs, there is also front of house and marketing and finance jobs. As well as this there is also information about training institutions, this is helpful for younger performers who are interesting in studying performing arts at a higher education level. We are in contact with a theatre reviewer to come and see our Brighton preview, this gives us a chance to get some feedback before our final performance to improve and make any changes that need making, as well as this it gives us a chance to see how an audience responds to our performance. With a published review on the stage, it gives us an advertisement opportunity as hopefully potential audience members can look and be tempted to come and see. However on the other hand if we get a bad review it may put off people spending their time and money to watch our performance. 

The ITC is the independent theatre council the management association for private theatre. They are based in the UK and work in drama, dance, physical and musical theatre, circus, mime and street arts. They represent those who manage and produce professional performing arts, they believe that good art thrives on good management. They recognize that performing arts thrives when management have a passion for the art rather than the prospect of profit and the value of belonging to a community. There aims are to bring high quality art to wide audiences, provide the best possible working conditions and pat and promote inclusion and equal opportunity. They interact with small theatre companies by giving them unlimited advice on all topics including tax, contracts and copyright, they also have national and regional networking events to help small ad large companies build a community of performing arts professionals.