AUG
22

The Contracts That Could Save Your Sanity

By Edith Weiss 

Edith Weiss is the author of several published children’s plays, including ten with Pioneer Drama Service.  A lot of Edith’s writing time goes into her stand-up comedy routine, which has taken her all over the country and on three overseas military tours.  Besides writing, she also acts and directs in both children’s and adult theatre. 

As a director in middle or high school drama, you face problems as predictable as they are frustrating.  Students miss rehearsals because something “better” comes up.  Tears when the role goes to somebody else.  Lines that don’t get learned.  Disruptive behavior offstage.  Angry phone calls from parents about any number of issues.  A student who thinks they’re a “star.”  The stage parents who think their kid should be a star.

Don’t be discouraged.  Help is on the way, and it comes in the form of a contract.  Two contracts, actually.  You can call the first one an Audition Application, but you should still insist upon the auditioning students and their parent or guardian signing it.  The second is your Cast & Crew Contract.  It is also a wonderful way to CYA, which is another way of saying Cover Your, er...  Bases.

When preparing these contracts, keep them clear and straightforward.  That means your expectations and the consequences for not meeting these expectations need to already be well-defined in your mind so you can put them down on paper.  Do your homework now so you’re not making it up on the fly down the road.  Students can sense when you’re floundering and will take advantage of it.  That’s why it’s critical to use both an Audition Application and a Cast & Crew Contract — to clearly communicate to your students your expectations and to define the consequences upfront.

Communicating all this information upfront means you also must already have your rehearsal and performance schedule set.  How can you complain about an actor missing a tech rehearsal if you didn’t let them know the exact time and date of it before they auditioned?  Then ask yourself things like, outside of illness, how many rehearsals is an actor allowed to miss?  If an actor misses more than that, what happens?  Does that actor lose their part?  The more specific you are upfront with your expectations, the greater the commitment you can expect from your cast and crew.

We have included a sample Audition Application and Cast & Crew Contract here.  You’re welcome to revise it to meet your needs, but it should cover at least these key elements:

• The name of the play or musical you’re producing and the playwright(s).  You might also consider listing the publisher or providing a link to the play on their website.
• Space for the actor to provide their information, including name, phone number, email address, and possibly their age, grade level, and gender.
• Space for the actor to specify the role(s) for which they are primarily auditioning.
• Space for the actor to indicate if they are willing to accept other roles, and if so, which ones.
• The rehearsal schedule and your attendance expectations regarding rehearsals.
• The performance schedule and your attendance expectations regarding performances.
• Space for the actor to agree to wear whatever costumes, wig, or hairstyle the director chooses for the assigned role.
• Space for the actor to agree to abide by all school and theatre rules while at rehearsals and performances.
• Space for the parent or guardian to acknowledge reading and agreeing to all the above.

Once you’ve cast your show and designated your crew members, it’s time for the second contract, the Cast & Crew Contract.  This should outline their responsibilities in the show and should be signed and returned before the first rehearsal.  It doesn’t hurt to reiterate the attendance expectations and perhaps require each cast and crew member to present all scheduling conflicts to you by a certain deadline.  Beyond that, this second contract should be more about behavior and attitude.  Again, we’ve attached a sample here for you to modify to meet your needs.

Unfortunately, many students are more familiar with competition than they are with cooperation, which is one of the reasons that theatre is so important.  Nothing ruins a theatre experience faster than an individual who thinks they are the “star” and doesn’t get the idea of ensemble.  Believe it or not, even this sort of behavior can be addressed in your contract:  “I agree to work as part of the team and understand that any actor or crew member whose attitude or actions are disrespectful or hurtful to others in the ensemble may lose their role.”

Clearly stating your expectations up front will help you keep your sanity throughout rehearsals and keep the behind-the-scenes “drama” to a minimum.  To this end, I encourage you to even have your Cast & Crew Contract available when students first pick up their Audition Application.  Though they won’t have to sign and turn it in unless they’re assigned a role, students should know from the get-go what you expect of cast and crew members.  Besides protecting yourself, having a contract demonstrates to first-time actors and their parents that you take theatre seriously, that it’s not just fun and games.  Ironically, when everyone understands the rules and you give yourself the power to enforce them, then everyone really does start having more fun!