October 2021

Chapter 4 - Unions 

  Why do we have unions?  With the recent “ouster” of producer Scott Rudin (West Side Story, To Kill a Mockingbird and dozens more) for abusing his employees (including throwing toasters at them), theater across the nation is coming to terms with its lack of safety precautions from demanding personalities at the top of the totem pole.

  “Recent complaints and subsequent interviews with 25 current and former Williamstown Theatre Festival staffers, department heads, apprentices and interns reveal not a professional springboard but a development program that exposes artists-in-training to repeated safety hazards and a toxic work culture under the guise of prestige. ... 75 alumni alleged a pattern of dangerous working conditions and demanded changes to its treatment of young arts workers." 

  Unions attempt to protect workers with costly fines and arbitration when the rules of civility on the job are broken.

Chapter 17 - Authors

  The Dramatists Guild of America has created an inclusion rider for its writers to negotiate for greater diversity in theatrical productions. 

  The rider is an optional tool for members of the trade association to use when entering into contract agreements with theaters or producers. It is intended to promote a more equitable work environment by asking producers to audition or interview members of marginalized groups whenever possible for roles in the cast and crew, on the creative team members and as artistic personnel. 

  The Dramatists Guild represents playwrights, composers, lyricists and librettists. The rider can be used with Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters or producers, as well as at venues across the U.S.

Chapter 22 -  Theatre Owners

REAL ESTATE: "Broadway Theater Owner Floating OnAir After Record-Breaking Deal" by Forbes' Marc Hershberg- "... [Shubert Organization] will ... receive more than $82.3 million from a blockbuster real estate deal. Shubert recently agreed to sell two vacant lots on Eighth Avenue and the air rights above the Imperial Theatre to a real estate developer, Extell Development Company. The sale of the air rights for $51,215,861, eclipses the previous record of $41 million set in 2017 when Shubert sold the air rights above the Cort Theatre. ... paperwork filed with the government suggests that the new building between 45th Street and 46th Street will be a 40-story hotel with three observation decks. While Extell plans to break ground on the site within the next year, it promised to halt all construction during performances at the Imperial Theatre next door."

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