10 out of 12 (a.k.a 10 out of 12 rehearsal) - under an Actors’ Equity Association contract, once the actors go into tech rehearsals, production can work them for ten hours within a twelve hour period, with a two hour break somewhere during the day. Since the crew is loading sets, etc. in the morning, “10 out of 12 rehearsals” usually begin at noon and continue until midnight.
Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) - national labor union for stage managers and stage actors. Also referred to as “Equity” or “AEA,” this union has authority over stage productions. Actors and stage managers are members of Equity. Each type of union production has its own specific contract such as Production, Regional, or Summer stock.
Agent - an individually who is legally qualified and contracted to obtain employment for an actor, acts as the middle-man between the actor and employer
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) - represents performers in TV, radio and daytime soap operas
American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) - members perform in shows such as Radio City Christmas spectacular
Baby Coach - see Baby Wrangler
Baby Wrangler (a.k.a Baby Coach) - a person who acts as a translator for a baby actor on the set to assist the director in getting the best performance out of the baby or young child. A baby wrangler, who creates a fun, peaceful environment so the baby doesn't regard the experience as work, may be found rehearsing movements and running lines with verbal children, teaching games to toddlers, or blowing bubbles with babies.
Bus and truck - a second class traveling company of a Broadway show that transports the actors by bus. A Bus and Truck tour usually plays the college towns outside the major cities.
Calls – cues, usually given to the technical crew by a stage manager to set or adjust lights, sound or the set
Call board - a bulletin board, usually located in the green room, on which all important notices are posted including all rehearsals, publicity events, and union correspondence. The call board is also where all actors must sign-in prior to each performance or rehearsal. This is often where a tutoring schedule will be posted.
Child labor laws - state laws mandating the hours children are allowed to work and other aspects of their working environment
Child Wrangler – a person who is responsible for supervising juvenile actors (under the age of 16 years) during rehearsals, performances and publicity appearances. Child Wranglers are hired by the production company not a tutoring company, unless a tutor also functions as a child wrangler
Celebrity Wrangler - a person who negotiates with a celebrity's agent, manager, or publicist to ensure the star's attendance at an event. Their services can be fee-based or donated, such as for charitable events
Coach, Baby - see Baby Wrangler
Company manager - the general manager’s field emissary, responsible for dealing with business issues related to a specific company, i.e. if there are four productions of Les Miserables running/touring at the same time, there will be one general manager responsible for the four productions, but there will be four different company managers, each responsible for his/her own company
Emancipation - click here for an explanation from the state of California Labor Commissioner
General Manager - this person and his or her office is responsible for putting the business side of a musical or play on track. The General Manager is responsible for all contracts, payroll, etc. and is the one who hires tutoring companies and other crew
Golden Day - a company day off without any travel, performances, or tutoring (although tutoring sometimes still occurs). Travel to a new city during a week with a “golden day” occurs on a Tuesday
Green Room - the general backstage meeting area at a theater. The “green room” is usually the social center for the company, where people “hang out” together as opposed to returning to their dressing rooms alone
Headshot - a photograph used to promote and represent an actor
Independent contractor - teachers hired and contracted for individual projects
Key - refers to the seven-tone musical range in which a song falls, a song can be transposed to higher or lower keys in order to fit a performer’s voice
Manager - an individual who helps to cultivate a career for a performer, mainly for career guidance, financial planning, legal advice, etc.
Meisner Technique - an often-used teaching/acting style training actors to "live truthfully under imaginary circumstances"
Monologue - a (generally dramatic) speech made by one actor, often used for auditions
National tour (a.k.a National theatrical tours) - a professional touring company of a show, requiring performers and teachers to travel to performance locations, playing no less than a week per major city. The actors usually travel from one city to the next by airplane, with the exception of short bus trips within a state or region
Non-union tour - non-union tours, i.e. not overseen by Actors Equity Association, which travels predominantly by bus and can stay as little as one night in each location. Tutoring for these tours occurs on the specially designed “bus classroom” during frequent travel times. Children on these tours may or may not be accompanied by a parent or guardian
On-set - at the location of a television show set, movie filming, theatrical production, etc.
On-set Teacher - a teacher certified in one of the fifty states or the District of Columbia who is hired to provide a minimum of three hours of classroom work per day on-set
Opening night - the official opening of a theatrical production with the press in attendance. While tutoring may continue for one week past the opening night, most children opt to return to their own schools
Per diem - a weekly stipend given to members of a touring production. Per diem is used to cover food, incidentals, and in the case of area productions, hotel fees. The production company is responsible for the financial and logistical arrangements associated with travel from city to city
Previews - the first public performances of a theatrical production. During the previews the production is, in essence, a “work in progress.” Since the press isn’t allowed to review a show until its official opening night, modifications are made in content and design during this trial period.
Production stage manager (also known as a PSM) – the person who runs the preliminary rehearsal period and is responsible for running performances and maintenance rehearsals, such as understudy rehearsals, once the production opens. This is the person a tutor is most likely to deal with when setting the weekly teaching schedule.
Regional theater - a theater with status in a given area of the country. Some examples include Papermill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, FL and La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA. Many Broadway bound shows begin at these theaters and mature on their way to New York
Resume - a single-paged description of a performer’s attributes, previous work and training generally formatted like this
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) - the nation's largest labor union, with 20 branches representing 120,000 working actors in film, television, industrials, commercials, video games, music videos and other new media working actors. SAG exists to enhance actors' working conditions, compensation and benefits and to be a powerful, unified voice on behalf of artists' rights. The Guild is headquartered in Los Angeles and is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.
SAG Rep – a member of the SAG (see Screen Actors Guild) staff who oversees on-set adherence to all SAG regulations including employment of minors
Split week - a week on tour that is split between two cities. This is a rare occurrence on a national or Bus and Truck tour, and a welcome change of pace on a non-union tour
Stage manager – the person who is responsible for running rehearsals and performances and overseeing assistant stage managers. There is at least one additional stage manager on most productions, and musicals usually have two additional. During performances, one stage manager “calls,” or gives cues to technical crew who run lights, sound and sets. The other stage manager(s) supervise activity on the “deck,” or backstage, lending assistance to actors and running crews.
Studio Teacher - a dual certified teacher qualified by California state standards to teach in studio settings
Workshops - before an actual production is started, there is often a workshop version, done without costumes and sets. The purpose of the workshop is to see if the work is worthy of the investment of time and money needed to mount a full-scale production. Financial backers are often invited to workshops as potential investors
Wrangler, Baby (a.k.a. Baby Coach) - see Baby Wrangler
Wrangler, Child – see Child Wrangler
Wrangler, Celebrity - see Celebrity Wrangler |
