Is it normal to be charged a bond in amateur musicals?

Can someone help me? I've been told that if I succesfully audition for a part in an amateur production that I will have to pay $200 bond. Is this normal or should I be suspicious?

Be Suspicious. Bond for what? Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au

I know at school during our school productions we help out by paying a bond. Not near $200 though. ____________________________________________________________ Currently working on: 'Locked In' a short play based on a real life experience For more details visit: www.freewebs.com/lazycreationsgroup

A membership fee is standard and a bond is not so unusual, but $200 is way out of line. What kind of amateur actor has $200 lying around to lend out to their theatre? What kind of theatre expects it? It's a bit fishy. How big is the proposed cast of this production? And does everyone have to pay the bond? Which theatre company is it with?

Can i ask you what company this is with? I think i may know if it is in Sydney and in all my years of doing shows have never heard of a bond being charged...a non-refundable show fee of approx $60-$80..yes, but NOT A BOND!!!

Its BLOC, or Balmain Light Opera Company. They say the bond is to ensure that people won't drop out of the production halfway through. The proposed cast is about 30 people, and everyone has to pay it, including the chorus

Not sure who to feel sorrier for, you or the company. I wonder if they got "stung" big time by people dropping out in the past? Or if it's simply become a custom and practice thing? Maybe they're broke and can't put the show on without it? In which case, just say so. Still, all a bit fishy to me. I guess you need to do a list of pros and cons in regard to your involvement and settle it from there but personally I'd steer clear. We all put our hands in our pockets when we do shows (except usually pro shows) but that's just a bit too much for my liking. I'll fund my own undergarments/tights/make up/certain bits of costume/membership very happily for most shows but I think I'd draw the line at this bond. It's purpose seems a bit "off" and certainly implys a lack of trust, not a good basis to form a company with. "Papa, where is Mama? They tell me she has gone away, where is she?"

I've heard of a lot of amateur companies who ask for about $20 from both cast and crew - as a way of paying for the production itself. Like paying for membership to the group. But I've never heard of, or would expect, people to pay $200. That's just over the top, and I would be more concerned that the admin of the group don't know whether they're going to sell tickets or not. I can understand the sentiment of not wanting people to drop out, but the fact is they can't control things like that, especially in an amateur group. $200 bonds will just make people avoid participating, not encourage them. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

This is the ONLY company i know of that does this, so maybe that's telling you something...

Thanks so much guys! I thought it was a bit much, but I wanted to check, not having been in a musical before. I was going to audition for the chorus, but I'll have to give that some serious thought now-it doesn't seem worth it and it definitely set the alarm bells ringing.

Actually, its $200 bond(refunded when scripts are returned) plus a non refundable $100 production fee.

Yeah, that's ridiculous. Next, ask them how much they are planning on spending, and how much they're charging for tickets. Besides, if the deal is to encourage people not dropping out, they can still show up to performances and not hand back the script - and still be out $200. I'd say avoid the role. There's plenty of other amateur groups out there to be a part of. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

if you know its going to be put on at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, tickets can be bought via ticketek, plus its a pro-am production, (so pros who are accepted for a role are paid), and you can join the chorus as an amatuer, would you think its still worth it?

So, in effect, you'd be paying for another actor to be involved? Why not just audition for the pro roles and get paid yourself? No, I don't think it's worth it. How many amateur people would be paying $300 - I reiterate. Ask how much the budget is, where they're getting the money (if it's just from amateur cast, then that's really worrying), and how much the tickets are. And then ask them how confident they are of selling those tickets. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

It's hard enough to find cast members. If we demanded that sort of money you wouldn't have a show. I assume WEAL is on the inside of this. I'd be interested to hear their reasons for the 'bond'.

"On the inside", I presume you mean, I'm a commitee member or I have done shows with them before, No I'm not and no I haven't. I haven't even seen any of their shows before. I'm actually still ummming and ahhing about the audition because of the financial committment required in the first few weeks of rehearsal. But I looked at it this way, $200 bond, "Yes" I agree, that's steep, which you do get back, plus $100 production fees(shirt included), but you get to perform at The Theatre Royal with a 25 piece orchestra, Compared to doing Les Mis, in a community hall, with no bond, but a $120 prod fees, plus membership, usually plus shirt. Again, I'm not a committee member nor have I done a show with them before. This is just my view.

You're going to do your dough mate. Don't touch it with a bargepole.

Maybe this is an east coast thing. here in the west, I've never been asked for a bond. Most companies insist that you become a member to perform in their productions - fair enough - its usually only about $20. If there is a t-shirt on offer, you buy it if you want to - another $20. No offence intended Weal, you seemed to know all about it, that's all.

This is definitely not an east coast thing. I agree with the $20 membership fee, but I have not heard of any company west or east asking for $200. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

Hi Weal, Two things. 1 Charging people a huge fee will not guarantee their loyalty to any show if there are not other damned good reasons for them to remain with the production. 2 Pro/Am. If you are proposing to pay SOME cast members (pro's) but make others pay $200 to be involved as amateurs just for the experience, then I am not surprised that you have issues with people deserting the production mid way through rehearsals. I would advise people to be careful about joining this company on the basis of how you administer your finances. Tulipa.

It does seem to indicate a lack of goodwill on the part of the company. What guarantees do we have if the production goes belly up? What if more expenses crop up during rehearsals? It feels a bit like blackmail-you can leave if your not happy, but say bye bye to the $200. My understanding of amateur theatre (correct me if I'm wrong) is that its supposed to be friendly, fun, a group of people working hard and putting on a show because of their sheer love of performance, which is not the vibe I'm getting from this company. I'd be happy to pay a bond for sheet music, script etc but $200 is too much.

Contact your local newspaper and tell them. I think they'd be *very* interested.

Hi Jeff, no offence taken. I know just as much as the next person who sat next to me at the orientation meeting. Tulipa, I'm not sure why you're directing it at me. Again, I'm not part of their committee. You can advise people as much as you want, it does nothing to me. I actually mentioned this to another person, and they advised to contact MEAA.

I've been advised to contact MEAA as well, Weal. Do they cover amateur productions?

No. They will not act or even get involved. It is not employment. Are you a member? Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au

I can't believe I'm reading this crap. My last show cost ME personally about $500 in fuel [and hire car twice] to attend rehearsals and performances because I live a 90k round trip from the theatre. Plus several meals. And I had to pay a $20 membership fee [that's to cover insurance]. I don't mind working with people who are being paid in a large cast and I don't get paid [if my role is minor]. A lead role, well that would be different. But a company charging me up front? Bugger off! So-called amateur theatre is a multi-multi-million dollar business in this country. Mostly amateur companies will try to cover their costs. But, they rely on volunteer labour. That is worth a lot in dollar terms - and they get it for nothing. And they get most of the actors' performance for nothing as well. When you get some payment for acting you realise what your performance is worth in dollar terms and you are giving of your skill and performance as an actor for nothing. AND you're paying up front costs that you can't claim on tax if you are not a "professional" actor. So, companies like this ought to get real. Respect for actors and volunteers must be the driving force. A $200 bond PLUS payment by the actor for the "privilege" is disrespectful. And, it is no privilege, even if it were at the Opera House. It would be a different matter if the company were a cooperative and you were buying in for a share of the profits....

I'm pretty close to a former performer of a recent BLOC show so I was pretty involved with the company for a while. I can tell you first hand the company is legitimate. The productions are held at the Seymour Centre, the performers are of a high standard, and the director is someone who fronts an absolute fortune of his own money to give amateur level performers an opportunity to perform in a well respected theatre. The level of performance hovers between amateur and pro. The type of people who go for this company from what I understand are typically those who have a lot of amateur experience and who are wanting to step to a higher level in preparation for pro. I know ticket sales for the show were very healthy but didn't go all the way by any means to covering the cost of the show. There is the high cost of the Seymour, costumes, orchestra, marketing, T shirts, taping of the show etc etc. This is a director who genuinely loves theatre and a good show and is prepared to put his money on the table to get exposure for the company and it's performers. They're making the shift from amateur, community hall level, toward pro. and this means bigger venues, bigger costs, higher standards of performance. I understand from an outsiders point of view it's hard to tell which companies are legitimate, and I'd feel the same way if I heard about a $200 bond from a company I hadn't heard of. To be honest I have no opinion about whether this is a lot of money or not since I haven't been around musical theatre enough to know what's appropriate and what's not - so you may have to take the other people's advice there. All I can do is tell you about this particular company. I've seen a lot of the cast for the current show and musically they're amazing. Definitely a good company to be involved with if you want to lift your skills, and the experience of performing at the Seymour alone is worth it I'd say.

I live in Western Australia and have NEVER heard such a load of TRIPE in all my years working in community theatre! We here in WA are quite regularly taking our community shows to venues such as the Playhouse, the Regal and the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre - all venues of professional standard that have played host to professional productions and performers like Les Miserables, Hair, Phantom of the Opera, concerts by Elaine Page, Rob Guest, Michael Ball - the list goes on! When we do our community shows in these venues we have ALL of the elements that you are saying justify a cost of $300 ($100 of which you WON'T get back) to an individual just to be in a show. For most companies here in WA the only required cost incurred is about $20 for a t-shirt and approx $50 if you don't hand back your libretto. How can you honestly say that anything justifies what this company is asking someone to outlay finanicially? Also, you state: "I know ticket sales for the show were very healthy but didn't go all the way by any means to covering the cost of the show." Then the performance is clearly not up to standard! Theatre Companies here in WA that don't at least work on a cost neutral basis cease to exist. That being the case, we work as hard as we can and produce shows of fantastic quality - not something hovering between amateur and pro - in order to generate an audience from a population that, sadly, is not actaully all that interested in theatre. Basically, what I'm saying here is that we work our collective butts off to do the very best we can so that the audience comes and we make enough money to do the next show! The only time I have ever encountered the concept of paying to be in a production is in the case of profit share - where you pay an amount to help fund putting the production on and if at the end when all is said and done there is a profit, you take a percentage share equal to the amount you put in (or any similar model). Risky (cause it's highly possible you will lose money) but fair. As far as I'm concerned, none of the reasoning you have given as to why this company is charging this money is anywhere near good enough and I would strongly advise anyone considering working with this company (and therefore making such a payment) to reconsider! Darren - Angry that companies are taking advantage of talented performers

Guys, this is a $150,000 production being put on in a professional venue (the theatre royale)!!!! $200 is not a lot of money, and you get it back anyway. It is due to some principals dropping out and leaving the company high and dry (when did loyalty leave community theatre by the way?). If you don't want to pay the bond and be in a semi-professional production, in a professional venue with professional lighting and sound, then don't! The director is forking out $150K for this to go on, that's something like spending $7K on each person. $200 for the security of you turning up to perform is not alot to ask!

Bond is NOT acceptable. I'm not even sure basic membership fees are OK, unless of course they cover something like your PL Insurance, a necessity these days. $200 is ridiculous. loyalty is nothing to do with money and everything to do with relationships. I know of only 3 times somebody has pulled out of a show I was involved in. 2 for health and one because of a very serious family issue. In all cases the show was able to go ahead with a short flurry of activity... I'd be looking at why people left me high and dry. (personal responsibility is a very powerful place from which to live your life!) Take time to train an understudy if you're worried. The understudy will be very unlikely to pull out if their chance were to arrive. and if you are going to blow $150K of your own money, then only hire and contract professionals. Or contract your (volunteer) cast. Get more money- Get sponsors in your program, for your company etc. Charge $2 extra on each ticket. rather than screwing the very people who are already giving of their time and experience for free. Basically, as I have said too many times now- if you cannot afford to do your show, then you simply CAN'T DO IT! Any business out there that tries to operate on this basis would at the least disappear quickly, at the worst, find themselves in court for operating under false pretenses. e.g. Imagine if your local small deli went bust, having charged its three volunteer 16 yr old serving staff a bond (and not paying them by the way, as they weren't trained/qualified), because "operating a deli is expensive, I put in lots of my own money, and we were all passionate about the deli."?! There is a reason why financiers such as banks go through a bunch of criteria for financing businesses, and being likely to not see their money disappear is paramount. It just sounds like another passionate artistic person (a good thing) not having enough of a clue about their business (a bad thing). Yes people, unfortunately it is a business- a highly expensive and risky one. This director appears to be screwing over the very people he or she needs to make it work. And it's all OK because it's being performed in a professional theatre????!!!! That argument defies belief. Neville It's the simple things stupid...

David, You haven't said anything new to defend this concept. I have performed in many professional venues with professional lighting and sound. This is not an out of the ordinary thing! It's a great opportunity, but not really all that rare, and I've never had to pay a bond for the privelege of being in the show. In fact, I've just finished working on a season of Singing in the Rain with a community theatre company. The show went on in a professional venue with professional lighting and sound AND professional effects - we had real rain on stage! They didn't ask anyone to pay $200 bond and $100 membership to do the show. The only cost involved was $23 for a show t-shirt and a show lanyard and $45 if you didn't return your libretto. I think it's very nice that this director is paying out so much of their own money to put on a show. Huge kudos to them - we need more people who are willing to sponsor shows the way they do, but I stand by the fact that I think it is unfair to ask an amateur performer (someone who does this for LOVE, not money) to fork out $300 (200 bond, plus 100 membership) at the outset just to be in the show. And before I get told again that you get the $200 back - this is an amount of money that can be quite difficult to get together all at one time, particularly if someone is still studying. Asking for this outlay is unfair to the performers, and probably unfair to the company, because a lot of extremely talented people will be unable to even consider auditioning due to an inability to fund this ridiculous requirement. They're not just doing performers a dis-service, they're doing their company a dis-service! And finally - you say this situation has occurred because a couple of principles dropped out leaving the company high and dry - well why should newcomers have to pay for other people's wrong-doings?? The way you deal with this situation is to not cast the unrelaible people again. And just a couple questions - What happens if you get sick and CAN'T perform?? Do you get your bond back? Or is it a case of too bad - you didn't perform so you lose the money. Do performers sign legal contracts with the company? What assurance do the performers get that they WILL get their money back? A receipt?? Too many questions left un-answered! I stand by the advice I gave in my previous posting - this bears a lot of thought, but personally I would reconsider working with this company on the grounds that I can get all the special things they say they need the bond for with other companies that won't charge me for the privelege! Darren

Also, I just did a bit of research - not being from Sydney I thought I would look up the theatre in question, but 2 theatres are mentioned here... Donna Talbert says: "The productions are held at the Seymour Centre" BUT David Blake says: "production being put on in a professional venue (the theatre royale)!!!!" So, which venue is it?? They certainly aren't the same place - I thought they might have been so I looked them up... Seymour Centre City Rd and Cleveland St, Chippendale University of Sydney multi-storey carpark next to theatre, entry from Shepherd St. Buses 422, 423, 426 and 428 from Castlereagh St or Railway Square at Central Station stop outside Seymour Centre. Or walk from Central Station. Theatre Royal King St, Sydney. Underground parking available. Or take a train to Town Hall and walk. Or take a bus with a nearby stop. Source: http://goaustralia.about.com/od/theatreperformingarts/a/sydneytheatres2_2.htm So which venue is it?? They are both beautiful venues, but the Seymour Centre is also a learning space that is part of the University of Sydney, so I'm guessing performers that are training at UofS get the chance to perform there quite regularly... As for the Theatre Royal - they hire out at a negotiable rate from show to show (at least that's what their admin staff told me) So I'm failing to see why a $150K budget is being put up - particularly when you can pay the theatre hire out of box office takings... What's the show so I can look up the cost of the performing rights? I'm a little befuddled as to the size of that budget! Darren

It is definately on at the Theatre Royale - I know because I will be in the show. Oh, and it's 'Chess'. The company does not usually ask for a bond, it's just this production. For example, BLOC are currently doing 'Pirates of Penzance' at the Seymour and no one had to pay a bond, just a small membership fee which covered insurance, and you get a T-Shirt and a DVD of the show. To be honest Darren I'm not sure where the figure of $150K came from, that what quoted on the orientation night. I assure you Neville, the man in question knows exactly what he is doing and has plenty of experience in this industry. He is a good bloke and what he is doing is a great thing. All of us who know him have no problem putting up the bond. AS WAS DISSCUSSED AT THE ORIENTATION - if you cannot afford it there is always the possibilty of waiving the fee. I stand by what I said, if you don't want to pay the bond, then don't be in the show.

It is definately on at the Theatre Royale - I know because I will be in the show. Oh, and it's 'Chess'. The company does not usually ask for a bond, it's just this production. For example, BLOC are currently doing 'Pirates of Penzance' at the Seymour and no one had to pay a bond, just a small membership fee which covered insurance, and you get a T-Shirt and a DVD of the show. To be honest Darren I'm not sure where the figure of $150K came from, that what quoted on the orientation night. I assure you Neville, the man in question knows exactly what he is doing and has plenty of experience in this industry. He is a good bloke and what he is doing is a great thing. All of us who know him have no problem putting up the bond. AS WAS DISSCUSSED AT THE ORIENTATION - if you cannot afford it there is always the possibilty of waiving the fee. I stand by what I said, if you don't want to pay the bond, then don't be in the show.

It is a lot to ask. Professional actors aren't expected to do it - and there is a huge reliance to turn up. Why should amateur actors be expected to give $200. I understand $20, but not more than that. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

Hmm... $150k? Insurance for a large cast (personal and public?) Venue rental Other equipment (ie. lighting, sound) rental Costumes Set Pay for the pro actors Marketing and publicity Royalties (both musical and script?) ... I can produce a pro show for less than $3k in a professional (what the hell is a 'pro' venue anyway?) venue. Perhaps someone needs to look at what big budget pro musicals spend... I suspect the figure is an exaggeration, and/or the director has already found a sponsor/funding, and is not entirely putting in all the money. There's no guarantee of getting it back, and I can't think of anyone - enthusiastic and committed or not - who would put out that much money for one show. Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

There are a number of individuals around this country who put on big shows privately out of their own pockets. They all tend to have the same line of patter about how much it costs them to mount the show and how if you want to be involved you need to show your commitment by putting up a show fee and or a bond. They give the impression that they are doing this as a service either to the wider community or to the various dewy eyed innocents that get caught up in the excitement of the whole process. The show goes on and sure they stand a chance of losing their shirts but it's my experience that they usually don't. They usually walk away with a nice lot of money in their pocket. Some people get paid, usually the hardened cynical old pro's who won't do it otherwise but the aforementioned dewey eyed innocents don't. They pay a show fee, they pay for their own costumes and all their expenses and are left feeling that they have acheived a step up in their career. They usually haven't. I'm not saying this is one of those cases but I have ceratinly experienced this in many places. In my opinion a reasonable budget for a top end amateur musical (outside of Royalties which are usually based on a percentage of door and theatre hire) would be in the region of 20,000 to 50,000 depending on how much the band costs. I put on straight plays for a sum of around $4 - $5 K. Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au

Na, I don't think this is actually defined - lol. I know there is such a thing as an A1 venue - but amateur companies can still use it. There are more restrictions on this though. For instance, Disney will not allow amateur productions of musicals based on their movies (eg. Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Lion King etc) to be performed in an A1 venue. It doesn't matter how good the quality might be, they won't budge - believe me, we've been trying to get them to. As far as what constitutes an A1 venue, I think there are a few factors. For instance - audience capacity, stage size, # of fly bars and other things like that. We have two here in Perth - The Burswood Theatre and His Majesty's Theatre - both are REALLY different with a HUGE variation in tech capabilities! My friends and I have had the "what constitutes a pro theatre" discussion a couple of times. I personally think a venue is a venue - it's the show that's pro or amateur. Some of my friends seem to think that a pro venue needs to have a full fly tower, amplification capabilities (meaning microphones for singers) and an auditorium of at least 500 seats. That's their opinion - as I said, I disagree. I would love to get your thoughts on the matter though - I like reading what you have to say on things, you make some very astute observations! Darren

150k to stage Chess? Must be a hell of a show the director has lined up. I totally disagree with asking people who commit their time, talents and effort into a show to pay that amount of money. Does everyone else involved in the show have to pay the bond as well or is it just the cast? As an MD of amateur musicals where the musicians don't get paid (and neither do I), if I were to ask my band members to pay me to ensure they showed up, I can guarantee you I would never be able to get a band together. If it's just the principals that are the problem, maybe the director should use some of that 150k to pay them a fee and ask them to sign a contract. If you want to stage a production that big, then its up to you to pay for it; not the cast.

I agree (that a venue is a venue), which is why I asked the question. Personally, I've worked in small venues, fitting 30 people, with limited lighting, no flying rigs, basic sound equipment... and yet today I visited my uni theatre, and discovered they'd updated their equipment to include new lighting desks, an Apple and sound op. programs... Which is the more professional one? Interestingly, the reason they have new equipment is because more and more techies need to learn the 'high-end' equipment, because this is what's used in big venues and on large shows. (I felt slightly jealous here) On the other hand, the lecturer complained that he doesn't have enough time to fully teach the students more than the basics - and that the equipment is too advanced to go into properly in the short time that he has with them. What's a pro venue? Here's a great anecdote - when I was starting uni, I ended up doing a show in a library, where they had a venue set up. It was a proper venue; lighting, sound, backstage area, foyer... But the lighting was clearly out of date, with copper wires visible, and a 8 channel manual fader/desk (no possibility of even doing a chase!), plus some old lights which were not tagged and tested for at least five years. The sound consisted of a CD deck attached to some speakers. The lighting rig was hung from two FOH bars so high up that you'd need a scaffold or extra-long ladder to reach; no harness provided, no scaffold, just an extendable ladder (without hooks mind you, so you had to rest the top of the ladder against either the ceiling or the bars, which made for a very very steep climb)... The stage lx wasn't much better. The 'backstage' consisted of a storage room, where there was no backstage lighting. The backstage could be reached by corridors, but unfortunately, you had to remember which door to open, because at least one on each side of the stage would trigger a fire alarm. On any number of occasions, I can remember the lift not working - the only access out of library hours to the venue. On top of all of this, the library 'theatre manager' was... you guessed it, a librarian. I have nothing against librarians, but when you ask the theatre manager to change a light globe for one of the stage lights, you expect them not to pull out an everyday desklight globe. ... After considering my memories of this... I guess a pro venue is at the very least, one that is run by and for theatre people, with at least something resembling a safe working environment. My only two criteria. "I like reading what you have to say on things, you make some very astute observations!" Thank you. Occasionally there is a flash of intelligence :P Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

Hey - more to the point... $150k, and it's pro-am, with pro's getting paid and the am's are being asked to pay $200 which they get back.... Does that make sense to anyone else? Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/

To all those that know me, thank you for the defense, and for those that dont, perhaps you should do some research before spouting off your mouths. To correct the people above, BLOC has the Amateur Rights to perform up to 6 performances of Chess at the Theatre Royal from May 8 to 18 2008. There is no such thing as "Pro-Am" either everyone is paid and the company purchases the Professional Rights to the Show or you obtain the Amateur rights. (Thats' not my opinion but direct from the licencors). Having said that Chess has a budget for 4 leads to be paid Minimum Equity rates should they Audition and be succesful. For both Into the Woods and Chess it was announced that there would be a Mandatory $200 bond applied. The bond is forfeited if you fail to return your score or drop out during the rehearsal period without some reasonable excuse. The announcement of the bond is made during the orientation night which is compulsory for all auditionees. The difference between a Professional who is Contracted and an Amateur who is a volunteer is thus obvious. A professional can be legally prevented from performing with another company where they have a pre-existing contract with another company. Amateurs or volunteers have no such obligation. Some people audition for shows knowing that they will be auditioning for another show the following week or even will accept a role and then audition for other roles and drop out. Apart from the pure selfishness of such action it is extremely difficult for the production team to replace people dropping out. Wastes the entire casts time and valuable rehearsal time. Further we often need to re-advertise to find replacements for the production and this is at our cost. As such we ask certain categories of people not to audition. People who have previously dropped out of shows, people who are currently applying for NIDA/WAAPA or any other course which should they be accepted would prevent them from being in the show and people who intend on auditioning for another show even if they are successfull in this show. While we-re a non profit organisation that doesn't NOT mean that we are a charity to be used and abused by those who feel they need audition practice. To re-inforce these requests we inform auditionees that all people who successfully gain a role they need to pay a $200 bond which will be forfeited should one of the 3 above conditions become true. As seen from the above emails it makes people think twice about their level of commitment to the show. To date we have never actually charged anyone the $200 bond and we have no need to. We have already weeded out the non-committed and, in general, get talented committed cast who attend rehearsals religiously and hence we have some excellent performances. BLOC is set-up as a non-profit incorporated association in NSW and is entirely funded by yours truly, we've performed 3 productions at the Seymour centre, 2 in the Everest Theatre and Pirates in the Downstairs theatre. To date I'm out of pocket around $100K some of that is in capital expenditure like that radio microphones that we've bought but in general we are a newly established company so we dont have a large mailing list of regulars to attend our shows. For the guy who thinks you can budget on $20-$50K. You cant even hire our venue for that amount!!! and what kind of budget EXCLUDES royalties and theatre hire ???? 4 Professionals @ $5K each = $20K 25 piece Orchestra @ $50/call, 8 paid calls = $10K Rights/Royalties @ 16% of $150K budget = $25K Marketing = $25K Rehearsal Venue = $3K Set Design/Construction $5K Lighting Design $2k Lighting Hire (Theatre Royal doesn't provide) $10K Theater Hire $50k Costume Hire $5K Wages (Dir/MD/Chore/Pianist) $5K Total $160k and thats off the top of my head. There are also costs for ticketing/breakages/wages etc which probably add to a further $10K. As our ticketing is done by Ticketek all funds are held in trust by Ticketek until the performance of the show when the funds are released to the company as such the greater majority of costs have already been paid and with a $150K budget even if we were to collect $200 from the 20 cast, $4k is not going very far... Anyway I hope you all get a chance to see what I have no doubt will be an excellent production of a fabulous musical. Tickets on-sale Ticketek on Dec 18th 2007. We are still looking for some men for the chorus including some tenors for Embassy Lament and 4 dancers (singing optional) email me @ markh@dragon.net.au for information.

I don't know you and if you actually read my post you would realise that I was very careful to say that I didn't know if you were one of those people. Your post above doesn't help your image. 1/ Frankly unless you are a philantrophic millionaire I don't believe anyone could lose 100,000 dollars and keep operating. Alright some of it you haven't lost because it is capital investment but none the less. 2/ When I put on a show I have two budgets. One is the expenditure which I have control over completely. How much I spend in this area is governed by how much the other expenditure that I cannot control ie Theatre Hire and Royalties will be. This is simplistic but then so is your expenses list above. I think you are getting rooked on the rehearsal room but I don't know the venue. I also believe you are paying too much for lightng hire. Are we talking a wet hire? If so then why is there an additional charge for a fully professional lighting designer. My friend, you are doing professional theatre paying those you choose to pay and taking money out of the pockets of the dewey eyed innocents to whom I referred earlier. I stand by my comments, and my advice to anyone asked to pay a bond of this nature would still be "Don't do it." Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing.www.tonymoore.id.au

I've lost count of how many shows I have personally been in but in all these shows I reckon that I could count on the one hand how many cast members have pulled out!! I am wondering what is it that is causing these cast members to withdraw discounting the accepted reasons? AND enough of them withdrawing to have to hold others and future others to ransom! One question Catfang, is the $200.00 held in trust then returned at the end of the season OR spent hoping that enough money is made to pay them back? I must admit that this astounds me!! In WA I have heard of the odd show charging people to audition which is also a disgrace. Alex PS CHESS is an awesome show that I have proudly performed in and we had a sensational cast (A number of them are now doing this professionally).

Catfang, I am astounded by this quote: "To date we have never actually charged anyone the $200 bond". So you lie to the people who go to the orientation? Frighten off the wary and the cautious with blatant deception? I'm sorry, but treating people in this manner is absolutely disgraceful and unprofessional to boot.