That's Not My Job

‘That’s not my job.’

Yep, I’ve said it.

Or mumbled it.

Or maybe just thought it.

There has been many a tech period when I have sighed, exasperated, at the fact that I am being asked to do something which I firmly do not believe is my responsibility, and muttered the words of the aggravated stage manager. More and more in the UK theatre industry, especially London,  we are finding ourselves in situations where we are working on a show as a stage management team of one and expected to perform the skills of wardrobe mistresses, technicians, production managers and assistant directors. And I know that most of us have the attitude that if nobody else is going to do it then we had better just crack on, but still with those words going round and round our heads.

‘That’s not my job.’

But when I recently went and worked in New York, I found myself having to deal with a totally different issue that was, at first, just as frustrating.

‘That’s not your job.’

As soon as we arrived at the theatre in the Big Apple, it became very clear that the US theatrical unions were very different to ours. I’m sure that a lot of you have already experienced the logistics of working in US venues or have at least heard about it. If it’s not in your department then you are just not allowed near it. Any object not stage management related quickly became like Kryptonite to my ASM and I. We weren’t allowed to touch costumes, mic stands, things with plugs on or large bits of set. Even putting down spike marks on the stage became quite a complex activity with certain staff members required and protocol to be followed.

In England, there had just been the two of us backstage. Charlie, my ASM, dealt with radio mics, props and quick changes whilst I called the lights and operated AV. Once we had crossed the Atlantic however, every small backstage task seemed to require an additional crew member. An actor would exit the stage and usually just be greeted by Charlie who would check their mic, give them a prop and chuck a cardigan on them. But now they were being greeted by three different people which took some getting used to.

I did find this occasionally frustrating and felt that it over complicated things. But that was nothing compared to the dinner breaks.

In the UK we typically have an hour plus thirty minutes to allow actors in and out of costume. They had 90 minutes in the US also, but the reason for this was so that the crew had time to get down from their positions, eat their dinner, and then also have time to prepare to continue the tech.

I was very much struck by this as it really showed who was in the position of power. During the tech it was the backstage team who determined when breaks were taken, and the cast and even the director were powerless to disagree. There was just never a question of anyone working through their dinner break as the stage had to be cleared. And absolutely no mention of things like ‘well let’s just get to the end of this scene?’ or ‘do the crew mind missing a tea break?’

At first I genuinely found the system obstructive as I felt that I could occasionally have made up time by doing the odd jobs in my breaks, just as I would in the UK. But it simply wasn’t allowed. How many of us have felt compelled to work through a break to ensure that we are ready for a dress or a first preview? And how many of us have done it with no extra pay and, let’s face it, a rumbling stomach?

If I’m being completely honest I don’t think I have ever turned around and refused to miss a dinner break. I worry far too much about looking reluctant, lazy or uncaring. And I do always want the piece to run smoothly and feel it is my responsibility to ensure that.

But I do get annoyed that there now seems to be an expectance that backstage departments will work, unpaid, through dinner breaks. Often without the issue being properly confronted. It seems to be quite rare that somebody will say ‘Well to achieve this you will need to miss a break. Is that okay?’

One day in America, after the tech had been suddenly halted by the crew for a dinner break, I chatted with one of the guys about their breaks and how sometimes I found it could be a hindrance.  As CSM I was starting to worry that we just weren’t going to be ready in time for the first preview. His response?

‘We don’t do it to be difficult. We do it because it enforces good management.’

And he was right.

The producers/directors had to schedule in enough time for a tech (plus dinner breaks) and they had to employ the adequate amount of staff as there was no possibility of people performing several roles. The result of this, I have to admit, was a fresh and able crew who were always well rested, prepared and, most importantly willing.

So why, in the UK, are we still feeling obliged to work through our breaks unpaid?

If I am working on a contract where I am getting paid overtime, I will happily, gleefully, fill out my time sheet and put down every single missed meal break, every additional hour and every infringed overnight break. And I also do the work willingly. I may be tired, stressed and hungry. But I am also comforted by the knowledge that I am being rewarded. When I get my payslip the following week it makes all that extra work worthwhile and I am happy that I can use that extra cash by pushing up the numbers on my savings account or paying off that extra bit of my tax bill.

(I’m clearly kidding. Overtime means hitting the Benefit counter in Boots and stocking up on their over priced yet miracle tinted moisturiser.)

But sadly these contracts which offer overtime seem to be dwindling and a lot of London theatres do not offer these rewards. A lot of contracts I am working these days are straight buy outs.

Which is fine.

But the expectation that we will carry on working these hours regardless seems to remain.

And, personally, I do not think this is fine.

But how do we deal with this?

I have been in so many situations during a tech week where, for example, an hour’s break is scheduled between the end of the tech and the first dress. Or there will be notes onstage up until an hour before the half. But how exactly is that supposed to work? How exactly are the backstage department expected to take their break and be set up and ready for the performance in that one single, solitary hour?

So then you are left with a choice. Do you make a stand? Do you leave the building completely and take your hour’s break? Do you sit in the green room in full view of everybody, stubbornly eating your Pret a Manger salad and pointedly ignoring all show related questions? Or do you work, unpaid, and ensure that the production is ready. But feel short changed.

Because, as a stage manager, that is ‘your job’.

When I am in these situations I feel that, more often than not, there is a real expectation that the stage management team will do the dutiful ‘above and beyond’ thing. That we will work constantly and forgo these breaks and do it without complaint. But it feels that so many of us have been doing this ‘by whatever means necessary’ routine for so long that it isn’t even exceptional anymore. I have been in techs where the issue of dinner breaks for the stage management team, technicians and crew is not even discussed. And that if you choose to do something as outrageous as take the dinner break you are entitled to, you are being difficult or lazy.

Let’s be honest. You are in a situation of high pressure and high stress and everyone, including you, wants the show to be the absolute best it can be. So if you sit down and refuse to work for a whole sixty minutes do you look heroic? Do you look empowered and brave and stoic and unflinching?

No.

You look like a cunt.

And this situation doesn’t just apply to tech weeks. Even in the early stages of rehearsals I have found myself feeling unable to take lunch breaks; if you are a DSM and a lunchtime production meeting occurs, it is sometimes impossible to get someone to sit in for you in the afternoon so that you can take that much needed lunch break later. And directors have sometimes made it very clear to me that they want the same stage manager in the rehearsal room throughout the day so cover is not an option.

Also how many times have you heard this;

‘Okay, so let’s take an hour for lunch and when we come back we will go straight into a full run through of the play.’

Right.

So I need to be set up and be totally ready for a run through? And that is going to take me, what, half an hour? Forty five minutes? The full hour? And then I need to stay focussed for blocking, prompting, sound operating etc on an empty stomach and with no time to breathe.

I see.

But again, what is your option?

Well, luckily, some directors are aware of these issues and will allow time for pre-sets etc. I always love it when a director puts in time for a pre-run company warm up which allows the stage manager time to eat and take a full break as well as get set up and ready.

But I think it is a shame that stage managers do not feel as if they can confront some directors and ask for the time it takes to set up for a run plus the full dinner break.

And, personally, I take rehearsal room run-throughs incredibly seriously. Just as actors need to warm up/prepare/get into the zone, we stage managers also want to check, double check and feel ready for a run-though as, believe it or not, we really understand the importance of them and feel the pressure just as much as the creatives.

These dinner breaks which we are supposed to take are not just about food or the much desired coffee.

They are about being able to leave the room and leave the building.

Being able to take in fresh, un-conditioned air.

Sending a text or email that is not related to work.

Having a poo.

As a DSM, sitting on your bum all day staring at the script and constantly rubbing out and re-writing blocking is very tiring. However much I love a play, the words can start to jump off the page and float around the expanse of white as I struggle with weariness. I get envious of watching other people moving around the room whilst I sit, unmoving, at my desk.

There is a fringe venue in London which I work at fairly regularly and absolutely adore. It holds a very special place in my heart and I truly respect all of the people who work there. It does a lot of new writing which is my favourite type of theatre to work on (mostly because you get your name in the published script) and the sets and designs are always very ambitious on tight budgets. I always go home from a Press Night feeling elated by what I have achieved, and proud of the work that we have produced on a small budget.

However.

I did once work out the hours that I had worked during a tech week and then divided my weekly wage by that number.

It didn’t even cover the National Minimum Wage.

When they asked me to return for a fourth production I asked to speak with the producer about this issue and showed them my calculations. We spoke very frankly about the problem and how exasperating it was to work a normal week and get paid a set amount of money, and then work ridiculously hard yet still get paid the same small amount. Obviously the small venue did not have the resources to pay me the overtime that I was working during busy periods. But they were willing to discuss a compromise.

So they agreed that during tech weeks I would get paid a set bonus, regardless of how much overtime I did. Okay, it was not anywhere near the amount I would have been paid had I filled out a timesheet and detailed every infringement of the contract, but it was enough to make me feel that all that extra work was being acknowledged in some small way.

And I really want to express just how grateful I am that we came to that conclusion and that the theatre was listening to my point of view and working with me to make the situation better. In the future I would hate to lose out on work simply because people considered me difficult or demanding.

‘Jess Gow? Oh yeah I’ve worked with her before. She’s okay as a stage manager but can be pretty unreasonable. Sometimes she insists that she… you know…. eats and stuff.’

I have also done the tours when, during the interview, the twenty two year old Producer who sits before me, twiddling her hair and tapping on a Mac, proudly tells told me that there is a set ‘company wage’ and that the actors and stage management are all on the same wage.

Because, apparently, that’s ‘fair’. And means that everybody in the company is equal.

Equal.

Really?

During one of these tours I would arrive at the venue every Monday morning at 9 am to do the get-in, wash costumes and buy food for the show. It was rare that I would get a lunch break due to the nature of the performance although I would always ensure the in-house crew got a break. During the afternoon we would continue to focus lights and be ready for the cast arriving around four pm. They would tech various elements of the show before breaking at 5.30pm whilst I did the pre-set.

Then for the rest of the week, as company stage manager, I would be arriving at the venue at about 3.00pm for laundry duties, tour admin, petty cash etc before getting ready for the performance, which obviously I had cues during.

So.

You take this ‘company wage’ and you divide it by the amount of hours the actors do.

And then you take the exact same ‘company wage’ and you divide it by the hours that I do.

And then you tell me that this is ‘equal’ and ‘fair’.

I asked people on Twitter about this issue of taking breaks and, as usual, was presented with a lot of responses from a lot of different people. Most folk, including directors and actors, agreed, that people are far more productive when taking the allotted tea breaks and dinner breaks. Fatigued and irritable cast and crew are less likely to produce good work.

A well respected director tweeted me this;

‘As a director I rely on the SM to tell me we need breaks. They aren’t being difficult. It’s vital. Everyone needs breaks.’

Somebody else tweeted me that, when working as an assistant director, they had realised that once calls and notes were done, the DSM was working 12 hours a day as a matter of course. And again, I was reminded by the fact that not everyone is aware that a DSM’s day of work does not just end when rehearsals end.

Another stage manager tweeted saying that he was sometimes happy to work through these dinner breaks but only if people are recognising the extra work as nobody likes to feel as though they are being used.

Sadly I had some rather unsettling direct messages from stage managers saying that, in the past, they had decided that enough was enough and claimed a dinner break. But been told that it ‘was their job’ and that on a buy-out contract, they had no right to complain.

When I asked whether people would state ‘no pay, no way’ when it came to skipping dinners, or if they would carry on yet feeling exhausted and disgruntled, a director I know asked if there was something in between this. A happy medium.  And personally, I believe there could be. And this is the conversation that I want to open up.

I genuinely don’t believe that enough producers or directors are aware of these issues and I want to write this so that more people do know and can take these things into consideration when planning rehearsals or tech periods. Especially the venues which are providing buy out contracts.

Maybe these theatres need to start making a choice. Either your have a buy out contract and accept that the SM will take breaks which may have an impact on the production and schedule accordingly. Or have SM teams who work whatever is asked of them but with the overtime being paid to them.

And I also want people to know that in other places in the world, like the States, it is not considered acceptable for people to work consistently without the adequate breaks. And that producers/directors are forced to approach the issue and schedule in adequate time. Otherwise the crews there just stop and there is nothing you can do about it. Maybe we can discuss the issue before it gets to a point where crew/stage managers/wardrobe mistresses are just downing tools and it starts to truly damage the final product.

Of course, the blatant ignorance of rules and regulations does not just apply to backstage. There has been many a time when I have been aware that actors are being asked to work way beyond their remit, especially during previews when the usual rule of ‘ninety minutes before the half’ seems to go completely out of the window.

On one occasion I was in a notes session just before a second preview. Myself and the actors had been rehearsing all day, and had a show to do that night. We should have finished at 5.30pm but it got to 6.00pm and the director showed no sign of letting up, clearly in a zone and wanting to give the all- important notes. Any mention from me about needing to finish had been met with an irritable and snappy ‘Yes, I KNOW Jess. I know. But we need to do these notes.’

So I gave up. The actors had seen that I had tried and what else could I do?

We continued for a while. But then at 6.05pm, one of the older male cast members stood up and solemnly declared;

‘We need to break now.’

And so we did.

That was all that was needed.

It just took one more person to make that stand and then the director had to admit that the break needed to be taken. When this actor made this statement I had shrugged at the director as if to say ‘what can you do?’

Although in my head I was thinking ‘WHOOOOOOO!!! YOU GO, MAN!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!’

That really is all it took. Just that one other voice, along with mine, to say, ‘No. We stop now.’

I started in this profession when I was 18 years old and was pretty content to work the extra hours and skip the usual breaks, so eager to impress and be congratulated.

But now, at thirty one, I am less willing to work extra hours with no recognition. And a nice message in a Press Night card is not adequate payment. I know that other people, too many people, feel the same way and want something to be done about it. Equity has created and stated these rules and regulations so why do we keep ignoring them?

Someone needs to take a stand. But who? Exactly whose job is it to make sure that we are no longer exploited?

I’ve said it before and I will say it again.

That’s not my job.

It’s not your job either.

It’s our job.

 

 

 

Thanks as always for reading these ramblings. You have no idea how much I appreciate all of your support and the only reason I now have a column in ‘The Stage’ is because of all of the lovely people who read and share my writing. So thank you very much.

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