The Global Media Site for Entertainment.
Menu
Theatre is slowly returning after an 18-month absence. During this time without theatre, industry workers got the one thing they rarely, if ever, get – a break. Workers began realizing their way of life was unsustainable. And thus, No More 10 Out of 12s was born.
It is made of designers, stage managers, production managers and other theatre artists. The group’s goal is to replace the industry standard 10 out of 12 rehearsals and six-day workweeks with safer and more sustainable working hours to keep theatre workers healthy and happy.
10/12 rehearsals and the six-day workweek must be eliminated for several reasons, according to the NM10/12s website. These practices uphold white supremacy, continue ableism, are anti-caregiver and, of course, have a negative effect on quality of life.
The group formed in spring 2020, when members of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association took their time off from work to look at issues within the industry. Lindsay Jones, a sound designer and composer for over 25 years and now founder of NM10/12s, said he got the idea of self-care for designers, who often work around the clock.
“The idea of self-care seemed impossible,” Jones said.
They realized that in order to look at self-care, first they needed to look at 10/12 rehearsals and six-day workweeks. These issues were not just for designers, Jones said. All theatre workers are affected by these. They created a working group to delve further into this.
Once the group was formed, they began to collect data from both the industry and working information in general. A fully comprehensive study of theatre workers has never been done, Jones said – likely because of how busy they are.
The data they collected showed that, overwhelmingly, 10/12 rehearsals and six-day workweeks were detrimental to workers, Jones said.
“It’s really challenging on a lot of levels for a lot of people,” Jones said.
“We’ve literally been working ourselves to death,” Jones said.
Through studying existing data and gathering their own, from Broadway all the way to community theatre, the group got to work figuring out the best plan for keeping theatre workers safe and healthy, while still having a productive output. They collected testimonies from workers and started a survey to collect information.
“We should dismantle this macho culture of who can work the hardest and destroy themselves. It is unnecessary and unproductive,” an anonymous costume designer said in a NM10/12s testimony. “I’m not going to do that anymore and I’m not going to train people to do that anymore!”
First of all, they want to eliminate 10/12 rehearsals, period, Jones said. This is mandated by Actors’ Equity for actors and stage managers, but other theatre worker unions have no limits to hours worked in day. This can lead to 16-18 hour days for some workers.
These rehearsals will be replaced, ideally, with 8/10 rehearsals, but the hours themselves should not be eliminated. They should be instead reallocated to make a more reasonable schedule per day.
The Business Roundtable study, which NM10/12s features on their site, suggest that an 80-hour workweek and a 60-hour workweek create the same level of productivity as 40 hours. As the hours increase, more resources are used, and with the same level of productivity, Jones said, productions lose money.
Secondly, theatres should eliminate six-day work weeks. This could be for rehearsals, leading up to tech, in tech or even performance weeks, depending on each theatre’s personal finances, Jones said.
An issue theatres often have, according to Jones, is that administrators set a “one size fits all” schedule for all shows, from the big musical to a one-man play. Obviously, these do not need to have the same tech schedule, Jones said. The solution is to create an individualized schedule for each show.
“We just give them a lump of time and say, here,” Oates said. “You can use it however you want to fill it in. Instead we’re assessing, ‘is this how much time we actually need?’, ‘can we use more time elsewhere?’”
Oates said he found that with the elimination of 10/12s at theatre he has worked at is that the productions ended up with more tech time. In this way, the elimination of 10/12s has multiple benefits in different areas.
“There is no one right way for every theatre, but there is a way for every theatre to accomplish it,” Oates said.
While the reevaluation of these conditions came about in the height of the pandemic when there was no live theatre being produced, it has never been more relevant than in recent weeks. The recent IATSE threat of a strike and the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins reveal the urgent need for safer working hours.
“In a way, that incident [the death of Hutchins] is an example of the mistakes people can make when they don’t have enough rest and they don’t have enough support. It can really lead to terrible mistakes,” Jones said.
Step one, said Jones, is to go to their website and read everything. Fill out their survey. With more information, they can get a better perspective, Jones said.
Next is to sign their petition to show opposition to these working hours.
Finally, and most importantly, said Jones, is to start conversations with colleagues. Change is hard, he said, but it starts with people talking to each other.
Talking about is key, Oates said. No one likes 10/12s, but the community should stand together and help themselves make the better.
Jones encourages anyone to email the website with any questions. He acknowledges that they do not have all the answers, but they are interested and they want to help.
NM10/12s hopes that all theatres will be able to reach the point where they can keep workers safer. It is an issue all theatre workers must deal with. But the most remarkable thing about it, Jones said, is seeing people identifying with each other through their shared stories.
“They’re not alone in this struggle,” Jones said. “And it’s not their fault if they’re not able to do well in this environment.”
What Broadway is Like During Covid
Come From Away‘s Chad Kimball Sues Producers Over Termination
© 2021 TheatreArtLife. All rights reserved.
Thank you so much for reading, but you have now reached your free article limit for this month.
Our contributors are currently writing more articles for you to enjoy.
To keep reading, all you have to do is become a subscriber and then you can read unlimited articles anytime.
Your investment will help us continue to ignite connections across the globe in live entertainment and build this community for industry professionals.
