Backstage: “I was not allowed back,” actor Melissa Errico wrote on her personal blog in May. In her post, she described her shock on hearing that Classic Stage Company terminated her contract for its production of “Passion” after her prolonged absence from the show due to vocal illness. While Errico never believed her job was in jeopardy, it turns out that the producers at CSC were well within their rights to release Errico in her uncertain condition.
3 comments:
Contracts and unions can be especially tricky in theatre. I find it strange that the actress was not aware of the illness section in her contract that allowed her to be terminated. It would seem logical for her to have read and understood her contract with Equity before signing on. I feel it important that people should read any contract they sign, because if they don't, awkward situations like this happen.
Yes actors and actresses should know their contracts, but what I think is terrible about this situation is that she was not notified that there were considering terminating her contract. Instead of just firing her on the spot, she should have been able to talk with the company about her options - maybe it would have resulted in the same outcome, but she still would have been able to have some heads up before they terminated her contract without notice.
People need to know their contracts, but those contracts should be reasonable. That's a basic tenant of the job-field, but things start to get murky once you start considering the actual implications of contracts. This particular case, where an actress was fired for an extended absence due to a vocal injury, is just such a time, when the lines get a bit blurry. Certainly, it's awful that what was, essentially, a job-related injury got this woman fired. But what else could the company have done? If an actress misses too many rehearsals or performances, then should she really be allowed to continue? Won't an extended absence affect her performance? These are the kind of questions that have to be asked when considering whether or not to criticize a company for firing a performer.
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