BroadwayWorld: Vacation swings — or performers who are hired to fill in periodically when a production’s cast is low on coverage — have one of the most difficult and exciting jobs in the business. Not only do they cover multiple roles (or tracks, as they’re often called), they may get up in the morning and learn they’ll be performing on Broadway that night.
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This article was very educational to me as I had no idea that vacations swings existed. I mean it makes perfect sense to have someone on standby for those emergency situations where all of their swings just aren’t able to fufill the necessary roles. The life of a vacation swing just seems so difficult, I couldn’t imagine living with the uncertainty of a standard swing, let alone having the responsibility of knowing multiple tracks, and simultaneously being expected to support yourself with another job entirely. You have to remember everything so that you could go on in a moments notice, but so many people learn by doing. I feel like if I were in this role, I’d always feel out of practice, or unprepared. I find it disappointing that these people have one of the hardest jobs in the production, yet their work goes unnoticed by so many. They don’t get paid that well either. I do not think it is right that some of these swings get paid per performance, because their job involves so much preparation before these performers ever hit the stage.
If I were an actor, I would hate to be a vacation swing. I imagine being a swing is difficult enough, having to learn multiple tracks of a single show. I couldn't fathom the amount of skill and difficulty vacation swings need to have to successfully do their job, as well as the humanity they need to have. I argue that their job is more difficult than playing a principal role in a Broadway Production, and it is disappointing that they won't receive the same fame and acclaim as a named character.
This seems like a miserable job because the unpredictability of the job. Maybe people who enjoy being extremely spontaneous enjoy this kind of work, but being called in the run a show fifteen minutes before downbeat sounds like my personal nightmare. In addition, having the pay be muddy and inconsistent seems like being a vacation swing more like getting the short end of the straw.
I’ve always wondered what happens when the understudies or swings have to call out of a show, so this article was a fascinating read. I’ve always thought that swings were an unsung hero of the theater world since they perform so many tracks and keep a show moving when ensemble members are out, but vacation swings take that to another level. These performers are insane; they have entire other jobs to support themselves, and yet are always ready to perform on Broadway at a moment's notice. Vacation swinging for a touring production seems even harder, because the tour could be across the country, requiring a performer to get a flight and then perform right after it. Traveling alone is tiring enough; I can’t imagine what it must be like for these performers, flying out and then performing a whole performance, let alone in a track they may not have performed in weeks or months. These performers are the reason the show can go on, and I think that it's crazy that they get so little recognition.
Being a vacation swing sounds incredibly stressful to me but at the same time very freeing. Something I worry about when thinking about my future in the industry is a lack of free time. Here at CMU at the very least we have our Sundays off but if I am to stay working in the future, where will my time for other passions come? Being a vacation swing sounds almost ideal for that, you get to fulfill that dream of being a professional performer while still having time for other passions. At the same time, with a lack of consistency comes a lack of pay and I think that inconsistency in cash flow would be much more stressful to me. I really admire people who are able to swing for two shows at once, it seems unbelievable to have that much material memorized for months at a time. Guess I’m glad to be a technician.
Being a swing or a vacation swing seems like the most fun and stressful job ever. There is probably a large adrenaline rush of jumping on a show last minute that makes it extremely exciting. But I also see it being stressful that you know you are in charge of remembering a track you last performed two years ago! Personally, I love the adrenaline of a live show. I love when mistakes happen and there's a time crunch and a lot of creativity that goes into fixing it live. It definitely sucks though to be in charge of remembering your tracks and not being paid to always be ready to go only when you perform. I think there are definitely some Pros and cons to the job of being a swing. You get the freedom to pursue so many other activities and have a life past performing 8 shows a week. But the pay and stability of it is also hard to adjust for and not sustainable.
Being a swing, especially a vacation swing that looks like so much fun! If I were a performer I think I'd really enjoy it. One of the reasons why I don't think I could be a stage manager for my whole life is because doing a production over and over and over again the same exact way becomes very mundane for me. The thought of being on a different production every night is really exciting! Granted there is the whole memorization thing which isn't my strong suit. Any Adrenaline Rush /schedule puzzle of making yourself free to go on. I do just agree with the way they're being paid. as the article brings up, the vacation swings spend time brushing up on their tracks and the first thing on their own which is unpaid. I do really like that part of equity such that if you work one day you get paid for the entire week and health care for the entire week.
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