Equitable Understudy Fund

You've probably heard the phrase "the show must go on." It's kind of a theatre cliché. But historically, that sentiment—"the show MUST go on"—has been used to excuse and justify all kinds of exploitative behavior in the theatre industry.

Like with many other aspects of arts administration, the Covid-19 pandemic has allowed Yellow Tree Theatre to reconsider some historic practices that no longer serve us in our modern age, and we're looking to make a big investment in an often-overlooked rung of the theatre-making ladder: understudies.

It's been too easy for too long to see understudies—accomplished actors who are tasked with maintaining roles (usually multiple) for short-term emergencies—as second-class artistic citizens. Instead, Yellow Tree is looking to compensate all understudies at the same weekly rate of pay as regular cast members, regardless of if they perform or not.

For the remainder of our 2023–2024 Season, we want to hire two understudies per production—one male-identifying and one female-identifying—for five contracted weeks at $500/week. Not only would this fairly compensate our understudies for their work and unique stresses, it would allow our regular cast members the safety and space to attend to their own health (physical or emotional, Covid or otherwise) without the consequence of Yellow Tree needing to cancel performances for the public. So really, by investing in our understudies, we're able to better serve all actors and the organization's business.

To quote The Office, that's a win-win-win.

Please consider giving any amount to help support this endeavor, and let's change "the show must go on" to "the show can go on, and everyone feels really good about it."

(About the photo: our Assistant Stage Manager, Erika Soukup, jumped into an actor's track to unexpectedly cover 3 performances of The Rats & The Wasp's Nest with script in-hand and minimal rehearsal.)