Vaudeville Managers Protective Organization - Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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HEYWOOD WAKEFIELD I-IAIRS FOR : ITIIEHLTES, Auditoriums, LOCIQGS. Halls, and all Public BuiIcIIr1gS , lil ! 'Q:23.uuug,unuxn I ,Q ' 2 --Kms!! :I 'lffifig giiansaggi, 2, I. -.22::23iiil ',7,.fQA at f ffilzffiln hi--.' f ., .FL up I . f in--is 4 I ,-I' 'png K If 311' rs-I---:: I I I R, . llh- If V . Iain-1 2 '. 2' I s 2. 1 EE5.... Q I' I? .- .'-:E2155EE. -9 I4 fssaiiii f ,S III 5 J' .-4l',2:g : I -' -'LQ i -:nv -I I sn 5 - 1 QTHE BLACKSTONE TH EATR E I SPECIAL Manufactured and for sale Ivy HEYWOOD BROTHERS ff WAKEFIELD f A COMPANY 1 SALESROOMS Michigan Avenue, Chicago Phone Calumet NEW YORK BOSTON PHILADELPHIA IXAIIIWMORIE I'4UIfIfAl.O SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELES AND POR'l'l.AND I-I

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of the country, they wield a power for good in shaping the future dCSt1Il1CS of this immense amusement proposition, now hardly out of its infancy. Since the inception of the plan, several years ago, there have come many radical changes in the vaudeville situation, in the relationship of the manager to the ,patron and also in his relation- slnp with the performers who play on his programs. Perhaps the most important of these changes was-the deci- sion arrived at during a recent meeting of the Organization, that a new form of contract would be adopted as soon as the com-- mittee, with the aid of competent attorneys could draw it up. This contract now in the course of construction will be one which is fully equitable for both parties, the manager and the actor receiving equal protection, a thing never possible in the past. i Here-to-fore the managers have been at the mercy of the performers in many instances, for while the performer has in- sisted on a so-called play or pay contract which if violategl by the managers, has been the cause of untold troubles, the manager had absolutely no redress when the performer failed to live up to his share of the bargain which he entered into.. i Should the manager violate the contract to the smallest degree, the actor did not hesitate to plunge them into legal actions which were, to say the least, expensive or else cause untold trouble in the theatres when the manager, rather than stand on his rights, would submit to demands which were notoriously unfair. l Un the other hand, illness real or imagined, or an offer of more pay elsewhere and infsome cases pure laziness, would cause a performer to break every section of the contract which he had signed for the manager in apparent' good faith. ln fact an in- stance is known Where a performer refused to get out of bed to make a train, thereby causing the manager considerable loss as it was impossible to get another act on such short notice to appear in time. In many cases absolutely no regard was shown 13

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- L Q H l I the manager in any way and the monetary loss sustained by him, did not stop the performer for a moment from breaking his word and contract with impunity. lYith the new contracts this will not be possible, for the contracts will be fully equitable and the interests of the manager as well as the performer will be fully protected in every way. The manager will have the same protection as the performer, and with this end in view, the Vaudeville Managers Protective Organization have decided when the new contracts are put in force, to select a committee of arbitration, composed of three members who shall meet as often as is necessary to take up. matters which come before them and settle disputes between the performers and the managers. They shall also be given power to meet a committee of equal size from the performers organ- ization, the two bodies to select another person to sit with them and the decisions of this body to be binding to the manager and performers alike. , T The importance of this can be readily seen and it is the only solution to the constant arguments and petty bickerings which crop up each week and which are always followed by recrimina- tions on both sides. ' Under present conditions it has been possible for some hot- headed actor to wreck a program at any time by withdrawing from it and taking as many acts as they could with them, their demands in many instances being allowed by the management rather than suffer the monetary loss that would result from a closed theatre or disappointed patrons. This sort of thing has worked a hardship not only on the manager, but 3150 011 the other acts. on the program, for they have lost salary in many cases which they could not afford to lose. And it is to overcome just this condition that the Organiza- tion aims at. It does not wish to inflict an uncalled for injury or penalty on any performer and it does in turn wish to be p1'0- tected from the performers and-their advisers. Some Of the actions of performers have bordered on the criminal to a marked degree and these malcontents have not only injured thC1T1SC1VCS, 15