SAG-AFTRA To Pursue Pay For Auditions Under Specific Circumstances
deadline.comFilm and TV actors might be contractually entitled to collect half-a-day’s pay when they audition but aren’t hired, though very few ever collect.
The payments have been codified in every Screen Actors Guild and SAG-AFTRA contract since 1937, but the payments are not automatic – actors have to file a claim to receive them, and few ever do.On Wednesday, however, after Deadline made inquiries, the union said that it now will pursue claims for audition pay under specific circumstances.“Until further notice,” the guild said in a posting on its website, “members should expect the union to pursue audition pay claims in the following circumstances, provided that the performer is not offered employment in the picture and that the requirements of the audition pay language within the schedule applicable to the role being cast are otherwise met: 1.
When the producer or casting director expressly require the performer to memorize their lines in advance. 2. When the performer participates in a network or studio ‘test’ as that term is commonly understood in the entertainment industry.
For context, ‘tests’ are typically used to cast series regular or feature lead roles, typically involve multiple performers who are expected to be ‘off book,’ may involve make-up, hairdress and wardrobe, and will have network or studio executives in attendance.
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