The contract "provides protections for directors and choreographers in the areas of new media as well as significant gains for Broadway's directors and choreographers in terms of health pension contributions by employers." Under the new contract directors and choreographers "will be assured consultation prior to any media taping in the rehearsal hall and are guaranteed notification of any taping of a performance." Until now the Broadway agreement has not addressed media and promotion. In addition producers are also now required to negotiate additional terms for distribution of electronic reproductions beyond the initial broadcast.
Laura Penn, SDC executive director, said in a statement, "Our members are keenly aware of the role of new media in the promotion of Broadway productions. We are pleased to have established terms for Directors' and Choreographers' participation in ensuring live theatre has a high profile in all electronic media while maintaining protections for our members' work particularly as it pertains to the capturing of footage within the rehearsal hall."
In return "SDC has provided options for producing subsequent productions that behave more like sit-downs than traditional tours. In cases where a tour is scheduled to sit down for more than 12 weeks, "the producer now has the option of using the Broadway provisions or the touring provisions." SDC also responded to the League's request for an additional category for short-term tours.
Members of the SDC Broadway Negotiating Committee include Walter Bobbie, Mark Brokaw, Doug Hughes, Kathleen Marshall, Susan Schulman, Daniel Sullivan, and SDC president Karen Azenberg.
* SDC is a national theatrical labor union whose mission is "to foster a national community of professional stage Directors and Choreographers by protecting the rights, health and livelihoods of all of its members; to facilitate the exchange of ideas, information and opportunities, while educating the current and future generations about the role of Directors and Choreographers and providing effective administration, negotiations and contractual support."
