I worked there two seasons in a row as nonunion. Pros: BEAUTIFUL venue and rehearsal spaces, solid housing just steps away from the theatre, working on new musicals, amazing technical theatre, creating meaningful connections that have gotten my foot in the door to other projects. A lot of care taken during tech weeks. Cons: The most mentally challenging and physically demanding contracts I’ve ever done, and the exploitation of workers for such a prestigious theatre is astounding. You dont get paid any extra for being an understudy or swing, and that’s for all three shows. You get a small bump when you go on but are not paid additionally for learning the roles, which is extensive if you’re learning multiple understudy or swing roles for different shows at once. The repertory schedule is intense and you’re in rehearsals all day from March through September with barely any actual rest time, on top of rehearsals for put ins for understudies/and or replacements for people who drop. There’s at least a few people who drop every year and it’s up to the dance captains to teach them the entire show, and they are not paid any more for the extra hours that it takes either. So many safety concerns with that theatre with the sets, weather, and with some of the Foy. For example I had to learn a completely new aerial skill (was not disclosed to me in my contract, I learned this on the first day of rehearsal, therefore illegal) and was not paid extra for it, and was 30 feet above the stage with only a long wire attached to the Lyra hoop to secure me as a last safety measure. Extremely frightening for someone who is not a professional aerialist, especially in slightly windy conditions. And this is just an example of the pressures the theatre puts on nonunion performers. Nonunion do the majority of the work and get paid 1/3 less, whilst killing their bodies on a concrete stage. At least a couple people per year end up with broken feet/ankles/stress fractures due to improper shoe wear that is so cheap and their refusal to supply dancers with LaDucas/supportive shoes. The weather can get insane especially in the mid summer where it reaches up to 110F even at night. People pass out side on and off stage. With the lights and heavy costumes, it adds more heat. How is this sustainable, especially with no air conditioning on or off stage? We rely on an ice bucket with a cooling towel…. Bullying and cliques occur within the company every year and many union actors treat nonunion as second class for some reason, when nonunion make up a good deal of the company and are so talented! Never encountered this sort of attitude at any other theatre I worked for where everyone views each others as equals. You have to live and work with your coworkers 24/7 and there’s no separation between work and off time… in the middle of the desert with only a couple bars to perhaps socialize but rarely are businesses open past 10 when shows are still happening. Few female equity contracts. Blows my mind how obvious it’s been recently that they exploit women but will give plenty of equity contracts to men. Make it make sense. And management plays into the favoritism of men especially with little loyalty to women with getting rehired and such. All in all I’m grateful for my time here because I learned how to swing and many other awesome skills, but you have to stand your ground to protect your safety and communicate.

This theatre is so beautiful. The production team was great, and the conditions for the actors were really good. Great place to work a contract.