I just spent 5 months in the Indiana location & this is a cushy gig if you're willing to get over the fact that you're in amish country doing original musicals. The housing is old, but everyone gets their own bedroom, some even get their own bathroom. The pay is average, but like the other reviews said you get monthly gift cards you can spend at the restaurant/bakery/gift shop & free tickets to whatever concerts might be happening at their other performing arts venue. The leadership gets a little wonky since the cast manager is typically in the show with you and there are no SM's so you are pulling your weight in terms of set changes, setting your props, quick changes, etc. But the theatre manager is a lovely lady who truly cares about her performers and went out of her way multiple times to make sure we were taken care of in crisis. Driving 20 minutes to a grocery store did get old after about a month, but the town is cute and quirky, & the locals are very grateful to have you there. I was really nervous to come to this contract based on other bad reviews, but it seems like the past leadership that were causing issues with inappropriate behavior are long gone; this theatre seems to be doing everything they can to scrub their name from his work. I truly enjoyed my time in Shipshewana. As long as you are flexible, hard-working, and don't mind dealing with horses & buggies, I recommend!

I don't know why there are certain negative reviews, I can only speak to my experience. reality is that this is a good job for any regional theatre actor. If you’re looking for something that will be completely artistically fulfilling then it may not be for you, but if you’re looking for a company who takes care of their actors and tries their best to address issues that arise in a reasonable way then this is a good job. The company pays for your meals and they give you more than enough in gift cards to purchase toiletries and even clothing from their other properties. They give you access to a gym, hot tub, and pool. The housing is very nice and never overcrowded (at least not in the Indiana location.) The pay is decent as far as Midwest regional theatres go, and you get a pay bump with each new season you work here. The shows are cheesy, but almost all of them could be very good shows if they were simply edited to an hour and a half- 1 hr. and 45 min., rather than the 2.5 hours they typically run. It is a very conservative location and as such, if you’re a “I do what I want” type of person, you could feel like you’re being restricted simply by the rules that are clearly stated in the contract and employee handbook. But the truth is they are clear as to the expectations and even when you break those expectations they talk to you and explain to you why what you did or said is a problem and then they move on. I get that for some people the expectations will seem to be a bit much. For me, they seemed very reasonable. When I worked there we even had a couple break the rules of the pool/hot tub area twice, leading to all of us losing that privilege. But even after a meeting in which those involved blamed everyone else and refused to take responsibility we were all ready to move on, but one person, in particular, allowed the situation to impact their attitude and performance which impacted all of us and the show. Blue Gate is no different than any other theatre. They all have their quirks. If you come ready to work and are ok with rules that may be a bit more conservative than you're used to and don't feel entitled to break them, then you'll have a great experience like I did. However, if you think the rules will be a problem for you and the area and clientele give you pause then don't sign the contract. I found that they give you more than enough information to make an informed decision that should prevent you from having to denigrate the theatre because they enforce the rules they tell you about. (edited)

Sure the shows are cheesy and some of our creative team was ill-prepared, but I've never felt more "taken care of" in my life. If something goes wrong in the housing, someone is over to fix it pretty quick. Free concert tickets to some decent performers, some of which I've actually heard of. I'm so well fed. $370 a month in gift cards to the bakery in addition to the pay (which is meh, but I'm not paying rent rn, so can't complain too much). The bakery food might get a little old after awhile, until you remember you don't really have to buy groceries if you don't want to. Not having a stage manager does suck. They're definition of a "problem" or "acceptable behavior" is a bit out of date, but I've lived in a small conservative town before, and this is really better than I expected. Be prepared to drive 20 minutes to your nearest Walmart (or, of course, just eat at the bakery). Looking at the money made from each show, they could probably afford to pay us a bit more. I cannot speak for anything before July of 2024.

It is a reasonably welcoming environment and yes it is a conservative town, but they warn you that in the contract so you know what to expect. A lot of the negative reviews on here from May-July of this year, I think have come from the same person on my contract this past spring-summer. Of course no workplace is perfect, but we were given warnings when inappropriate behavior happened on company property and when they were broken again…we had some of our privileges revoked. I do not blame the company for this but the individuals who were responsible for revoking our privileges away, and whom blamed everyone else but themselves for it. Honestly everything the company asked of us was very reasonable. We had to conduct ourselves when on property which is not an unreasonable expectation. I come from a large liberal city and I could handle the change. The biggest downside if you’re used to a bigger city is that there is a lot less to do in the area, especially when you are on a longer contract.

This company is eccentric for sure and stuck in there ways. While you are here your meals will be covered although your meal stipend is just a gift card to there restaurant so food will get old very quick. The accommodations that you live in are very nice and you will have a private room all to yourself. Now on to the more negative aspects of this company. This theatre has no stage manager or backstage crew all set changes and nightly turnover for the next show is done by the cast none of the cues are written down so things can and will change from night to night and you are expected to just roll with it. This theatre is located in Amish country so just know you are in a very CONSERVATIVE area and I truly mean CONSERVATIVE this theatre will tell you how to act and the guest are always in the right and you will always be wrong. The part that genuinely freaked me out the most was when we had a problem in our bathroom in our house and asked for maintenance to come fix it which they did but as they are fixing it I am in my room just watching tv with my door closed and all of a sudden the Amish worker who was fixing the problem in the bathroom just decides to start barging into my bedroom (luckily my door was locked) but I was very freaked out and when I went out to go look who was trying to open my door I found the Amish worker in my housemates room just standing in there. So I stare him down and it was like I caught a kid sticking his hand in the cookie jar but did he apologize absolutely not and the entire thing was never spoken of again or even brought up. So just keep these things in mind when you want to work for this company it’s very creepy to think that there maintenance workers are going around looking in peoples private bedrooms without any prior permission to even be in there.

A 0 star review doesn’t give this theatre any credit it should be negative 5 at the very least. This theatre will destroy your mental health. If you’re coming from a big city be prepared to have to tone your behavior and the way you act down because this theatre will require it!! The structure in this theatre is basically non existent as the cast manager who si the liaison between the cast and the higher ups is always cast in the shows and will not care what you actually have to say. There is also no stage management so be prepared to have no call sheets and no information actually being sent to you. This theatre is a nightmare I wish someone could have warned me about working here please I beg you for your sake don’t do this to yourself!!!

Trust me you don’t want to do this to yourself there are better theatre’s out there don’t work here. Big Brother is always watching with this company. Working here is not worth the amount of stress

Save yourself the trauma. Don’t work here.

If Hand Maid’s Tale & The Crucible had a baby it would be this workplace.

DO NOT WORK HERE!

This place is a literally shit hole! Has to be the worst contract I have ever worked in my professional life. The supposed “cast manger” and I use that in quotes because he is also casted in the shows will gossip about confidential problems about the cast to other cast members. You truly do need to watch how you act in this small CONSERVATIVE town because they are always watching and will not hesitaste to reprimand you if you are not upholding the values of the company in your OFFTIME. This place loves to say they are not like sight and sound in the fact that they don’t have a morality clause but instead they just tip toe around it and yell at you if you step one foot out of line actually I’m sorry they will just send a passive aggressive email and then never discuss it again with you. You will be miserable working for this company and trust me you will not be artistically fulfilled so save yourself the time and energy and mental health and never send in an audition for the company or accept an offer to work for them. (edited)

Worst. Contract. Ever. The only reason it is not a one star review is because of my amazingly talented castmates and the changes the company has begun making. So, Wally Nason was the old artistic director of this place and he sexually harassed and assaulted boys here for YEARS. Like stuff he should be in prison for. Unfortunately, the company was run by him and his best friend, so when this was reported a few years back, next to nothing was done about it. I watched his flagrant and aggressive abuse during my first contract there, but my male cast mates were too afraid to do anything about it. When the cast of my second show arrived, we collectively refused to perform the show unless the artistic director was let go. While our requests were heard and we had an AMAZING gal take over, we were asked to work with Wally only a few weeks later on another project. Since then, he has been reportedly fired from the company, and casting and direction has been taken over by others. He was the composer of all the shows, though, so you will still be performing his work and he will still be making residuals off of what you do. However, the new casting directors are creative and kind people and the new resident directors are collaborative, talented, and excited about the shows they are producing. Trauma aside, the housing here is great. You get your own room and often, your own bathroom. You stay in houses across the street from the theatre with no more than 4 to a house. The town is really cute and there are lots of great places to eat, stores to shop, and a great running/walking/biking trail. The shows are all about Amish culture so they can be a bit jarring at first. At their heart, though, they have a very kind message. Definitely a higher quality than you would expect when you hear “Amish musical”. The pay is not great, especially since they haven’t adjusted it to inflation. The theatre is connected to a restaurant and hotel, so you can work there and earn extra money if you want more. You can also ask to do laundry and ironing for the shows which will earn you some extra money as well. Part of your salary is gift cards to the restaurant so your food is taken care of (although it gets old after a while!). If you are a female, be careful here, as the Amish culture can sometimes encourage misogyny. Me and my female castmates felt like the show we were performing in did not portray women in a positive light so that was a challenge. Potentially ask to take a look at the script of the show you’re offered to make sure you’re comfortable with the material before accepting a contract here. The company manager in Shipshewana is a former Amish and she’s really feisty, for better or for worse. She is not always going to be your favorite person and she doesn’t put up with anything she considers whining - but she always has good intentions. This company doesn’t hire stage managers, so she takes on some of the responsibilities of that role. I got injured during my contract here and although I was on workers comp, they did not allow me to follow my doctor’s orders as it would have caused shows to be cancelled. This theatre HATES cancelling shows and will do anything from shaming you for your illness/injury to pressuring another cast member to step into a role they weren’t hired to cover to keep the show going. There is an underlying assumption that if you’re missing a show, it’s because you’re lazy and don’t want to do it, not because there is a legitimate reason. However, I heard that after my contract, they began hiring understudies/swings so this is a step in the right direction. So overall, this company seems to be moving in the right direction as many of the issues from my time there have been addressed. Just proceed with caution and know you are going into a company that is in a period of transition, hopefully in the right direction. (edited)