I've said It out loud to people and I will say It here...I WILL NEVER work for Big League Productions EVER again. The complete disregard that they have for the physical wellbeing for their performers is just beyond unacceptable. They are CHEAP. The producer loves to hear himself talk and thinks he knows It all. The amount of work that you do for just the bare minimum of pay..which I believe is like anywhere around $600 minimum for ensemble a week with the amount of shows you are doing and at the level you are doing them. I'll just never forget they wanted me to UNDERSTUDY A LEAD FOR FREEEEEEEEEEEEE. For the "experience" - cause I was "picked" to do It. Absolutely not. Luckily enough I was able to advocate for myself and change that all around. The sarcasm, the lack of awareness from the stage management and production side of things. I just felt like they never advocated for us to the creatives when we were at our most tired to be like...okay...so...how about we not start at this time and we come in at this time instead? Their contracts are just...SO SHADY. Please be careful before you sign It. Read It page by page and please know what you are getting yourself into. If you're looking for your first tour and you can deal with all the shenanigans and the stakes are low for you and you wanna travel the world and work hard, by all means. Sure. But, there is a reason why this company is on the DO NOT WORK list. They ARE SHADY and there ARE other Non-Equity production companies that WILL treat you better. Do your research. But hey, you can easily make your money and save It up with per diem added to the check. You can have fun with your cast. Make memories. Do stellar shows. But just know you're going to be frustrated on the other front.

I will start this by prefacing that all non-union touring company have their own slew of problems... but Big League is easily the worst I've worked for. Contract: The contract is the definition of shady theatre contracts they teach you to look out for in school, read it very carefully! They've been cautiously curated to disadvantage actors every single time. Written in ways to make you work for multiple weeks without a single day off and 0 extra pay. 10 show weeks without overtime, illegal fining practices, 0 rehearsal time but Broadway expectation. The ability to fire you at any time with no form of compensation, but you cannot quit without paying every cost for a replacement if they choose to make you(audition space, rehearsal, travel, etc...). They claim their contracts and practices are "industry standard" but that's just a ploy to scare new actors into bending to their will. If you change anything in your negotiations, make sure it appears in your contract. They've been known to "forget" to add it in, and they'll use it as a way to skip out on what they've promised you. If you are offered an initial bump to learn an understudy track, you'll have to hound them to get it because they'll continue to "forget" to add it to your paycheck. You're tracking will also change the day of rehearsal and on, with sudden and surprise understudy responsibilities coming out of nowhere. Generally, if you press hard about adjusting your contract, they'll give you a bump, but otherwise they'll just hope you don't say anything and do it for free. Company: The stage managers have high expectations no matter what the circumstances, which is usually fine until they stick you on a bus until 10 minutes before mic check (all while you're on 5 hours of sleep because not everyone can sleep sitting upright on a bus) and expect you to be show ready by said check. The poor company manager is always stuck putting out fires that the NYC team have set ablaze, but they usually try to help the best they can (in my experience). But there are shady practices. In one tour, we had an experience where an actor had been severely hurt with a head injury mid rehearsal and the managers had refused to see to her because the producer was holding them in a meeting, saying "its probably just a bump on the head and she'll be okay" (it ended up being a severe concussion that pulled her from quite a few shows). The producer is the largest offender of disrespecting his actors, but that's not a surprise with Producers. Unless you're a lead, he's not really interested in interacting with you or even learning your name, so you can generally just lay low with him. General thoughts: All said, if you are young and looking to build a resume with tour credits, use the company for that. As much as I would love to boycott such a disrespectful and shady company, I understand the tool that they can be. Just know what you are getting into. Like I mentioned, the tour schedule is long and hard, with days off being a very rare commodity and an expectation to stay at a Broadway level of performance. The pay is terrible for being a national tour, but if you're not paying rent in the city, evens out. And sadly, it's as good as you're gonna get non-union work wise. Read and negotiate the contract as deeply as you can, because it will be used to harm you every single time it can be. If you're willing to accept those downsides, take the contract and try to have fun with the cast. If you're not willing to accept the slew of downsides, steer clear, it's not worth your time, thoughts, or energy.

This company has no regard for the safety or wellbeing of cast and crew. They consistently cut corners and bank on their cast being young/inexperienced enough to not advocate for themselves. When I brought concerns to management, I was brushed off and told their practices were the industry standard (they aren’t). Your contract doesn’t mean much to them. My tracking was changed with no notice or conversation on the first day of rehearsals. They proceeded to change my tracking five times throughout my contract - I was never consulted about it. Management routinely talked down to cast members and refused to address our concerns. They don’t enforce company policies across the cast. Straight male leads can get away with pretty much anything, but everyone else will be scolded for not smiling enough.

Feared for my safety and well-being most days working for them. Felt so unsafe and unsupported. I would like to believe individually they are good people, but as a collective the care and communication was abysmal and always with the message that the cast was responsible for whatever discomfort we may have felt, we were the unprofessional ones, this is the way the industry works. Cheap cheap cheap. Please be careful entering into any agreement with this company. I know they'll keep touring shows and these are great opportunities that young performers should take advantage of should they choose to, and with all of this knowledge. However I will not work for them again.

They are on the equity no not work list for a reason. Will take the cheapest way out of everything. At least for the contract I did with them, they very clearly did not prioritize the safety and well being of the actors. ie not seeking medical care when it was obviously necessary, guilting actors to perform when injured, not providing PT. Would not recommend working for them for extended periods of time. Or at least know to ask very explicitly for what you need to feel safe.