Understudy Resource for Stage Managers

This resource relies on article references from the CTA/ITA, that were current at the time of the version date at the end of the document. Always confirm the requirements currently in effect on your specific agreement or engagement policy.

Although commercial theatres frequently engage understudies, as do large festivals and ballet companies, they are uncommon in most not-for-profit live performance, which accounts for most live theatrical performance in Canada. Many stage managers will work their entire careers without ever having to prepare understudies and work them into a show. If that describes you (so far!) this resource will help you get up to speed quickly on the various things you need to plan for and consider in working with understudies.

Understanding Understudies

There are several different types of understudies defined in our various agreements. For the purpose of this resource, we’ll use the general term “understudy” throughout, except where it needs to be more specific.

Performing understudy

A performing understudy is an artist who is contracted to learn the role of another artist and perform it when that artist is unable to perform their role. Performing understudies also have their own regular role in the show.

Swing / Standby

Swing and Standby are both non-performing understudies who have been contracted to cover more than one role. There are stipulations as to the size and number of roles that each can be asked to cover at once. For swings, the focus is on ensemble and chorus roles; for standbys, the focus is on principal roles. Swings and standbys do not have a regular role in the show and are only on contract to understudy.

Walking cover

Walking cover is a non-performing understudy who has been contracted to understudy fewer than four roles in a non-musical production. Walking covers do not have a regular role in the show and are only on contract to understudy.

Bit cover

Bit cover is the understudy performance of a chorus role, or part of a chorus role, with only brief appearances in a performance. There are limits to the number of lines and scenes which can be considered a bit cover. The bit cover is typically a partial understudy arrangement, where someone still performing their regular role is asked to pick up additional responsibilities to fill in gaps during an injury or absence situation. Bit covers may be contracted for in advance, but they are sometimes assigned later with the agreement of the artist.

Supplemental Business

Supplemental Business is a non-essential (not necessary to the continuity of the plot) moment or bit or activity (e.g. moving props or scenery) which does not involve specific lines or dialogue, and could be cut from a production but is kept for artistic reasons. There are limits on the scope of work that can be covered as supplemental business. This type of cover is the least formal of understudy arrangements, and commonly is only arranged once the show has been rehearsed and the requirement to fill certain gaps become apparent.

Specialty Assignment

Specialty Assignment is a niche type of understudy track intended to address a specific need in a show, such as puppet manipulation. For an artist to be on a specialty assignment, Equity and the Engager must agree on the use of this category.

During Prep Week

First, check if there are understudies contracted for the show, and which role(s) they cover. Then, check the following:

Procedure

Find out if the Engager has an existing procedure you need to follow for putting in an understudy (e.g. an established phone tree to affected artists, notice to key administrative staff, FOH, etc.)

Publicity / Credit

Confirm that the publicity department, or whoever manages artist billing, has a copy of the understudy list and their assigned roles. Understudies need to be properly credited.

Approval

Check whether Engager approval is needed before putting in an understudy. With many companies that consistently engage understudies, the Stage Manager is authorised to make necessary decisions in this area. With others, they are not. Notice to management is always necessary when an understudy goes on, whether approval is needed or not, and consultation is always advisable in awkward, unusual or potentially costly situations.

Rehearsal

Plan your understudy rehearsal schedule, and how it will fit into the overall production schedule. Remember that understudy rehearsals also must adhere to general rehearsal rules regarding duration and breaks and rest; they are not “extra” hours.

If the show is particularly complex, more than the minimum number of required rehearsals may be needed. This is common where there are special elements of the show (e.g. fights, intimacy, choreography, music, performer flying) that will need dedicated understudy rehearsal. If that is the case, take this early opportunity to talk to the engager and director about allotting rehearsal hall or stage time for this additional work.

Who needs to be involved?

If the director is available for understudy rehearsals, find out if they wish to be part of them. In many cases they won’t be available, and you will need to ensure that your rehearsal and blocking notes (or rehearsal videos) are up to the task of handling this responsibility yourself.

If the show involves fights, music, choreography or intimacy, speak to the fight or musical director, choreographer and intimacy director to find out how they wish to approach understudy rehearsal. In most cases, these will be delegated to an assistant or fight/dance/intimacy captain, but it’s also possible to incorporate these rehearsals alongside the general rehearsal process as time and availability permit.

CTA/ITA Minimum Requirements

(as per Article 39:00 and sub-articles)

The understudy list must be posted before the end of the first week of rehearsal (for repertory: before the end of the third week or 42 hours of rehearsal, whichever is sooner).

For rehearsals, there must be:

rehearsals beginning no later than 2 working days after first public performance
a line run before opening
a blocking rehearsal, onstage or in the rehearsal hall
an onstage run-through completed within 14 days of the first public performance (for repertory: within 21 days)

During Main Rehearsals

Each agreement or engagement policy provides for minimum rehearsal requirements, but that does not mean that you are limited to only those.

A well-prepared understudy ensures that replacement for a show goes smoothly and with the least stress and surprise for all concerned, including other members of the company and crew. Look for opportunities to begin understudy rehearsal during the main rehearsal sessions. This can be particularly useful in shows where there are multiple understudy rehearsal types to be incorporated, such as fights, singing, or choreography.

Getting an early start will pay benefits later on during the formal understudy rehearsals. In addition, if a cast member needs to be released from rehearsal for fittings or some other reason, you will have knowledgeable covers ready and able to step in to fill the gap.

Encourage understudy cast to attend rehearsals for their cover role(s) as possible. However, be sensitive to the fact that this may not be appropriate for certain rehearsals (such as a first pass at a difficult scene, or intimacy work).
If there is a time slot where both the musical director and an understudy artist are free, find out if they would like to get a start on teaching vocals.
Ask the choreographer and company if they mind understudies working off to the side of the main rehearsal, learning choreography along with the principal cast. Most will be fine with this.
Incorporate some understudy cast time into sessions with the fight director or intimacy coach.
Use dance/fight captains as available to begin rehearsals with understudy cast.
Let the understudy cast know that they can run lines with a member of your SM team as available, or perhaps with an intern/assistant director.

The Understudy Plan

As rehearsals proceed, start work on an understudy plan that details how various understudy situations will play out if a given person is absent, and identifies any orphan bits that may need to be cut or passed off to other cast as supplemental business or bit covers. Depending on the situation, this plan can be quite straightforward (A is out; B is in) or complex (A is out; B, C change roles, and D is in; cut one couple from the Act I finale and re-space; E assists in moving stair unit; crew take over door flip; etc. etc. etc.) This is the kind of thing you don’t want to end up having to figure out suddenly and on the fly. Plan ahead and write it out, and then share it with your team!

You can also take this opportunity to print up a simple preshow replacement announcement to keep in the booth in case of need, if you will be the one responsible for doing that. “Welcome to Theatre A. For this evening’s performance, the role of X will be played by Y.” will do the trick.

Note that bit covers and supplemental business involve a (modest) payment to the artist doing the extra work, so these should be identified to the engager as soon as the need for that kind of cover becomes obvious. Although the Engager will have to deal with any contracting, you should also check in with the affected cast member to gauge willingness and ability to pick up the extra bits. They may know something about an expected costume change or their backstage track that you haven’t taken into account yet.

By the time the show hits the stage for tech, the stage management team and all the understudies should have a pretty good idea of how understudy tracks will work. Things will change in tech — they always do — but tech is a really bad time to only begin figuring out understudy tracks. Refine the understudy plan as tech proceeds and things firm up.

Ongoing understudy prep

Once things settle in the running of the show, review your understudy plan, particularly as it involves backstage tracks. On a busy show, it can be useful to ask cast members to jot down a bullet list of their backstage tracks and share them with you. There may be things they know about or do that haven’t made their way onto any formal paperwork. These lists can be shared with the understudies in prep for their rehearsals.

Understudy rehearsal

The first public performance is where the minimum understudy rehearsal requirements kick in, so any rehearsal that has not yet begun needs to get going, starting with a line rehearsal. See the CTA/ITA Minimums list above for details.

Beyond the minimums, you may also have to allow for:

Additional blocking rehearsal (especially when preparing multiple understudies, or swings with multiple roles to cover)
Choreography, fight or intimacy rehearsal
Performer flying rehearsal
Any other specific rehearsal, such as work with automated scenery, that is critical to ensure a seamless and safe cast replacement.

Depending on the scope of these complex elements, they may be able to all fit within the minimum required understudy rehearsal blocks. However, the same considerations for safety that guide all other rehearsals need to guide these, and appropriate rehearsal time should be dedicated to that additional work. This is where your prep week consultation with the Engager and director will come into play.

After the onstage run, take a few minutes to discuss with each understudy what assistance or brush-up they anticipate needing before they could go on. Fight rehearsals are a must, as are any other safety related business, including dance lifts, intimacy review, using traps or automated scenery, etc. Make this list part of your understudy plan, so that it is ready to go in case of need.

Additional considerations

While not required, it is also good practice to arrange for advance understudy costume fittings if possible. These can be worked in anywhere along the line, including after performances begin. Going on as an understudy can be stressful enough without having to add emergency costume measurements and fittings to the ordeal.

Discuss with wigs and wardrobe running staff what would need to be done when putting an understudy in, including notice to their teams, alterations, additional fittings, quick change rehearsals, wig cleaning, etc.

See CTA/ITA 27:07 for understudy costume requirements. Add this information to your understudy plan.

Putting in an Understudy

Step 1 — Check your plan

Pull out the Engager’s understudy procedure and your understudy plan! These will guide your work, make it easier, and help ensure nothing gets forgotten.

When an actor tells you that they are unable to perform, let them know that you will take care of notifying everyone, including notifying their understudy. You do not want the process getting too far ahead of itself, especially in situations where engager approval is needed, or the Engager wants to consult with the actor or understudy first.

If medical or other assistance is needed for the actor who will be out of the show, do your best to arrange for a company manager or someone else to take that on. You will have enough to do.

Contact the appropriate people (e.g. production manager, company manager) according to the engager’s understudy procedure, to let them know of the understudy situation. In many cases only notice is needed, but some engagers may expect you to receive their approval, or they may wish to check in with the actor personally before proceeding.

Once you have whatever go-ahead may be required, contact the understudy and theatre staff (according to the understudy procedure), but especially the production manager and any running departments who may need to make wardrobe, wig, mic or other preparations for a new actor. Don’t forget to contact the front of house manager to arrange for the required program inserts, signage or announcement (CTA/ ITA 40:00 and sub-articles). Let your cast know that there will be an understudy onstage for that show and notify the rest of your team.

Based on your rehearsal plan and conversation with the understudy, contact the dance captain, fight captain, or other essential people to finalise a rehearsal plan, if one is needed for the performance. Contact any other performers needed for these rehearsals. If understudies are properly prepared, the most that may be needed is a quick brush-up with one or two people, and this can be arranged at a time of mutual convenience, including in the fight rehearsal slot before the half hour. If done then, these brush-ups need to be kept brief. Don’t sacrifice the focus of the half hour by packing it full of work.

For anything that will take longer than a few minutes, proper rehearsal time should be arranged, either within allowable rehearsal hours, or as an emergency rehearsal (CTA/ITA 24:12, 24:13). In order to access emergency rehearsal rules, the need to put in an understudy must have been unforeseen and on short notice, so that a regular replacement rehearsal could not be scheduled. A foreseeable absence does not constitute an emergency, even if there are no more allowable rehearsal hours in the week; rehearsal will need to be paid for in that case.

If an additional rehearsal is needed, once it has been approved by the engager, contact the rest of the cast, your team and the technical director or running crew to make arrangements. Once again, use the engager’s understudy procedure for guidance in how to go about this.

Step 2 — Follow your plan

Keep calm (and keep others calm), and break a leg!

Special Circumstances

Rehearsal on the free day

Note that emergency rehearsals on the day off are not without cost. Although the emergency rehearsal rate is lower than the ordinary free day rate, it’s still a four-hour minimum call (CTA/ITA 24:13). If it looks like a rehearsal on the free day is advisable, it is important that you consult with the engager in advance.

Rehearsal infringing on overnight rest

Replacement rehearsals, even emergency ones, must respect overnight rest breaks, however the break may be reduced by one hour through a secret ballot of the company.

Putting in an understudy with no notice

This situation includes anything that happens after the half hour, including during the show.

In short, this situation requires the same steps as any other, but be especially careful. The urgency can push people to cut corners. Rehearsal may be minimal (if there is any), and both safety and the show may suffer. If delaying the curtain time to accomplish some quick brush-up rehearsal and to allow running crew time to adjust is a possibility, then that is definitely worth considering. However, unless you are confident about putting in the understudy on such short notice, it may be a more prudent choice to cancel the show. Each of these (a bad or unsafe show, potential overtime or audience dissatisfaction because of delay, cancellation) requires an Engager-level decision, and consultation is a must before any decision is made.

Putting in an understudy before understudy rehearsals are completed

CTA/ITA 39:02 details several preconditions to performance, including sufficient time to learn the part, and at least one onstage rehearsal. Despite these, you may encounter situations where the understudy is keen to go on earlier (and is prepared to) or feels pressure (direct or indirect) to go on earlier even when they do not feel prepared.

In the first case, use your best judgement as to whether the replacement can be done safely and well. In the second case, take care not to add to the pressure. In both cases, you need to consult with the Engager. It is also advisable to contact Equity for assistance, even outside of office hours, so that they can consult with the actor independently and confirm willingness and ability.

Understudy Resource for Performers