Article 5 of the Dance • Opera • Theatre (DOT) engagement policy contains provisions related to determining the applicable tier for minimum fees and prorating.
The minimum fees and work hours for each discipline are found in the Schedules at the end of the policy:
A — Dance
B — Opera
C — Theatre
All Artists are free to negotiate above the minimum fees. An Engager is required to provide Equity with proof of payment to the Artist under the DOT.
The Tier used to determine applicable minimum fees is based on a calculation of the Maximum Weekly Box Office Potential of the production in its venue.
| Minimum Fees | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
Tier 1 | $59,739.00 or less | $61,531.00 or less |
Tier 2 | $59,739.01 or more | $61,531.01 or more |
Maximum Weekly Box Office Potential is calculated at the full, non-discounted ticket price for each performance, multiplied by the venue seating capacity (total number of seats), multiplied by the total number of performances in the week with the most performances.
Example: $40 ticket price x 150 seats x 8 performances = $48,000
GST/HST should not be included in the Maximum Weekly Box Office Potential calculation.
For the purpose of this calculation, the ticket price for Pay What You Can (PWYC) performances is considered to be $20. In the case of suggested ticket pricing for PWYC performances, the average suggested price will be considered the ticket price.
Equity requires supporting documentation for ticket prices.
Contractual Fees may be paid weekly or as a total fee. The choice should be indicated on the Artist’s DOT contract.
The following minimum fee guarantees apply:
Performer: 2 weeks
Stage Manager: 2 weeks, not including prep
Director: 1 week
Choreographer: 1 week
Fight Directors and Intimacy Directors can be engaged on an hourly basis.
The Engagement Week runs from Monday to Sunday, inclusive.
For development activities/workshops, concerts, showcase or festival presentations or other non-standard or casual activities, hourly or daily fees may apply.
In addition to the contractual fee, a Director or Choreographer has the right to negotiate a royalty for extended use or remount of their work (if they aren’t re-engaged on the production). Negotiated royalties should appear on the Artist’s DOT contract.
If a royalty isn’t negotiated, the Artist will receive a royalty of 4% of their original total contractual fee for each week of the extension or a remount using their original work.
In addition to the contractual fee, the Engager must pay Stage Managers vacation pay. The rate is 4% of the contractual fee or the provincial rate — whichever is greater.
Stage Managers who are engaged as employees are entitled to Overtime and Statutory Holiday pay in accordance with the applicable provincial ESA regulations.
Stage Managers can negotiate additional payment for use of their own equipment, such as a computer or software. The additional payment isn’t considered part of their contractual fee.
The Engager must provide round trip transportation for any Artist who does not reside in the Engager’s point of origin (a 50 km radius from Engager’s primary place of business).
Insurance premiums apply on a weekly basis only and are not prorated. The Engager is responsible for paying the Artist’s insurance premium in full for any prorated weeks.
Allowable rehearsal hours per week are listed in the Schedule for each discipline (Dance, Opera, Theatre) at the back of the engagement policy.
To be considered part-time, weekly rehearsal hours must be less than 60% of the allowable hours.
An Engager can submit a detailed rehearsal schedule to Equity, requesting part-time rehearsals or a prorated rehearsal period, such as 2 weeks of rehearsal over 4 weeks.
The Engagement Week runs from Monday to Sunday, inclusive.
Artist starts Thursday or later: paid the applicable daily fee (in the Schedule)
Artist starts before Thursday: paid the full weekly fee
Artist ends Wednesday or sooner: paid the applicable daily fee (in the Schedule)
Artist ends after Wednesday: paid the full weekly fee
Have questions or need more information?
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