What happens if a Designer quits

[Esoteric]

I am with you Kyle. That is why I said if you made every good faith effort and they walked away when you go with what you have since they broke the contract. But you must still make a good faith effort to pay in full for the design up to the point where the designer walked out.

Yeah, it is harder for costumes and sets. It is easy for me since no one (TD, ME, board Op) gets my paperwork (the copy with the purpose of each light, the TD and ME get an instrument schedule, but it is missing this piece of information) or a cue sheet ever. So until I program it, the show simply doesn't exist. Even once it is initially programmed (which is after the 2/3 payment) 90% of the cues are channel 1-12 at full and the other 10% are black/blue outs. So until I come in and go through tech, they are pretty much useless. But if I went all the way through tech, the theater did not pay me at final tech, and unknowing to me someone made illegal copies of the show and used it anyway, there would be problems. But that rarely happens as I always collect every disk at the end of the night until I recieve final payment. I suppose the op could make another copy before or after rehearsal without the knowledge of the artist, but that is a breach of contract (at least according my contract) and evidence that the theater was attempting to cheat the artist.

In the end make sure you CYA with your contract and let the theater worry about their end.

Mike

[photoatdv]

Hum... thats actually an interesting question to ponder. I had a show a couple of years ago that I think our LD nearly walked (didn't find out quite how bad the situation was until after the show). I was pretty much second-in-command for the show, so had he walked I would have been in charge of lighting as well (I had more than enough else to do). I most likely had a copy of the show (I'm kinda anal about that sometimes and I know the LD so he wouldn't have had any problem with me having a copy of his show). Then had it fallen to pieces what would I have done at that point. If y boss saying give me the show file, the LD saying destroy it...

Honestly no idea what I would have done. Though honestly the LD probably would have just said use it since he's so easy going. And I doubt he would have wanted to put me in that spot. It would still have been a tough one had he not told me it was okay to use it...

On the other hand in most cases since I'm working for the group, if I have a copy of a show and the LD were to quit for whatever reason, I would have to say I'd probably go with the group just because they are my boss. Now this is different if I had the design/programming in a not-official-work capacity or if they were clearly the ones in breach of contract. If say LD just disappears from planet earth, I'd go with whatever was there no problem. However I would NEVER conspire with the group to make illegal copies of a show, nor would I help them to reuse a show without permission. Most likely if there was a dispute I'd talk to the LD (unless it was clear cut he/she was in the wrong, then decide whether to give them a backup I have).