Timothy A. Samuelson
Active Member
So here I am. Unable to sleep for the third night in a row as my head is spinning and I'm experiencing a full spectrum of emotions every hour or so. I've decided to tell my tale. Whether you have advice for me, learn from my experience, or tell me I'm just unlucky is up to you. (while some advice would be greatly appreciated.)
I promise, I'll keep the saga short and to the point and apologize in advance for the humor. It seems to be my current method of coping.
As most of you know from reading my posts, I've have been the TD for a new theatre for approximately 6 months and have fostered the project from conception all the way through opening and the run of the first show. The project had humble beginnings: a group of my friends - all skilled in different areas - deciding we were tired of the rules and regulations holding us back at the local low budget theaters. Several of us were also board members for a local community theatre who was searching for a new home at the time. Opening our own space just made sense.
In the beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed waking up every day to go to work in "our" space. We started the project with a minimal budget. A set amount of money we all knew would not get us very far, but it was a good starting point. More money would come later as more people became interested in what we were trying to achieve.
I'll skip forward a few weeks... We now had a space, a design, and were ready to begin. Shares in the company were divided accordingly amongst the 6 of us. Everyone's investment was monetary except mine. I was investing sweat equity and quite a bit of equipment.
Now things began to slip off the tracks. As the only member of our group not retired or with a full time job, I was the one on site every day for the construction of the space. I was working with some low budget numbers but was confident we could find a way to get it done. This is community theatre, we always find a way to get it done, right?The first step of construction was to get the place cleaned out. The building we had acquired was built in 1921. It was originally a furniture store, followed by an office supply store, and most recently a housing site for the local branch of the Occupy Movement. The space was in rough shape. Wires hanging from the ceiling, every bit of floor, wall, and ceiling space was covered in graffiti, you get the picture. We received quotes from several cleaning companies that were all out of our budget. We decided on a friend of one of our investors who had helped him open two other businesses in the past. I feel this was one of our earliest mistakes. This individual was not licensed in any form of construction or contracting, but we hired him anyway (and against my wishes). Two days after he arrived on site, he was finished with the cleaning. I have to say, I was very impressed with what he was able to do and so were the other members of the board. It was decided to keep him on staff for the remainder of the construction for the odd jobs we knew were going to come up here and there.
Here's where my authority began to come to question, and probably the worst week of my life. During the framing phase of the construction, the contractors requested a scissor lift (something I had been requesting since day one). I decided it was time to bite the bullet and rent one. We had a small portion of the budget set aside for incidentals for this very reason. By using my corporate account with the rental company, we were able to rent one for a month for only $375. The board was adamant that they would not be paying for it. After a month of use by all kinds of contractors and workers, that cost came out of my pocket. I didn't begrudge them for this as none of the budget was provided by me. And that small of a cost out of my pocket was absolutely worth it in my mind. The second thing to happen that week was the decision to remove me from the list of shareholders. We had decided to open a bar in the lobby of the space and as I was underage, it was decided to remove me from the list of owners in fears it would harm us in the license application process. I understood this but requested that I begin to receive compensation for my work as I would no longer be receiving a dividend out of the profits. Payment for work began immediately and all was well (as much as it could be). The day following this decision, the framers discovered a break in a structural beam on a balcony that wrapped around 3 of the 4 exterior walls. They quoted us for the repair of the beam, and told us they would not frame upstairs until the beam was repaired. Some background on the situation; this was a 6"x10" solid wood beam that snapped all the way through. After seeing the damage, I wasn't comfortable walking upstairs. The following morning, we arrived to discover that our non-contractor friend had "repaired" the beam. Another of the owners showed up on site to tell the framers that they were no longer needed and to get the f*** out. They were also informed that they would not be receiving their final payment as the job was not complete. At this point, the situation was out of my hands. From that time forward, it was decided I didn't possess the knowledge necessary to run the site on budget and the owner who confronted the framers would be the new coordinator until construction was complete, a placement that I approved of as my dad had had a heart attack a few days earlier and I felt I should spend some time with him.
Fast forward through several months of minor arguments, typical hiccups, and a lot of work being done in a short amount of time.
Opening night approached faster than anyone thought it would. The construction was not complete and the bar hadn't received its permit. Looking back, I have a feeling that we hadn't passed inspection prior to opening and were choosing to ignore it. On opening night, it was decided that I would not be receiving my weekly payment and would be switched to salary. My salary would be the payout of my original value of shares. It just wouldn't be referred to as a dividend. We ran our first production with only a few speed bumps, however we did not have the audiences we were expecting.
Now it was time for Hell to reveal itself in the form of greed, spite, regret, and fear. The next Monday, I was awoken very early in the morning by a call from the police department. Our building had been broken into overnight, and the police needed someone to come do a walk through to tell him if anything was missing. I live about 30 minutes from the theatre and another board member lives only a few blocks. I couldn't figure out how I had receive the call and not anyone else as I was just an employee. This enraged several of the other board members that I was chosen as the primary contact. It turned out, the officer recognized me from an earlier report when he checked the website and saw my bio. Following the break in, I suggested we invest in some cameras or a security system as we had quite a bit of alcohol and equipment in the space at all times. Three days later, I was accused of misuse of the space and theft of property. The accusation was that I had thrown a Fourth of July party in the bar without asking anyone and my guests consumed a large amount of alcohol without paying for it. I resented this acquisition as I was with out of town family and friends at the time of the alleged party. At this point, I told the other members of the board that I would not return to site until the allegation had been resolved. The show running in the space was a three week rental by another company so my presence wasn't absolutely necessary anyway. I waited, and waited, and finally received notice of termination on Thursday morning.
My notice was received in the form of a text message from the President of the Board and the primary investor in the project. It read, "The board regrets that we must terminate you in the position of Technical Director because of projects left unfinished. Please remove any equipment and tools you have in the space asap." Following this message, I requested a phone call. I waited several hours to no avail. I then placed a call that was ignored. Following the ignored phone call, I replied in text message, "While I understand the decision, there are several issues that need to be resolved. 1. I need to receive payment for the 4 weeks of work since being switched to salary. 2. I need an official notice of termination to apply for unemployment. 3. I will be there Friday morning to retrieve my items and turn in my keys." I also added that as my equipment was in use for the current show which did not close until Sunday, I will be happy to rent the items for the remaining weekend of the run. The response I got was less than friendly. This response was sent as a group message to me and the other board members. "You are not and never were an employee...we owe you no money...you were never hired to be payed...since you weren't an employee, we don't owe you a form of termination so you can receive benefits...you can retrieve your items on Monday when we are available to assist..."
So here are my questions:
1. Do I have grounds to charge the rental of my equipment? (I feel like Monday was their earliest convenience because they knew they needed it for the show)
2. What path of logic do you hire people to not pay them? (If you know the answer, let me know. It'd be great to hire the employees of my production company without paying them.)
3. What course of action is available to me to receive payment for those 4 weeks? (I own my own company and have a kid on the way. I turned down a large job because it interfered with the show. Also, why on God's great earth, would I spend a month of 60 hour weeks at the theatre for no pay knowing that I have a child to support in the very near future?
4. Should I regret the decision to litigate if it ends with the closing of the space? (While I am biter at the moment, at one point, it was a dream come true and it truly is a blessing to the local culture)
5. Has anyone ever been in a situation similar to this? If so, how was it resolved?
I was never in this project for the money, but with a family to support, some money needed to come out of it just to justify the time and stress involved. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I'd really like to get this resolved and in the past so I can start sleeping at night again.
I promise, I'll keep the saga short and to the point and apologize in advance for the humor. It seems to be my current method of coping.
As most of you know from reading my posts, I've have been the TD for a new theatre for approximately 6 months and have fostered the project from conception all the way through opening and the run of the first show. The project had humble beginnings: a group of my friends - all skilled in different areas - deciding we were tired of the rules and regulations holding us back at the local low budget theaters. Several of us were also board members for a local community theatre who was searching for a new home at the time. Opening our own space just made sense.
In the beginning, I thoroughly enjoyed waking up every day to go to work in "our" space. We started the project with a minimal budget. A set amount of money we all knew would not get us very far, but it was a good starting point. More money would come later as more people became interested in what we were trying to achieve.
I'll skip forward a few weeks... We now had a space, a design, and were ready to begin. Shares in the company were divided accordingly amongst the 6 of us. Everyone's investment was monetary except mine. I was investing sweat equity and quite a bit of equipment.
Now things began to slip off the tracks. As the only member of our group not retired or with a full time job, I was the one on site every day for the construction of the space. I was working with some low budget numbers but was confident we could find a way to get it done. This is community theatre, we always find a way to get it done, right?The first step of construction was to get the place cleaned out. The building we had acquired was built in 1921. It was originally a furniture store, followed by an office supply store, and most recently a housing site for the local branch of the Occupy Movement. The space was in rough shape. Wires hanging from the ceiling, every bit of floor, wall, and ceiling space was covered in graffiti, you get the picture. We received quotes from several cleaning companies that were all out of our budget. We decided on a friend of one of our investors who had helped him open two other businesses in the past. I feel this was one of our earliest mistakes. This individual was not licensed in any form of construction or contracting, but we hired him anyway (and against my wishes). Two days after he arrived on site, he was finished with the cleaning. I have to say, I was very impressed with what he was able to do and so were the other members of the board. It was decided to keep him on staff for the remainder of the construction for the odd jobs we knew were going to come up here and there.
Here's where my authority began to come to question, and probably the worst week of my life. During the framing phase of the construction, the contractors requested a scissor lift (something I had been requesting since day one). I decided it was time to bite the bullet and rent one. We had a small portion of the budget set aside for incidentals for this very reason. By using my corporate account with the rental company, we were able to rent one for a month for only $375. The board was adamant that they would not be paying for it. After a month of use by all kinds of contractors and workers, that cost came out of my pocket. I didn't begrudge them for this as none of the budget was provided by me. And that small of a cost out of my pocket was absolutely worth it in my mind. The second thing to happen that week was the decision to remove me from the list of shareholders. We had decided to open a bar in the lobby of the space and as I was underage, it was decided to remove me from the list of owners in fears it would harm us in the license application process. I understood this but requested that I begin to receive compensation for my work as I would no longer be receiving a dividend out of the profits. Payment for work began immediately and all was well (as much as it could be). The day following this decision, the framers discovered a break in a structural beam on a balcony that wrapped around 3 of the 4 exterior walls. They quoted us for the repair of the beam, and told us they would not frame upstairs until the beam was repaired. Some background on the situation; this was a 6"x10" solid wood beam that snapped all the way through. After seeing the damage, I wasn't comfortable walking upstairs. The following morning, we arrived to discover that our non-contractor friend had "repaired" the beam. Another of the owners showed up on site to tell the framers that they were no longer needed and to get the f*** out. They were also informed that they would not be receiving their final payment as the job was not complete. At this point, the situation was out of my hands. From that time forward, it was decided I didn't possess the knowledge necessary to run the site on budget and the owner who confronted the framers would be the new coordinator until construction was complete, a placement that I approved of as my dad had had a heart attack a few days earlier and I felt I should spend some time with him.
Fast forward through several months of minor arguments, typical hiccups, and a lot of work being done in a short amount of time.
Opening night approached faster than anyone thought it would. The construction was not complete and the bar hadn't received its permit. Looking back, I have a feeling that we hadn't passed inspection prior to opening and were choosing to ignore it. On opening night, it was decided that I would not be receiving my weekly payment and would be switched to salary. My salary would be the payout of my original value of shares. It just wouldn't be referred to as a dividend. We ran our first production with only a few speed bumps, however we did not have the audiences we were expecting.
Now it was time for Hell to reveal itself in the form of greed, spite, regret, and fear. The next Monday, I was awoken very early in the morning by a call from the police department. Our building had been broken into overnight, and the police needed someone to come do a walk through to tell him if anything was missing. I live about 30 minutes from the theatre and another board member lives only a few blocks. I couldn't figure out how I had receive the call and not anyone else as I was just an employee. This enraged several of the other board members that I was chosen as the primary contact. It turned out, the officer recognized me from an earlier report when he checked the website and saw my bio. Following the break in, I suggested we invest in some cameras or a security system as we had quite a bit of alcohol and equipment in the space at all times. Three days later, I was accused of misuse of the space and theft of property. The accusation was that I had thrown a Fourth of July party in the bar without asking anyone and my guests consumed a large amount of alcohol without paying for it. I resented this acquisition as I was with out of town family and friends at the time of the alleged party. At this point, I told the other members of the board that I would not return to site until the allegation had been resolved. The show running in the space was a three week rental by another company so my presence wasn't absolutely necessary anyway. I waited, and waited, and finally received notice of termination on Thursday morning.
My notice was received in the form of a text message from the President of the Board and the primary investor in the project. It read, "The board regrets that we must terminate you in the position of Technical Director because of projects left unfinished. Please remove any equipment and tools you have in the space asap." Following this message, I requested a phone call. I waited several hours to no avail. I then placed a call that was ignored. Following the ignored phone call, I replied in text message, "While I understand the decision, there are several issues that need to be resolved. 1. I need to receive payment for the 4 weeks of work since being switched to salary. 2. I need an official notice of termination to apply for unemployment. 3. I will be there Friday morning to retrieve my items and turn in my keys." I also added that as my equipment was in use for the current show which did not close until Sunday, I will be happy to rent the items for the remaining weekend of the run. The response I got was less than friendly. This response was sent as a group message to me and the other board members. "You are not and never were an employee...we owe you no money...you were never hired to be payed...since you weren't an employee, we don't owe you a form of termination so you can receive benefits...you can retrieve your items on Monday when we are available to assist..."
So here are my questions:
1. Do I have grounds to charge the rental of my equipment? (I feel like Monday was their earliest convenience because they knew they needed it for the show)
2. What path of logic do you hire people to not pay them? (If you know the answer, let me know. It'd be great to hire the employees of my production company without paying them.)
3. What course of action is available to me to receive payment for those 4 weeks? (I own my own company and have a kid on the way. I turned down a large job because it interfered with the show. Also, why on God's great earth, would I spend a month of 60 hour weeks at the theatre for no pay knowing that I have a child to support in the very near future?
4. Should I regret the decision to litigate if it ends with the closing of the space? (While I am biter at the moment, at one point, it was a dream come true and it truly is a blessing to the local culture)
5. Has anyone ever been in a situation similar to this? If so, how was it resolved?
I was never in this project for the money, but with a family to support, some money needed to come out of it just to justify the time and stress involved. Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I'd really like to get this resolved and in the past so I can start sleeping at night again.
Everything else just takes a back seat.
