30 Unwritten Rules of Performance Etiquette
Things you’re expected to know that no one ever tells you.
- Be nice to everyone you meet. You never know who knows who and who will end up where one day.
- Be 15mins early. Always.
- Don’t practice your understudy roles in the wing.
- Don’t sing show tunes in a dressing room. Keep your space clean and underwear in your own area.
- Don’t talk about money at work. Don’t talk about how much you earn or how much someone else does.
- Say thank you to people at the end of a job.
- Respond to emails promptly and use spell check.
- Don’t lie on your resume. Dancing for Jessie J on a tour is very different to being an extra in the background of a TV performance. Both are valuable experiences but don’t pretend either is something it’s not. Also doing a few classes at any institute does not necessarily mean they trained you. So if you took class at Broadway Dance Centre whilst on holidays, does not mean you TRAINED there.
- Don’t overcharge to teach/take/participate in a class.
- Be gracious in defeat. If you don’t make the cut congratulate your friends and then go home and cry. Don’t do it the waiting room.
- Don’t text that you are late/sick/unable to make it to a job. Pick up the phone like a adult.
- Pay attention to the details. Read the fine print. Always ask a question if you need to. Try not to ask questions that have already been answered.
- Don’t pretend to know someone when you don’t. It’s okay to say you don’t know them. It’s better than awkwardly pretending you do just to fit in.
- Be realistic about your talents and abilities. Chances are you won’t actually be right for every role that comes along.
- Let your agent be a filter between you and a client/employer. It’s their job to ask the hard questions without it getting personal. That’s why you pay them 10-15%.
- Be nice to Wardrobe and Hair & Make up. Even when they are not nice to you. You don't want to upset the people who make you look good. Nobody wants the crappy costume.
- Forgetting your shoes/underwear/deodorant is never a valid excuse.
- Three professional jobs does not equate a career. Build your career. Respect those who have come before you and those who will come after you. Everyone's path is different.
- Don’t pretend to know it all when you don’t. You will probably never know it ALL.
- The show will go on. 9/10 times you are actually replaceable.
- Turn your phone on silent. In an age of blurred lines with technology save checking your phone, texting and snap chat for break times and off-work times only.
- Take notes graciously. They are not personal attacks. There is a time and place for discussion but jumping on the defence or blaming someone else is not the thing to do.
- There will always be drama. The only thing you can control is how much you want to be apart of it and how much you let it affect you.
- Once you’re on the job, stop competing with other people. You all booked the job. You are all earning the money.
- Don't give each other notes. Always go through the DC /Assistant or HOD. It's always best to keep it about work and not get personal.
- People lie about their age. Be polite and don’t ask them how old they are.
- There is a superstition about whistling in a theatre/stage. So best err on the side of not doing it.
- Every company you work for will have a different set of rules. Learn them. Make your peace with them and pick your battles.
- Don’t post pictures of yourself laying poolside,out drinking, making youtube covers or teaching a dance class when you’ve called in ‘sick' to work.
- Men. Make your peace with a dance support. Wear one.