Banned from Venue with no reason.

[Sound In Gloucestershire]

Stephen C, any chance you could use a spell checker before posting? Your typing errors make it quite hard to read the big paragraphs

 

in regards to the posts, dont take this the wrong way, but it sounds like you dont know when to bite your lip and get your head down and work. In life, you wont get on with everyone, sometimes that person has the power to make your life a misery, personally id have got on with it and kept my head down. In regards to this situation, I guess its too late, but I wouldnt have warned the theatre in any way that you are working there, id have just shown up and get on with my job. Now its too late, if you want to do the show, send an email, a sincere one, stating that you really want to work there, you promise not to interfere and not to bring up the past. Explain how much the job means to you and how you know the person is fair and you aer sorry for how things ended up

 

It may not be true, but at the end of the day, would make your life alot easier!!

[StephenC]

I had left it thinking nothing of it untill they recieved the tech rider, this guy saw my name on it at the tech Manager and called the office just saying he wont let me in and I need a replacement, I was going to leave it and wait for him to move on, but if any tour I get he call up and stops me its not going to be to long before no one offers me a job if it goes there, and lots of tours do go there.

[gareth]

There are FAR more tours that don't visit the Garrick, than those that do.

 

The bottom line as I see it : if this guy is being unnecessarily stubborn, and you think he's overreacting and shouldn't be taking this particular line, speak to someone with more seniority and voice your concerns. DIPLOMATICALLY. If, on the other hand, his refusal to have you in the venue may be justified (as has been said, we've only heard one side of this story), then you're going to have to get over it and move on.

 

Either way, I really can't see that there's any mileage in going around in circles discussing this on here.

[Guest lightnix]

I concur - there's little more we can add, methinks :(

 

Stephen, you have our sympathy to an extent - even I can feel some empathy for your situation.

 

But you need to stop digging over the past and concentrate on the present. If you don't, then you may blow the future :(

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the Tour Date In Question is less than a week away. Shouldn't you be sorting out how the production, on which you are currently booked, will do without you at this venue (something I think you should accept is on the cards), rather than worrying about how much you feel you've been wronged? :)

 

Get someone in to cover for you and / or wedge up the HoDs to go the extra mile. Do not complain about it, or expect your stand-ins to exact revenge by proxy upon your "adversary". Whatever you did back then and whatever the rights and wrongs, you upset somebody, somehow and you need to make sure this goes ahead smoothly and without Any Further Incident.

 

Just treat it like you fell sick... or had to attend a family funeral... or something like that

 

Then wait a couple of months and maybe consider writing a (properly spellchecked) letter, sent by Recorded Delivery, to the Artistic Director, offering an olive branch. The word "Lunch" sometimes helps ;)

 

If that doesn't work and no other gigs have come along to better occupy your time... then I don't know what to suggest.

 

Maybe you could repeat the invitation or maybe you could take the matter higher. Maybe you could even seek legal advice and perhaps even act on it - IF you thought the outcome was going to be worth the time and money spent... not to mention the possible effect on your reputation.

 

In the meantime, the Rest of the World and All the Gigs Therein will move on.. with or without you.

 

Whatever you do, I hope it works out OK in the long term :)

[ed_]

I agree completely with the earlier points about life moving on with or without you - I think we've all allowed an injustice to make us angrier than we should have been at some stage.

 

Let's all consider as well that the OP's anger which caused him to complain and write the e-mail stemmed from his failure to be paid for hours assigned him by his line manager. The OP also stated that finances were tight for him at the time. His employer broke trust with his established payment arrangements. I've been on the receiving end of some employee tirades when pay packets were short as little as £30 - you never know how much money your employee may be relying on. Basic good management practice is to make sure your employees are paid for what you asked them to do and they did in good faith.

 

With that said, sending the e-mail criticising personal competencies was foolish. The best way to chase this up is through your boss (the TM who you say you got on with, and who gave you the hours). A good boss will stand up for their staff, get on the phone to the administrative types and get the crew paid. Now, your local council is probably as inefficient and bureaucratic as mine, so it may be that there was no chance in hell of anything happening until the next 'cheque issue day' a month later. Frustration understandable. The good boss will be seen to get on the phone anyway: trying to make the point to HR types that crew are real people with bills to pay may have some marginal impact next time pay is arbitrarily reorganised, and the employee will appreciate this. The employee needs to play the rational, cool-headed professional who wants to be paid for his services. Easier said than done, I know.

 

The OP probably does have more employment rights than they think... but suing for wrongful termination, even if you're successful, is a sure way to cast you as trouble and make it very hard for you to get work anywhere. Word gets around.

 

I would recommend asking for a written reason for termination - it can't hurt, and ask for it in a calm and reasoned manner. The very fact that you are gathering written documentation will probably set off some alarm bells. What you say from there depends what reason they give, but at least it has opened reasonable correspondance.

 

However, the quickest and easiest way around this is to get yourself a gig on the biggest, most commercially important production touring to the theatre. Make sure you've worked with the PM of the tour plenty and impressed him before word of your involvement gets to the theatre. Unless there are real reasons for your being barred (unsafe working, assault, sexual harrassment, etc.) then the objections will be silenced. Resist at all costs the temptation to be smug - your PM will have stood up for you and your job is to be professional and build a working relationship: precisely what you didn't do in the first place.

[paulears]

Moderation: This has gone round and around quite a few times now, and no more info has emerged - so I'll close it.