The Michael J. Fox Theatre normally rents the facility in fixed blocks of time which are generally seven and one-half hours long. For most productions, this is sufficient time to load in the show, set it up, make adjustments, have some kind of rehearsal, take a break, run the show, break everything down and load it out.
Occasionally, presenters may want to have the facility completely set up and ready to go at the beginning of their contracted time in order to utilize the entire session for rehearsal and performance. A presenter may also wish to walk away from the facility at the end of their time even though some restoration work remains to be undertaken. Some shows necessitate considerable alteration to the Theatre's lighting and/or sound systems to meet production requirements. These alterations, and the subsequent restoration of the facility to its normal state, take time and effort.
There are two ways to handle these situations fairly and still provide the best use of the available time.
For example, if you determine that you need an extra two hours for your staff to load in and set up your show and remove it afterwards, that additional time (if available) can be purchased as a part of your original contract at the scheduled rate.
Secondly, should you wish the stage “ready to go” at the beginning of your time, you may arrange for our staff to provide this service at a lower rate of $12000 per hour. This service can be provided if time is available immediately in advance of the time scheduled for your event. This rate would also apply where our staff has to make significant modifications to our stage lighting or sound systems to meet your production requirements and then restore the facility after your show.
Example 1. You are bringing in a 70-voice choir for a 7:00pm performance. You wish to begin rehearsal at 3:30pm sharp, which is the start of your contracted time. The stage setup therefore needs to be done prior to 3:30pm, and will include 7 riser sections, a 9-section acoustic shell and a grand piano. Time to set this up is one hour for one person. You will be billed $120.00 for the setup. If your concert is over before 10:00pm and this equipment can be removed and stored before 11:00pm, there will be no additional charge. If your concert finishes nearer to 11:00pm (the end of your contracted time), there will be a $120.00 charge for restoration.
Example 2. You are presenting a specialty dance program with a lighting design which requires 12 fixtures to be moved from fly pipes to side pipes, 18 fixtures to be re-hung in the front of house positions, 36 new gels to be cut, and the whole rig re-circuited, re-patched and focused. Again, you wish to begin at the start of your contracted block of time, and leave right after the performance. Both the fit-up and restoration will each take four man-hours, so the extra charges will be $960.00. Please note also that if the restoration must be done after the building's scheduled closing time, additional charges will accrue for custodial overtime.
