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Very interesting question!
Standing in can be very difficult on your schedule, and knowing that the actor you stand in for is going to be on the production for several days, weeks, or even months – It would be nice to see Stand-ins get some type of schedule with days that are known the Actor is scheduled to work in advance of work- just out of sheer courtesy.
Even with the understanding that production schedules are often changing,
Stand – ins rely on working enough during the course of a week to know what their paychecks are going to look like, and knowing that they’re making enough money to pay their bills, so if they are or are not working is a BIG DEAL, and it would be great to know in advance, Anyone know the best way to find that out say if you’re booked for regular stand- in work?
From my experience, some productions will share this information with stand-ins, at least informally. Usually it’s the “committed” stand-ins (so to speak) on a project who are privy to this information.
I’ve also been privy to production schedules, having them even emailed to me with the rest of the crew at the end of the day. To do this, I’ve simply asked the “right” person, or a person with connections to the “right” person. Casting is always the official word on whether I’m working and what my calltime is, so advance schedules and callsheets shouldn’t be trusted over casting when figuring out when I’m going to work. (That is, don’t assume you’re undoubtably working given the advances; production may have a different arrangement for you inconsistent with your expectations.)
If you’re a regular stand-in on a project and you’re not sure whom to ask, privately ask the background P.A. if you can have the callsheet emailed to you. The BG P.A. then may ask the appropriate person, or may help you find out whom to ask. Some productions will be fine with this, especially if you’re trusted; some might be weird about it or categorically reject the idea. It doesn’t hurt to ask, and as you suggest, the information can be very, very helpful for maintaining a life!
Another route is to call casting and politely inquire if you could get a rough sense of the days you’re working for a film or for an episode. Some casting directors will even volunteer this information as a courtesy, but it probably shouldn’t be expected given all the responsibilities they have.
Essentially, develop your relationships within a production (both casting and crew), and I think you’ll find you’ll be invited in to some of the more guarded information on the production schedule, and if not invited, your requests for scheduling information will be received without much problem. At very least, when callsheets are given out at the end of the day, grab one … and if they don’t like it, say you’re standing in tomorrow. If they still don’t like it, oh well, you tried!
Well when you think about it -the principal actor learns way prior to the night before they work that They’re working? They’ve booked the work, have the script to memorize etc.., they need time to prepare their performance as well.. So can’t a stand in for that recurring job say if booked for an entire show season to be given notice of days needed for their own scheduling purposes at least per/episode ?
Just food for thought- if any production people read this thread.
Another resource that you may be able to seek out on a television set is a one-liner. It lists the schedule for the entire episode, including what scenes will be shot which days, which characters are working, and filming locations. This is a document that is only given out to select crew, so ask the BG P.A. or the Paperwork P.A. to obtain it for you, then look it over to get the information you need and return it.