die deutsche Fassung ist hier
The days are often still pleasantly warm, autumn paints beautiful colours, there is delicious food, and then there is Halloween – but when an invitation to a meeting with the Intendanz lands on your doorstep, your nerves start to flutter: am I facing non-renewal?
It could be – you wouldn’t be the first to face this situation. Take a deep breath! Even if your contract is not renewed, this non-renewal only applies at the end of the season that has just begun, and after that, you can apply for unemployment benefits for a year, so you have almost two years to rearrange your life. Still, it’s not a pleasant situation!
Legally, the situation is as follows (source: GDBA)
In October, many colleagues will have hearings and non-renewals.
The notice of non-renewal at the end of the season must have been issued by October 31 of the previous year; if an employee has been at a theatre for more than eight seasons, by July 31 – please note: the date on which the letter is in the mailbox applies, regardless of actual receipt.
Before the employer can issue a notice of non-extension, it must hear the employee at least two weeks in advance – in a so-called hearing meeting. The employee must be invited to this in writing at least five working days in advance.
The GDBA recommends that you never go to the consultation meeting alone:
It is permitted to take a work colleague and/or a GDBA official with you to the hearing. This is also highly recommended. The accompanying persons must be announced to the employer in writing. The accompanying person should take as meticulous a record as possible of the hearing interview, in which the persons present and the reasons given by the employer for the non-renewal notification are recorded. It is not uncommon for constructive possibilities for the employee to remain in the workplace to be discussed with the employer during the hearing.
Taking legal action against a non-renewal is unlikely to be successful – who wants to work at a theatre where they are no longer wanted?
However, the GDBA also recommends contacting them as soon as you receive the invitation to the meeting. You are a member of the GDBA, aren’t you?!
If you have received an invitation to the hearing, please contact the chairperson of your local GDBA association immediately. If you have further questions regarding the hearing and the non-renewal notice, please contact the GDBA legal department directly. We will then discuss the case individually.
The theatre must confirm the non-renewal in writing so that you can receive unemployment benefits. It is very unwise to resign yourself to pre-empt a dismissal.
Apart from the legal implications, such a non-renewal is a blow to the gut and a damper on fragile self-confidence. It may come when you have already become very accustomed to a theatre, the city, the people. Sometimes the non-renewal arrives just before the point at which you would become permanent (which is after 14 years of belonging to the same theatre). Often, singers have not auditioned for years and have not exposed themselves to any competition at all. The idea of completely reinventing yourself is not particularly appealing, and for those with school-age children, the hurdles may seem insurmountable.
It is pointless to lament how impossible this profession is, how uncertain, how stressful – as long as we cannot change the system, we have to come to terms with it.
What can you do now?
First, let it sink in and sleep on it, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, and then sit down with your partner or someone you trust, and think about which option you want to choose :
You can audition for an ensemble position at another/larger theatre or throw yourself into the free market. To do this, you need strong nerves and at least 3-4 productions a year to survive. The problem today is that, except for a few theatres, many theatres are staging series with fewer performances, but rehearsal periods have remained the same. This means that if you are working in a non-German-speaking country and do not receive rehearsal/accommodation money, you will end up with less than you used to. Ten years ago, there were 7 or 8 performances in a production, but today there are often only 5 or 6.
As mentioned above, you now have two years, and yes, you have to put together your audition package again. But this time you already have a few years of professional experience, which means you no longer have to cover all eras, but ‚only‘ record a video (!) of your core repertoire. Unfortunately, new engagements require new recordings, and you have to audition again – take it in your stride – you are in good company.
You want to negotiate (or have someone negotiate) higher fees, which means your repertoire should be more specialised, the roles larger and somewhat more dramatic than in your early years, so that someone will take a fresh interest in you as an artist, especially if you have been ‚under the radar‘ for many years in a single opera house. Consult with someone who knows your voice and your capabilities well and can help you put together a repertoire that shows your development.
Think about who your companions have been in recent years and get in touch with them, informing them that you will be free or freelance from a specific date.
Finally, I would like to tell you my own story of non-renewal.
After three years in Freiburg, I was in my first season in Basel, and three weeks after rehearsals began, I developed a haematoma on my right vocal cord (suppressing a cough, which you should never do!). I had to remain silent for three weeks and was able to start singing again slowly, but the blood vessel had become so fragile that it kept bursting, whether I was singing or not, and sometimes even just before a performance (luckily, my colleague was at home and able to step in). My excellent doctor tried everything to avoid surgery, but after a year of ups and downs and slowly becoming crazy, with at least seven such episodes, we decided to have the operation performed by a specialist, to whom I am still grateful today. I was incredibly nervous and had already considered what the alternative might be if my voice didn’t come back (opening a restaurant!). But everything went well, 10 days after the operation, I was allowed to start practising again carefully, and since then, there has been peace and quiet. When I received the notice that my contract would not be renewed, I was about to undergo surgery, had a one-year-old child, and was the sole breadwinner for my family. I survived – and you will too! Consider it an opportunity for a new beginning, albeit an unplanned one, that you would otherwise have continued to postpone.
If you’ve always wanted to do something else, now would be a good opportunity to think about it or even tackle it.
It’s essential that you don’t stop practising while you’re in a permanent position, that you get regular check-ups and maintain your quality (there’s a blog post about this here). Then, even if your contract isn’t renewed, you can continue elsewhere or do something completely different.
With this in mind, take it in stride and don’t lose heart!
See you soon on this channel,
Hedwig
PS: Maybe you want to look into this article too?
