The Nutcracker 2021-22 Chaperone Information Pack All venues

The Nutcracker 2021-22
       Chaperone Information Pack
                                  All venues
Thank you for your interest in chaperoning with Scottish Ballet’s Nutcracker this coming winter! To
aide you in your decisions, we have prepared this information pack outlining key facts, dates and
pertinent information surrounding the tour.

As you will see from the performance dates below (and to comply with licensing for children), there
is a lengthy run in Edinburgh followed by two weeks in Glasgow, and approximately a week in
Aberdeen, Inverness, Newcastle, and Belfast. The performance list below also shows the days on
which there are matinee and evening performances.

We ask that you consider committing in full to either all rehearsals and performances in
Edinburgh/Glasgow/Newcastle/Belfast; or the Aberdeen/Inverness rehearsals & performances only.
This will allow the ballet to make contingency plans and manage the permits behind what is the
largest production we tour.

Role

A job description and chaperone duties are attached to this job advert. Nutcracker is a traditional
production of the ballet which requires children to perform in the first act as both guests at a party and
mice in a battle scene. As this is also a traditional classical version, we require children who have
strong ballet skills and will have 5 girls and 3 boys for each performance. This includes two children
for the lead roles of Clara and Fritz, a second cast who will alternate performances and a third ‘swing’
cast who will rotate between castings to spread out the performances.

This means the chaperone team will be chaperoning 8 children at any one-time during performances,
16 when both casts are called for rehearsals or 20 when the ‘swings’ are also called. The ballet
involves a high volume of stage exits and different ‘call’ times for the child performers, so 3
chaperones will be on call during shows at any one-time, side of stage, to receive their group as they
exit. A detailed plot and guidance from our Artistic and Stage Management teams will be provided
during rehearsals and you will have an opportunity to orientate yourself in each venue before any
performance, as will the children.

Fees & Expenses

The weekly fee is £500 for the chaperone role. This is intended to cover all calls within the rehearsal
and performance schedule that week as a flat rate. Out with full rehearsal/performance weeks, a
rehearsal fee of £75 is payable daily. Fees are payable by invoices being submitted to the Company
Manager, which can be on a weekly or other frequency as you prefer.

When working/travelling out with Glasgow/your home city Scottish Ballet will pay a per diem of £25
for each full day and £11 for each half-day. This is a non-taxable expense in addition to your weekly
fee which is intended to also cover incidentals.

Scottish Ballet will reimburse or provide transport to each city out with Glasgow/your home city, and
you will also be provided accommodation on a room-only basis when on tour out with Glasgow/your
home city.

For Newcastle & Belfast only, Scottish Ballet will provide children’s train/air travel from and to
Glasgow and accommodation with chaperones accompanying them. Accommodation will be of a
minimum 3-stars and no more than 20-minutes walking distance from the theatre. Children will be
split into twin rooms by gender on their own floor, with the chaperones directly next door.

For Newcastle, the children will depart Glasgow by train on Tuesday 1st February 2022, with A group
returning after their final matinee performance Saturday 5 February 2022 and B group returning to
Glasgow on Sunday 6 February 2022 given the late performance finish time. Parents may wish to
make arrangements independently from the company to collect their child from Newcastle on the final
Saturday (05/02/22), in which case we will take a view on the chaperone ratios and potential earlier
return to Glasgow for chaperones should all child performers be returned to the care of their
parent/guardian on the Saturday.

For Belfast, the children & full chaperone team will depart Glasgow Tuesday 8th February 2022 by
air and return by air to Glasgow on Sunday 13th February 2022.

Chaperone selection Process and Criteria

As stated above, this version of ‘The Nutcracker’ requires the children to perform ballet at a high
level. With a high degree of fast-moving technical requirements for the chaperones to follow during
performances such as stage exits for which a detailed stage plot will be provided, an understanding
and/or background in dance would be advantageous. We welcome applications from chaperones
of all cultural backgrounds and ethnicities and we will respect cultural requirements for all
chaperones selected.

The chaperone job description can be referred to for specific detail on the knowledge, experience &
skills required to successfully deliver on the role requirements. The contract would be to start first
weekend in October when auditions start, attend specialist training SB may offer prior to rehearsals
and in any event October onwards as per the rehearsal & performance schedule outlined below.

Likely schedule

We will confirm the exact work dates and times per venue in a detailed chaperone schedule as well as
note this in your contract. However, all chaperones must be available for the entire rehearsal and
performance period as a minimum in Glasgow/Edinburgh/Newcastle and Belfast or
Aberdeen/Inverness. This is detailed below.

Rehearsals

A provisional children’s rehearsal schedule will be shared with successful applicants in good time.
However for your planning, for the Glasgow/Edinburgh/Newcastle/Belfast cast rehearsals will
initially take place on Saturdays and Sundays until production week, usually from 10am-5pm at
Tramway from 2nd October until production week in Edinburgh w/c 29 November 2021 unless
otherwise detailed or advised.

For the Aberdeen/Inverness cast again dates/times are as per the performance schedule to be shared in
due course, commencing Saturday 11 December 2021 locally in Aberdeen. The format for this cast is
also likely to be Saturday and Sunday rehearsals, running weekly until Sunday 16 January 2022
before Aberdeen shows open the following working week.

These rehearsals will be led by dance teachers from the Scottish Ballet artistic team, partners we work
with at schools in Aberdeen locally for Aberdeen/Inverness cast and will primarily focus on teaching
the children the repertoire to a high standard before they join full company rehearsals on stage in the
theatre the day before opening night. Chaperones will be required to attend these rehearsals to meet
licencing & SB ratio requirements, per the chaperone schedule which we will also share after
appointments are made.

Production Week (22 November – 27 November 2021)

The Company have a ‘production week’ in the Edinburgh Festival Theatre which commences on
Monday November 22nd, 2022. This week is very important and consists of technical rehearsals,
rehearsals with the orchestra and of course, dress rehearsals for each cast. The children would not be
required for the full week but will be needed for significant blocks of time during this week. Only the
Edinburgh/Glasgow children would be required for this week and accommodation would not be
provided for chaperones until performance weeks commence, travel would of course be reimbursed.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
EDINBURGH
Festival Theatre
Box Office 0131 529 6000
Wednesday 1 December 2021 – 19:30
Thursday 2 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 3 December 2021 – 19:30
Saturday 4 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Sunday 5 December 2021 – 14:30

Wednesday 8 December 2021 – 19:30
Thursday 9 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 10 December 2021 – 19:30
Saturday 11 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Sunday 12 December 2021 – 14:30

Wednesday 15 December 2021 – 19:30
Thursday 16 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 17 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Saturday 18 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Sunday 19 December 2021 – 14:30

Tuesday 21 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Wednesday 22 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Thursday 23 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 24 December 2021 – 13:30

Wednesday 29 December 2021 – 19:30
Thursday 30 December 2021 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 31 December 2021 – 13:30
GLASGOW
Theatre Royal

Box Office 0844 871 7627
Wednesday 5 January 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 6 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 7 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Saturday 8 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Sunday 9 January 2022 – 14:30

Tuesday 11 January 2022 – 19:30
Wednesday 12 January 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 13 January 2022– 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 14 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Saturday 15 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
ABERDEEN
His Majesty’s Theatre
Box Office 01224 641122
Wednesday 19 January 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 20 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 21 January 2022 – 19:30
Saturday 22 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
INVERNESS
Eden Court Theatre
Box Office 01463 234 234
Wednesday 26 January 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 27 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
Friday 28 January 2022 – 19:30
Saturday 29 January 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE
Theatre Royal
Box Office 08448 112121
Wednesday 2 February 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 3 February 2022 – 14:00 / 19:30
Friday 4 February 2022 – 14:00 / 19:30
Saturday 5 February 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30
BELFAST
Grand Opera House
Box Office 028 9024 1919
Wednesday 9 February 2022 – 19:30
Thursday 10 February 2022 – 14:00 / 19:30
Friday 11 February 2022 – 19:30
Saturday 12 February 2022 – 14:30 / 19:30

Performance Licences

As this is a professional production, Scottish Ballet will apply for a performance licence for each child
to the Local Authority each child lives in. Once Chaperones are contracted you will be listed as the
‘matron’, with your consent, as one of the chaperones recruited & serving in this position. Please note
Local Authorities can ask for more background checks, including if you are registered as a chaperone
and if you have a PVG/DBS certificate. Scottish Ballet will undertake pre-employment checks before
any appointment is made, including a basic PVG check by Disclosure Scotland for all chaperones
who are not currently registered on the scheme via Scottish Ballet.

COVID-19

The Health & Safety of all our staff, freelancers and contractors is our first & principal concern. Our
ability to tour this production successfully relies on all personnel adhering to strict protocols you will
be advised of throughout an induction process. As the local environment changes, Scottish Ballet may
have to cancel some or all performances subject to restrictions on audience sizes, travel across health
boards & wider public health concerns either licencing authorities or health boards implement
potentially with little or no notice. In such circumstances force majeure terms detailed in contracts
would apply. The company shall use best endeavours to communicate any and all changes in a timely
manner, your patience & support in any such event would be greatly appreciated as management
determine how best to proceed in a very ambiguous environment, we may still be living with for some
time yet.

Next Steps

We appreciate that this is a significant commitment from you. You will also have to attend all of the
rehearsals, costume fittings as required and the production week when required. However, this is an
experience that you will never forget and a wonderful opportunity to work with the national ballet
company in their most popular production of the year at a time when theatre is most needed with the
lasting implications of the ongoing pandemic. If you wish to be considered for this role, please
complete the following steps:

1.      Submit a cover letter outlining your interest in the Edinburgh/Glasgow/Newcastle/Belfast
  venues or Aberdeen/Inverness venues only; detailing why you believe your skills, knowledge and
  experience are relevant to the role.
2.      A copy of your curriculum vitae
3.      The names and contact details of at least two professional referees (these will only be
  contacted should you be offered the position)

Once the closing date of 1pm Thursday 24th June 2021 has passed, we will invite successful applicants
to attend an interview in early-mid July 2021 either online or in-person as regulations permit.
Following the interview, the final selection will be made with any follow-ups as appropriate and
subject to pre-employment and right to work checks made, contracts issued. Appointment decisions
will be communicated as soon as the company practically can concluding interviews with all
prospective candidates that are shortlisted, and we would ask acceptance of any offers within 7 days
of the offer being made.

Thank you for your consideration of this pack, should you have any questions at this stage please do
not hesitate to contact Scottish Ballet’s Company Manager Matthew O’Hare on 0141 331 6266 /
07889 401 210 or Matthew.Ohare@scottishballet.co.uk

Kind regards,

Matthew O’Hare.

Company Manager

Scottish Ballet