SAMPLE COSTUME DESIGNER CONTRACT
It is important to stress that this sample Designer’s agreement is not designed for any specific set of circumstances and hence if it is being used by a Theatre Forum member it may have to be adapted in an appropriate manner, based on professional legal advice if necessary.
What follows is a list of the terms and conditions that represent current industry norms. These terms and conditions may need to be amended, however, depending on the particular artistic and financial circumstances of the production and the company’s size and level of funding. Theatre Forum has indicated alternative clauses or provisions that also represent current practice in particular circumstances. These are listed as notes at the end of the contract and are indicated in red where appropriate. A number of possible additional clauses is also included at the end of the contract.
THIS AGREEMENT is made on the [*] day of [*] 200[*]
BETWEEN
(1) [PRODUCER] of [address] (“the Producer” which expression shall include its successors in title and assigns); and
(2) [NAME OF COSTUME DESIGNER] of [address] (“the Costume Designer”).
WHEREAS:
The Producer wishes to engage the Costume Designer to render his/her services to design the costumes for the Producer’s production (“the Production”) of the dramatic work entitled “*” (“the Play”) by “*” (“the Author”) to be performed at [venue] from
[date] to [date], on the terms and subject to the conditions set out in this
Agreement.
NOW IT IS HEREBY AGREED as follows:
1. ENGAGEMENT
The Producer hereby engages the Costume Designer and the Costume Designer’s engagement hereunder shall commence upon the start of pre-production and shall continue until the end of the week including the official “opening night” according to the following schedule:
Pre-production from: [date]
Rehearsals from: [date]
Production week from: [date]
Previews from: [date]
Opening Night: [date]
Final Performance: [date]
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The Producer will have the exclusive services of the Costume Designer during the
Production week, Previews and Opening night as outlined above. Furthermore the
Costume Designer will be available to attend at scheduled production meetings and rehearsals as necessary during the Pre-production and Rehearsal periods.
2. GUARANTEED COMPENSATION
Subject to the Costume Designer providing his/her services as required by this
Agreement and to the performance by the Costume Designer of all his/her other obligations under this Agreement, the Producer shall pay to the Costume Designer a fee of [*] subject to VAT if appropriate [See Note 1 below] according to the following schedule: One third on signing this contract, one third on the first day of rehearsals and one third on the day of the official opening night.
[See note 2 below regarding additional payments where applicable]
3.
COSTUME DESIGNER’S SERVICES
The Costume Designer undertakes that he/she will perform his/her services as the
Costume Designer for a production of the play (“the Production”). The Costume
Designer will render his/her services willingly and to the best of the Costume
Designer's skill and ability and with due regard to the efficient production of the Play and will render all such other services as are usually rendered by theatre designers of first class repute.
The Costume Designer hereby warrants that the design and any products of his/her services in connection with the design shall be original and shall not infringe on the copyright or any other right of any third party.
4. DELIVERY
The Costume Designer will provide preliminary costume drawings by [date] and will deliver detailed accurate costume drawings covering all aspects the final designs by
[date]. [See note 3 below]
5. ABANDONMENT
If for whatever reason the Production is abandoned by the Producer after the signing of this contract, no monies paid to the Costume Designer under Clause 2 of this contract shall be deemed to be refundable and the Costume Designer shall be paid up to and including the next stage of payment due. [See note 4 below]
6. CREDIT
The Costume Designer will supply the Producer with biographical material in accordance with the Producer’s standard format and a photograph by [date]. The
Costume Designer hereby consents to the use by the Producer of his/her name, likeness and biographical material in connection with the promotion and publicity campaign for the Play.
The Producer will negotiate appropriate billing with the Costume Designer according to standard company practice.
7. PUBLICITY AND PHOTOCALLS
The Costume Designer agrees to use his/her best efforts to assist the Producer in all publicity activities including press interviews and photocalls. Interviews and
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photocalls will be scheduled in consultation with the Costume Designer, whose agreement will not be unreasonably withheld. The Costume Designer hereby grants the company the right to record the Production for archival purposes. Furthermore the Costume Designer acknowledges the Producer’s right to photograph the
Production for publicity purposes and for general company publicity and to arrange television, radio or webcast performances of excerpts of the Play for publicity purposes, provided the excerpts are limited to not more than fifteen minutes.
8. PRODUCTION BUDGET
The Costume Designer will work with the Producer, Director and Production Manager to deliver the Production within a design budget to be determined by the Producer and agreed in advance between the Producer and the Costume Designer [See note 5 below]. It is hereby agreed that the Costume Designer can reclaim vouched expenses associated with model making and other costs as agreed in advance with the Producer. [See note 6 below]
9. HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Producer hereby acknowledges that the Costume Designer is responsible for the visual aspects of the production only. Notwithstanding the above the Costume
Designer hereby agrees to fulfil his/her services with due regard to the health and safety of the public and all production personnel and to all relevant Health and
Safety legislation and to Corporation Bye Laws for places of public resort [amend as appropriate] and to the Producer’s Health and Safety Statement which will be made available to the Costume Designer in advance of the commencement of rehearsals.
[See note 7 below]
10. COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS
The Costume Designer is entitled to 2 complimentary tickets for the official opening performance.
11. COPYRIGHT
All rights in and to the costume design of the Production as conceived by the
Costume Designer in the course of the rendition of his/her services as outlined in this contract shall be, upon its creation, and will remain, the sole and exclusive property of the Costume Designer, it being understood, however, that the Producer and its licensee(s) shall have a perpetual, irrevocable and exclusive license to use such design in any future presentation of the production, including extensions, tours, transfers and revivals of the Play on terms and conditions to be negotiated in good faith as provided for in Clause 12 of this contract.
In return for the fee outlined in Clause 2 of this contract the Costume Designer hereby grants to the Producer a license for his/her design for the initial run of the production according to the schedule as outlined in Clause 1 of this contract. [See note 8 below]
Subject to the Costume Designer providing his/her services as required by this
Agreement and to the performance by the Costume Designer of all his/her other obligations under this Agreement, the Producer hereby warrants that no changes in the design of the play will be made without the Costume Designer’s consent unless in the case of a technical emergency where the Costume Designer cannot be contacted. [See note 9 below]
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12. EXTENSIONS, TOURS, TRANSFERS OR REVIVALS
The Producer shall have the sole and exclusive right to extend, revive, tour or transfer the production as it may determine.
If the run of the production is extended or revived to tour or transfer beyond the schedule outlined in Clause 1 of this contract the Producer will negotiate a re-license of the Costume Designer’s copyright in good faith and according to standard industry practice. [See note 10 below]
If the Producer revives, extends, tours or transfers the production using the Costume
Designer’s original design and if the Producer determines that additional work is required, the Costume Designer shall be afforded the first option to perform such additional work. The Producer and the Costume Designer shall negotiate in good faith compensation therefor. To the extent that the Costume Designer is unable or unwilling to perform the additional work, the Producer, after consultation with the
Costume Designer, may employ, at its own cost, another person to perform the additional work.
13. ASSIGNMENT
The Producer may assign the rights and options outlined in this contract to another company or Producer provided that the Producer's obligations to the Costume
Designer herein shall be retained and the Producer informs the Costume Designer in writing within 14 days of any such agreement.
14. CONSENTS
In the event that the Producer shall make any recording of the Production for commercial exploitation by any means, whether now known or hereafter to be devised including all forms of audio visual products for retail sale or hire based on the Production, the Costume Designer hereby agrees and undertakes to enter into negotiations for a contract with the Producer or such other party as may be nominated by the Producer, in respect of commercial exploitation of videogram rights, and to conclude and agree such negotiations on reasonable terms and in accordance with current industry practice.
15. JURISDICTION
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of
Ireland the courts of which shall be courts of competent jurisdiction
16. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties and replaces all prior understandings and agreements between the parties in respect of the subject matter of this Agreement and may not be modified orally.
SIGNED BY
…………………………………
Costume Designer
Date: ………………
WITNESSED BY
…………………………………
Date: ………………
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…………………………………
Producer
Date: ………………
…………………………………
Date: ………………
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1. Not all designers are VAT registered. Those who are VAT registered are legally obliged to charge VAT at 21%. It is the case that some companies negotiate a fee which is “inclusive of VAT and all other taxes”. As the Costume Designer will then be responsible for discharging any VAT liability it would be expected that this would be reflected in the level of fee paid.
2. Subsistence payments (either daily or weekly) are sometimes negotiated where a
Costume Designer is not resident in the town or city where the rehearsals and production are taking place. A Costume Designer might also expect travel expenses, including flights, to be covered by the company as well as agreed out of pocket expenses and this should be indicated in the contract where appropriate. Where the
Costume Designer is expected to travel to attend production meetings in advance of rehearsals or to see the show after opening night, it should also be indicated whether these costs are to be borne by the Producer or the Costume Designer.
Delete this clause in its entirety if not applicable.
3. Normally the delivery of a Costume Designer’s services is negotiated in advance and included in the contract. Delivery schedules obviously vary but industry practice indicates that initial costume drawings are usually delivered at least 6 weeks before the first day of rehearsals and final designs are delivered in response to the rehearsal process.
4. An alternative arrangement in the event of Abandonment is a sliding scale whereby the amount of the fee paid will depend on the number of weeks remaining before rehearsals were due to begin (e.g. more than ten weeks – 25%, between five and ten weeks – 33%, less than five weeks 50%).
5. If known in advance the production budget can be included in the contract from the outset.
6. These costs are sometimes considered to be included in the agreed design budget, which would then be indicated in the contract.
7. All companies are legally obliged to prepare a Health and Safety Statement which amongst other things usually indicates the company’s position on risk assessment, fire proofing etc. The Health and Safety Statement is often included as an appendix to a Costume Designer’s contract.
8. It is regarded as standard industry practice that Designers retain all rights to their work on a production. Under certain circumstances (most usually pertaining to commercial productions) some companies negotiate a complete ‘buy out’ of the
Designer’s work. As the Designer will then receive no further gain from revivals or extensions, this is usually reflected in the level of fee paid. An example of such an alternative clause is as follows:
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.
9. Where this clause is not agreed, the following clause is sometimes used to allow the Designer to remove his/her name from the production if he/she disagrees with the changes proposed by the Producer:
10. Standard industry practice with regard to immediate ‘extensions’ of the original run of the show at the same venue ranges from no additional payment to a percentage of the original fee for each week’s extension, proportionate to the length of the original run and accepting that a large proportion of the original fee was in recognition of the “exclusive services” granted to the company during the period of engagement. If it is agreed between the Producer and the Costume Designer that additional work is required to facilitate the extension, the Costume Designer is usually offered first refusal on this work and additional payment is usually negotiated. An extension of the licence in the Costume Designer’s copyright is obviously unnecessary if the Producer has ‘bought out’ the copyright as in note 8 above. Additional payments may be required, however, if the Costume Designer is requested to do further work on the production to facilitate the extension.
Standard industry practice with regard to ‘revivals’ of the show at some time in the future after the original run has come to a close (either at the original venue or to facilitate tours or transfers) ranges from a payment of between 25% and 33% of the
Costume Designer’s original fee. This payment may or may not include additional work that may be required on the part of the Costume Designer. Different arrangements often apply for commercial transfers or tours, particularly to the West
End or Broadway, where additional payments, including royalties, often apply. As above, a re-licence of the Costume Designer’s copyright is unnecessary if the
Producer has ‘bought out’ the copyright as in note 8 above. Additional payments may still be required, however, if the Costume Designer is requested to do further work on the production to facilitate the revival or tour.
ADDITIONAL CLAUSES:
Assistant Designers:
Some designer’s contracts also make provision for the hiring of Assistant Designers and indicate if the cost of such assistants will be borne by the Producer, the Designer or is considered part of the production budget as outlined.
 Theatre Forum February 2006
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