Dawes was an early and perhaps an original member and "sharer" (a partner who shared in the profits, rather than a hired man who worked for a wage) with Prince Charles's Men, from at least 1610 on. He remained with that company only until 1614, however, when he left for the Lady Elizabeth's Men. Dawes was admitted as a sharer in the Lady Elizabeth's troupe; his personal 3-year contract with managers Philip Henslowe and Jacob Meade, dated 7 April of that year, spells out a schedule of graduated penalties for minor and major infractions of the rules:[3]
If Dawes was late for a rehearsal, he had to pay a fine of "twelve pence," one shilling (1 s.).
If he missed a rehearsal entirely, the fine was 2 s.
If he was late for a performance, the fine rose to 3 s.
If he was drunk at the start of a performance (in the judgement of four troupe members), the fine was 10 s.
If he missed a performance with no adequate excuse, the fine rose to one pound (£1).
And if he was found guilty of appropriating any of the company's expensive costumes or other property (as by wearing a costume outside the theatre), the fine was a hefty (almost astronomical) £40.
Since no other comparable contract for an actor of the period exists, scholars cannot be certain that the Dawes document is representative. Yet there is nothing in Dawes's career that suggests he was particularly unusual, so that his contract was probably within the range of what was normal and typical for the actors of the period.
References
^Edwin Nunzeger, A Dictionary of Actors and of Others Associated with the Representation of Plays in England Before 1642, New Haven, Yale University Press, 1929; pp. 114-15.
^Andrew Gurr, The Shakespearian Playing Companies, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1996; p. 69.
^Alwin Thaler, "The Elizabethan Dramatic Companies," Papers of the Modern Language Association, Vol. 35 No. 1 (1920), pp. 123-59; see pp. 134-6.
This article about an English actor is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
robert, dawes, other, people, named, disambiguation, 1610, 1614, english, actor, jacobean, unique, extant, records, english, renaissance, theatre, that, individual, employment, contract, with, acting, companies, survived, dawes, early, perhaps, original, membe. For other people named Robert Dawes see Robert Dawes disambiguation Robert Dawes fl 1610 1614 was an English actor of the Jacobean era 1 He is unique in the extant records of English Renaissance theatre in that his individual employment contract with one of his acting companies has survived 2 Dawes was an early and perhaps an original member and sharer a partner who shared in the profits rather than a hired man who worked for a wage with Prince Charles s Men from at least 1610 on He remained with that company only until 1614 however when he left for the Lady Elizabeth s Men Dawes was admitted as a sharer in the Lady Elizabeth s troupe his personal 3 year contract with managers Philip Henslowe and Jacob Meade dated 7 April of that year spells out a schedule of graduated penalties for minor and major infractions of the rules 3 If Dawes was late for a rehearsal he had to pay a fine of twelve pence one shilling 1 s If he missed a rehearsal entirely the fine was 2 s If he was late for a performance the fine rose to 3 s If he was drunk at the start of a performance in the judgement of four troupe members the fine was 10 s If he missed a performance with no adequate excuse the fine rose to one pound 1 And if he was found guilty of appropriating any of the company s expensive costumes or other property as by wearing a costume outside the theatre the fine was a hefty almost astronomical 40 As a comparison William Shakespeare paid 60 for New Place the largest house in Stratford upon Avon in 1597 Since no other comparable contract for an actor of the period exists scholars cannot be certain that the Dawes document is representative Yet there is nothing in Dawes s career that suggests he was particularly unusual so that his contract was probably within the range of what was normal and typical for the actors of the period References Edit Edwin Nunzeger A Dictionary of Actors and of Others Associated with the Representation of Plays in England Before 1642 New Haven Yale University Press 1929 pp 114 15 Andrew Gurr The Shakespearian Playing Companies Oxford Clarendon Press 1996 p 69 Alwin Thaler The Elizabethan Dramatic Companies Papers of the Modern Language Association Vol 35 No 1 1920 pp 123 59 see pp 134 6 This article about an English actor is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert Dawes amp oldid 1050872262, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
