IPA 101: Background Vouchers

By John McGrath

To agree or not to agree
That is the question

As a Background (BG) performer, when you sign your Independent Production Agreement (IPA) contract (the green sheet), there are two little boxes about three-quarters down the left side of the page – ‘Agree’ or ‘Disagree.’

On the surface, they are pretty straight forward. If you check or initial ‘Agree,’ you are saying you agree to all the terms of your contract, including your work category, when meal breaks take place, whether there should be any meal penalties or overtime paid. Conversely, if you initial ‘Disagree,’ you are saying there is something on the contract that you dispute.

Which one you choose should be taken seriously. Especially if, later on, you decide you want to contact the union to pursue a grievance for, say, an upgrade. If you ‘agreed,’ it doesn’t make the upgrade request impossible, but it does make it more difficult because you already put in writing that you ‘agreed’ with your job category on the day of work by initialing the ‘Agree’ box.

“Sometimes people feel they should have been upgraded, but they’ve already said (on their contract) that they agree,” says ACTRA Toronto member and Councillor Sandra Beckles, who has performed both in Principal roles as well as Background. “They can be concerned that if they check ‘disagree’ instead of ‘agree’ that they may be excluded from future work opportunities. So, they check ‘agree’ and later try to fight for an upgrade.”

The idea of being blocked from future work opportunities is one many performers fear, but it is not allowed under the IPA. It is OK to ‘disagree’ on your contract, but you shouldn’t do so frivolously.

“When on set, at the end of the day, the question of whether to check ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ is usually based on what they were asked to do,” says Beckles.

She advocates honesty by asking yourself whether you performed duties outside of your work category.

“It’s important to remember what our BG performance is. We enhance the atmosphere within the story. Our characters are not distinct parts of creating or moving the story along. Our actions sell the ‘reality’ of the scene or help build in the suspension of disbelief for the viewers’ enjoyment.”

In the cases where you feel you are being asked to perform a duty beyond your work category, you should first raise it with the production. Before performing the work/action, speak with either an AD or the person who gave you such direction. That crew person, if they don’t have authority to grant an upgrade themselves, can be asked to confer with someone who does have the authority. If you are still uncertain, call the ACTRA Business Representative assigned to the show. It’s always a great idea to familiarize yourself with who your Business Representative is before you start shooting, but if you need to check,  their name(s) are listed on the call sheet, which should be available in BG Holding or you can find their contact information on ACTRA Toronto’s  What’s Shooting page.

“If you’re in a place where you’re not sure, speak to someone from production and, if necessary, contact ACTRA,” says Beckles. “That’s for any situation on set, not just upgrades.”


John McGrath is ACTRA Toronto’s Ombudsperson and a member of ACTRA since 1989. He is an award-winning voice actor who has brought countless characters to life on shows such as the series Hotel Transylvania, Super Why!, and Maggie & the Ferocious Beast (to name a few).

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