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Hiring Actors for an eCornell Project

Jason Carroll Updated by Jason Carroll

Overview

This article addresses hiring independent contractors as actors. It provides instructions for hiring individual actors (or individual “vendors”) for one-time services, and who are not associated with a larger entity or organization (e.g., an agency). For more information on hiring vendors for continued services, and/or who are affiliated with an entity, please refer to the Contracts for Services website and follow the steps there.

Some information presented may apply to other types of contractors. Connect with our finance team for more information.

Important! If you’re planning on hiring actors, start the process early. The paperwork involved can take time. You will need paperwork completed before scheduling their recording sessions.It will also help paying actors promptly.

Finding Actors

Cornell Interactive Theatre Ensemble (CITE)

CITE is a Cornell University unit supporting employee training and development through theater and dramatization. CITE can support eCornell in two ways: Project Work and Independent Actor Recommendations.

 The contact for this unit is Dane Cruz, Director (dcc16@cornell.edu). Contact Dane if you would like to talk through your needs and determine next steps.

Project Work

CITE is available to “contract” with a department (e.g., eCornell) to fully manage a project involving a single or a group of actors to support a training/program initiative. Fully managing the project includes selecting actors, completing actor paperwork, and directing the actors.

 As their project docket may require some lead time, contact Dane Cruz as soon as possible to discuss your project needs. If CITE agrees to a project with eCornell, direct them to bill eCornell directly using account EC83100. They will also need the relevant course code or reference id.

Independent Actor Recommendations

If CITE cannot work with you on a project basis, they may be able to refer you to individual actors. In this case, you are fully responsible for the project, including selecting, scheduling, directing, and completing all paperwork.

 If this is the route you will take, CITE will provide you a list of potential actors and their contact information. After that, it is all in your hands. Use the information provided in the “Working with Independent Actors” section to guide you.

Working with Independent Actors

Unless you are working with CITE to fully manage a project, you are in charge of managing he workers. You will work with your ID, IDD, or Product Manager (as appropriate to your project) and the accounting office to secure the paperwork. This section outlines the paperwork necessary to proceed without CITE assistance.

Initial Paperwork/Contracts

Contracts and Payment Paperwork

Once you have a list of interested actor/s, send their full name and email address to eCornell’s accounting office at: ec_accounting@cornell.edu. The finance and procurement specialist will determine whether these individuals are CU employees, already in the system as independent contractors, or not in the system. Whether the actors/vendors are CU employees or non-employees determines which steps to follow next.

All Actors (whether affiliated with Cornell University or not)
Talent Release Form

All actors, whether internal or external to Cornell, and whether they will be paid or are volunteers, must complete the Talent Release Form. Use the ATE Talent Release form found in the Videos and Graphics subfolder of the project in Google Drive.

Internal (Cornell University) Employees

You may request internal Cornell University employees with acting experience to work with you. Speak with your product manager and your direct manager about whether to pay them or seek volunteer participation.

If the actors are already in the system as Cornell University employees:

If the actors are already Cornell University employees, you will discontinue working with eCornell accounting, These actors must be paid through the Cornell payroll system. This is managed through eCornell HR. They can be reached by emailing ecornellhr@cornell.edu.

  1. Obtain the Talent Release Form (no other contract is required).
  2. Send a preliminary email to eCornellHR (ecornellhr@cornell.edu)  with the name of the actor, a sentence description of the work they will be doing,  and payment information. The HR representative will email the actor’s home department as a courtesy.
  3. When the work is complete, email the HR representative that the work has been completed and that the actor should be paid.

Cornell University Students Not in Our Payroll System

If the Cornell student is in the Cornell payroll system, follow the same process as for Cornell Employees. 

If the student is not already in the Cornell payroll system, they need to complete the full hiring process. Because of the time and effort involved to complete the hiring process, it is not recommended that students, who are not already employees, be used. If there is a condition that warrants an exemption (e.g., a very long project that may be worth the time involved in hiring the individual or the person wants to volunteer for experience), consult with Product Management and the eCornell HR manager.

Actors Not Affiliated with Cornell University

Individuals who are neither employees nor students of Cornell University are treated as vendors.

If the actors you want to hire are not Cornell employees (nor students), you will continue working with eCornell Accounting to complete the necessary paperwork and to ensure the actors are paid.

Performer No Equipment Form

In addition to completing the Talent Release Form (the standard form most typically completed for Ask The Experts), actors unaffiliated with CU will need to fill out a Performer No Equipment form. You can find these forms at: https://finance.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/performer-no-equipment-contract.pdf

  1. Important: The Performer No Equipment form functions as the contract agreement (and invoice) between the actor and eCornell. Please make sure that the ID,IDD, and Product Manager decide on a wage or a flat payment rate before sending the form to the actor/s. This amount and hours must be added to pg. 2 of the form before sending it to the actor for signature.
  2. Email the forms to the actor/s. For the Performer No Equipment (contract), the actor/s must fill the top of pg. 1, the attestation at the bottom of pg. 2, and sign and date on pg. 3. They can return the signed forms to the person coordinating the work (e.g., IDA or ID). via email or standard USPS mail.
  3. Once the actor/s return the forms, the forms must be signed by the IDD assigned to the project. Then, the forms are sent to eCornell accounting to process.

Once eCornell accounting has both forms, they initiate the payment process by submitting them to procurement. The procurement department will then send the actors an email (from ACH@cornell.edu), with a link to log in to  PaymentWorks, the online platform through which they will get paid. Actors must enter their tax information and banking details if they want to be paid by direct deposit, or they can opt for a check to be mailed out. Please note: that direct deposit payments are much quicker.   

Contact if sending Contract by snail mail:

950 Danby Rd, Ste 150, Ithaca, NY, 14850

Notify: ec_accounting@cornell.edu

607-330-3212

 

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