Vantaggi
The pros of this experience were that I got paid to travel the country and met some lovely people along the way – including some in the cast and crew. A silver lining pro as well is that I now feel much more prepared for a future where I can protect myself when working on a project with a company I find marked by dysfunction, poor communication, and untrustworthiness.
Svantaggi
It is endemic in our world of Theatre to witness company disorganization, especially since they are constantly made up of transient contract-workers whose intense passions have them bite off more than they can chew. However, when a company is made up of regular employees with fixed titles and a management structure (at least in name), it is surprising when they appear not only ill-equipped to handle questions and concerns from cast and crew but even, at times, baffled that one dare ask. In my experience working with NETworks, I felt that many legitimate concerns were left unresolved – often without clear, documented reasons why. These ranged from not adjusting (bad) translations of text in a multicultural play (to multicultural audiences), to not delivering on assurances regarding puppeteer rotations and understudy performance assignments, to even withholding/delaying payments due to performers past an agreed-upon point. Perhaps your experience will be different than mine (maybe if you're a lead?). I hope so even. But, for all the reasons above – and the many more I won't include here – I strongly recommend avoiding this company. If you really need the money/opportunity, though, I would strongly suggest documenting and memorializing all interactions where assurances are made. I'm not sure that it will lead to any greater likelihood that they will follow through with what they say, but, by doing this, I hope you might be protected and corroborated in case your experiences are anything like mine.