L.A. Actors' Equity Members to Vote on Union's 99-Seat Theater Proposal

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, Actors' Equity is proposing to eliminate the Los Angeles 99-Seat Theater Agreement and instead require that all actors be paid minimum wage (currently $9 an hour in L.A. County) for rehearsals and performances.

Under the current plan, Equity actors can be paid a stipend of as little as $7 per performance in theatres with 59 seats or fewer or $9 per performance for theatres with up to 99 seats.

Equity members in L.A. County can vote today through April 17 on the proposal, and Noah Wyle, artistic producer of Hollywood's Blank Theatre Company of 17 years, is urging members to vote "no" in a guest column for Variety published today. The Blank operates a 49-seat black box on Santa Monica Blvd., and Wyle argues that the higher costs of paying actors under the new proposal will cause small theatre companies to struggle to put on productions.

"The apparent strategy, with this proposal," says Wyle, "is to force the closure of small theaters in the hope that they'll consolidate into mid-sized theaters, thus generating more full Equity contracts. As a proud member of Equity, I understand the issue and applaud the intention, however misguided. As a small theater producer, however, I am extremely frustrated."

Wyle is not the only member of the L.A. theatre community to feel this way - on March 23, over 200 members of Actors' Equity Association participated in a protest march against the proposal.

Equity's National Council will consider the outcome of the vote when it meets April 21 to deliberate over the proposal and determine the new arrangement.