Actors' Equity Association Launches LA 99-Seat Theatre Website

Actors' Equity Association (Equity), the national union of professional stage actors and stage managers, announced the launch of a new website www.EquityWorksLA.com.

The new website provides official information about the contracts and internal membership rules available for use in LA County theaters with 99 seats or fewer. These policies provide for both paid and volunteer opportunities for Los Angeles members. Equity is now offering to producers three distinct negotiated contracts, while allowing members "off the card" options to self-produce, volunteer to perform with membership companies and participate in Showcase productions in theaters with 50 seats or fewer. The site includes frequently asked questions that demystify what these contracts and internal membership rules really mean for members who work in these theaters in Los Angeles County. It also sets the facts straight in response to confusing information that has been swirling around the future of 99-seat theatre in Los Angeles.

Equity announced these contracts and rules in April 2015, as a comprehensive approach that provides opportunities for both paid work and performing as a volunteer, without benefit of an Equity contract. The 99-Seat Transitional Code (available until mid-December 2016) was created to give theaters and producers time to make the transition to contractual agreements.

This website is designed to help Equity members and other interested parties better understand what the contracts and internal union membership rules mean, and learn more about the wide range of opportunities available for Equity members to participate in 99-seat theatre. The new membership rules ensure that union members can still volunteer in the LA theatre community, to the extent the law allows. The union has also created new contracts for Equity to negotiate with employers who wish to provide paid work for our membership.

Founded in 1913, Actors' Equity Association represents more than 50,000 professional stage actors and stage managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of Live Theatre. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and benefits for its members. Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.

In addition to EquityWorksLA.com, for more information, please visit Equity's website at www.actorsequity.org or the Union's Facebook page - facebook.com/actorsequity - and on Twitter at twitter.com/actorsequity.