On the 99-Seat Theater Proposal Brouhaha
By Sam Perwin
I tried to stay out of this for a long time because, simply, I don't live in L.A. and can't hope to understand the life of a theater actor out there. I've kept up on the debate; I've read posts on both sides; I've followed the coverage that culminated with an even-handed, but uninspiring account in the The New York Times on Sunday. I've decided to go with my gut-instinct on this one: I'm for the proposal.
I say, vote yes!
If you peruse the "How I Got my Equity Card" section on The AEA website, you'll be unsurprised to learn that many many Broadway stars talk about cutting their teeth in crappy non-union productions all over the country, and that joining Equity was meaningful because, to quote Raul Esparza, it means you "never have to argue over $50 again." I went through and have written about my own struggle with whether or not to join Equity. I'm tall, a leading man type, a baritone. The year before I got my card, I was working constantly in the non-equity world playing roles that I'm probably still a decade too young to play: Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, etc. The last thing I wanted was to be yet another unemployed Equity actor waiting to grow into his type.
A particularly damaging, depressing experience at a theater notoriously unsympathetic to actors convinced me it was time to have a union behind me. The producer of that theater remarked off-hand once that he had read and heard what people were saying about this place, but it didn't bother him because the same actors keep coming back year after year. Herein lies the problem, and I believe it's the same one preventing Equity actors in L.A. from supporting the new 99-Seat Theater plan: fear and desperation. Those words go hand-in-hand with the business we call show, and actors carry most of it. Everyone knows that the business of acting is terrible. The odds are extraordinarily stacked against us. We're at the mercy of agents, casting directors, producers, all of whom control our destinies. It's demoralizing - we want to jump at the chance to do anything. Everything is exposure, right?
Well, no, not really. There's a difference between donating your time and energy to something you believe in and not getting paid for your work, talent, and craft. Unions exist to prevent the exploitation of all workers, and actors, are, of course, notoriously easy to exploit (see above). Reading the coverage, I saw over and over again people saying "we're not in this for the money." I certainly know that it's not easy to make a living in the theater, but that is precisely what I'm in it for. The day I can support myself entirely with my art is the day I call myself a success. It seems to me that if we as dues-paying, unionized theater artists keep demeaning ourselves to work for so little, then no one will ever pay us what we're actually worth. This is self-esteem 101.
I'm also not naive. Last year I wrote, co-produced, and directed a production of a play I wrote under the Equity Showcase Code. We crowd-sourced money, used both Union and Non-Union Actors and paid them the same stipend. It was by no means a fortune, and I wish I could have paid them more, but it was important to me that they be compensated for their work. This was also a one night only affair, which under current guidelines in Los Angeles would have earned them $7.
Again, I don't claim to understand the life or business of theater folk in Los Angeles, but I don't consider theater my hobby or my side-job. I want it to be my career. The belief that actors don't deserve a living wage needs to end. The belief that you can't make money doing what you love has to end. That's why Equity was born, and why I'm proud to be an Equity member. Change is difficult and there will always be some casualties, but if this is the first step towards artist self-support, then I'm all for it.
SAM PERWIN Actor. Singer. Writer. Tall. www.samperwin.com
EMAIL HIM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR
Recent Comments