99 As I See It (Yeah, it's long)

Some have asked my views on the 99-Seat situation in Los Angeles. Here are some thoughts:

I am an actor first and a trade unionist second. I consider my Equity brothers and sisters in Los Angeles County fellow professionals. I have seen great brilliance in productions in Los Angeles' intimate houses.  I do not sneer that Angeleno actors are "fighting for their right to work for free." I have friends and colleagues who regularly perform as well as produce in small theaters.  I want this art and community to continue.  I also want actors and stage managers there to be under Equity contracts.  I took issue with the original Council proposals which were put to referendum.  My main objection was the rule about membership companies. The final Council-adopted rule is better, but not perfect. Also, Equity's typical ineptitude as regards communication made things much worse than they had to be.

Putting aside the viability of California minimum wage or Hat-to-99, the main reason I want my brethren and sistren to be under contract is for the protections that the institution of a contract would provide.  Remember that the (newly) old 99 Plan was a code and not a contract.  What this means at its base is that it was unenforceable. Equity contracts have the best safe and sanitary protections compared to similar contracts anywhere.  The various clauses in our contracts cover almost any situation that can occur in a theatre. With the old 99, if there were problems, one could call the union, who would in turn have a staffer call in a stern voice and admonish the producing entity to repent and change, but as for muscle - there was none.  The codes assume adherence to industry practice, but the actor or stage manager is essentially on his own.

The other reason that I want to do whatever we can to establish contracts is participation in the health care plan and pension credits. I don't think I have to elaborate on why health care is important. It's harder to qualify under the SAG Producer Pension and Health Plan and the AFTRA Health And Retirement Funds than ever.  (O may they one day merge!) Having access to an alternative health care plan under an Equity contract would be a boon for L.A. area actors.

Many members, especially younger ones, don't give retirement much thought. Under the Equity League (our health and retirement plan) one need only work two weeks of covered employment out of a year to qualify for a pension credit. After ten years (not necessarily consecutive) one is vested and can receive a pension when you reach the right age. And while it's early to even broach this subject, (not to mention beginning a sentence with 'and'), many of our contracts include 401(k) savings plans.

Another element to all Equity contracts is bonding. This is an element of the contract that AEA members rarely have even a passing relationship with. Equity requires each producer to put aside two weeks salary - a bond - so that if something goes wrong; the production runs out of money, the production is prosecuted, etc, the actors are the first to be taken care of.  This is one of the bedrocks of Actors' Equity contracts.

Stage Managers. I'm sure I do not have to inform anyone as to the difference between an Equity Stage Manager and one who is not. A contract would require that the PSM be an Equity member.  'Nuff said.

All the above is what we aspire to in establishing contracts in Los Angeles. This is not immediately the result of Council adoption of the new 99-Seat rules. It is, however, the eventual goal.

Now - Salary.

This is the thing, of course, that has caused the rift between L.A. members and their union. The minimum wage floor has now been set by the union for those that would qualify (see link, above) and this does not even include the above fringe benefits. This is cheap as compared with the national average salary, but still unattainable for some producing entities using their current business models.

And changing the business model is the whole point. There was heretofore no incentive to change the actor and stage manager line items in a show's budget. I am a realist, though. I know that some producing entities will fold. These theaters are not just items on a spread sheet.  They represent actual human beings: colleagues, lovers and friends. These theatre collectives contain memories and some of our collective theatrical experiences, both as creators of art and as a society. They have also provided showcases that have allowed industry folk to consider us for further work.

My feeling is that L.A. intimate theatre will not go away - but it will change. Theatre is created by humans for other humans. The human actors and stage managers are still in Los Angeles. They will adapt, as they do in every other community around the country. Those that produce, be they producer/actors or full time producers will learn how to do so with the new rules. It will be more difficult. It will be different.

Most of my work is not in New York City.  I work quite a bit in theaters around the country with shoe-string budgets. (And some can't even afford shoe strings) Some of these have existed for decades, despite the vagaries of economy, the waning and waxing of charitable giving and other circumstances and situations which seem to conspire against them.  I daresay that what these long-suffering (but thriving) theaters share with some of the venerable smaller theaters in Los Angeles is an individual or very small cadre of committed individuals, without whom the structure would collapse.  The theatre may have dozens of artists and other volunteers who are passionate about their mission and would do anything asked of them to keep their theatre alive, but when push comes to shove, as the old saying goes, it is this tenacious person upon whose shoulders living or dying is decided.

My prediction is that in each extant theatrical organization or collective there will be that one person who seeks to make the organization thrive despite whatever rules or other road blocks are presented before them. Essentially what the new rules are forcing L.A. intimate theatre to do is to learn a new producing model.

Some of these individuals will not wish to produce under a new model or these newly-needed skills may not be in their wheelhouse of talents. If another within the organization does not step-up, that organization may fold.  Or it may morph into a new entity.  The new rules will also see new players create new theatre.  This is what happens to theaters all over the country.

Now, before you say, "Fuck you, Roddy, you don't live here (that is, L.A.) and couldn't care less about us. Go back to living in your own private Idaho where unicorns and rainbows abound," let me tell you that I have seen this scenario repeat itself time and time again. Theatre keeps re-inventing itself.  I see this in communities with nowhere near the funding potential that Los Angeles has.  I have worked in a theatre for the last couple of decades which is the third generation of the original.  Many different buildings, charters, mission statements, boards and donors and different Equity contracts - same artists, though.

Long Beach Playhouse, as you might know, recently posted on its Facebook page that it is "first and foremost, a community theater. We are not, and never will be, a professional theater..." Though I am sure that the Equity members who worked there previously did wonderful work, LBP is now saying that keeping a working relationship with professionals in not a priority.  I'm not disparaging Long Beach Playhouse. They will probably do wonderful work in the future, but they don't seek to be a professional theatre.  One does not need a union card to make art.

There is an implicit compact that one agrees to when one joins a union. It is a political act. For the betterment of my fellows, there is some work that I agree not to take, so as to raise the tide for all boats. I have been offered, dozens of times, plum roles that I was itching to play if would only work off the card, under a different name. Being a union member is a solemn pact to me.  Another actor may not have the union zeal that I have. Lacking passion for, even hating ones union, does not mean that ones actions do not affect others. We are all connected, in a very deep way.

To establish a beachhead in terms of a contract, a group of people (a union, if you will) has to establish a minimum or no progress can be made. I know that we're not dealing with Sam and JJ and this isn't 1919. There are some who should have gone to contract years ago, but the cases of actual wage abuses are rare.  Just as important as stopping unfairness is establishing a mindset within ourselves that will make ameliorating the condition of the actor and stage manager in the upper areas of our psyche.   There is a canard that I have heard for decades now that making a living in L.A. theatre is impossible and never will be possible.  I don't believe it.

Part of changing 99-Seat, be it this change or not this change, was to get rid of the Settlement Agreement so that we may find bargaining partners to negotiate with. This is how contracts are established.

I will leave it those who are actually working under them to tell me how they view the other tines of the new rules, namely the 50-or-Less showcase and the Los Angeles Self-Produced Contract Code. It seems to my eye that these, combined with the contracts above cover most bases.  I know that there are still AEA members in Los Angeles who are unhappy - even lividly angry - over the new rules. It is not an attempt to mollify you to say that I consider this a still evolving situation.  Having served on contract committees and a term on Council (2004-2009), I can tell you that at heart, Equity wants its members to work. When pressure is brought to bear by the members, (as it is now) change happens. Rumors of the Council cynically toasting each other behind closed doors over the adoption of the new rules is false.

To be Pro-99 or not to be?  That is no longer the question. The reality for us all is what Council has voted up. I do think establishing a contract is a high priority.  I also don't pretend as though it is a settled matter.  Even with the new rules, it is still a work in progress.  I am glad that the Los Angeles theatre community (and others around the country) have stepped up and passionately raised their voices. I sincerely hope that we will all continue doing so. Union matters can often be tedious and the minutiae of NLRB rules, state and federal work rules and clause-and-sub-section contract language can make many a crusader lose interest or run screaming into the night. Stay in it.

Anyway, I hope this tells you where I stand on things 99-Seat. Whether this influences your vote or not, please do vote for someone.  It's very important.  I know it is a difficult choice when all you have to go is a 250 word blurb in Equity News, but not voting at all is a huge mistake. I am open to learning and I would love to hear from you.  Please visit my candidate website and you can always email me at buzzforcouncil@gmail.com

The Future Of The Agenting Business?

Irving "Swifty" Lazar.  Agent extraordinaire.

Fast-talking, cigar-chomping, Swifty is the picture that many of us have when envisioning the archetypal talent agent.  The bombastic ten-percenter, to use Variety-speak.  Back in the day, there were hundreds of them, often occupying offices cheek-by-jowl in edifices along The Rialto; working the phones - later fax machines and email - and hustling to book their clients and collect however many ten-percent commissions were possible.

Nowadays, agents are consolidating, diversifying and integrating vertically.  Congloms like CAA, William Morris and ICM have become powerhouses that not only rep performers, but other creatives - below and above the line - and market whole packages which include almost every element in an entertainment project, from the script and stars on down to the day-players.  The specter of these behemoths getting too big and crushing the rank-and-file actor is one reason that (legacy) SAG voted not to approve their long-standing ATA agreement.  Equity and (legacy) AFTRA both have franchise agreements, but the actor's relationship with agencies has changed and we will never go back to the old model.

There used to be an ant hill-like traffic throughout New York City.  As breakdowns came over the wires, assistants would assemble packages of headshots; messengers would pick up and deliver same to the myriad casting directors and auditions would be appointed.  My mother was an actress.  In her day - the 1950s - one would "make the rounds" of agents and producers.  It was a personal, face-to-face business, and casting directors were the receptionists who pulled photos from a file cabinet drawer.

Today, with the advent of the daily Breakdown Services casting is almost exclusively via the web, and the movement of physical client materials is less now that the digital age is here. More and more, electronic submissions are becoming the norm - even for theatre jobs.  In Los Angeles it is now extremely rare for hard copy photo/resumes to make their way from agent to casting director.  More middlemen stand between the actor and his or her job.

There are exceptions, of course. Breakdown Services has a service called Actors' Access.  When casting directors are willing to have unrepresented actors submit themselves, they might post a breakdown on AA.  Usually these are postings for off-types, or for low-paying gigs, but every now and again an actor has an opportunity to self-submit for a choice job and the playing field is an equal one for represented and non-represented alike.

I always say, "my picture won't get me called in, but let me into your office and I will charm the pants off you." There is far less face-to-face in our business. Starting in the 1970s, especially with the advent of solitary women running offices as well as the decaying safety situation in cities like New York, office doors started staying locked.  ("Please place photos in mail slot," and the like.)  I was with one agency for three years before I actually met my agent!

I know what my capabilities and - dare I say - "type" are better than anyone else.  Perhaps it's time to introduce what has been a common practice in the UK for may years - that of the collective agency.  Collective agencies are registered with British Equity, which is analogous to the franchise agreements that American agencies have with the performers' unions.  They are run by actors, for actors.  Commissions go into a pot to run the agency and what is left over is shared.

This approach would not be for every American actor, but there certainly are a great many of us who would prefer repping ourselves and keeping the commissions.  Many of us want more of a control of our careers, and this would be one way to achieve that.  Actors' Equity has a robust franchise agreement and good relationship with its franchisees.  SAG-AFTRA, though, currently has no agreement with agencies who negotiate the extant SAG contracts.  Perhaps a good place to start?

Here a few websites for collective agencies in the UK: Performance Actors, Denmark Street Management, 1984 Personal Management.

American Autumn and the Unions

Dr. Cornel West calls it the U.S. Autumn. 

For thirteen days, as of this writing, hundreds have been occupying Wall Street to protest what many see as an evolving plutocracy in the US.  Many of the occupiers have been angered at the dismissal of their movement by the corporate press.  (see Ginia Bellafante's article from the New York Times of September 23)  Many seem to automatically reject this movement for its lack of a centralized, organized center.  O.W.S. is grass roots in the strictest sense.  (unlike the so-called Tea Party, for example: an organization funded by large organizations attempting to appear as an upswell of popular rage)

A common canard (often heard these days in this anti-union climate) is that a labor union is but its own clunky organizational machinery, which serves to feed itself, rather than to facilitate and uplift the will of the group with common aims that formed it.  Local 100 of the Transit Workers Union or TWU, has joined O.W.S. So has Teamsters Local 814.    My hope is that all unions, including the performers' unions, Equity, SAG and AFTRA, will throw their support behind this movement.  After all, there are more of us (i.e. non-rich people) than them (e.g. millionaires who hold undue influence on our government and economy).  The same epithets lobbed at protestors of the Viet Nam war, The Civil Rights Movement, Women's Rights and the like, are being yelled from the balconies of the rich upon the regular folk below (See video at the end of this post).  Despite characterizations of "the great unwashed" and "unemployed trust fund babies," change was forced.

Keep up the pressure!  Make the American Autumn a force that changes our world.  Solidarity forever!