The Alphabet Soup of Actors' Equity Governance

One of Equity’s most enduring statistics is the paltry member participation in officer and council elections.  Last election, despite the ability of the membership to vote electronically, fewer than 15% of our almost 50,000 members even returned a ballot. This is a typical number for the last decade.

Some cite narcissism and apathy as the causes, but Equity members have historically hurled themselves into worthy causes, great and small.  Whether saving whales or demanding civil rights, we are an active and vocal society.  How then to explain the lack of involvement in our own organization that seeks to improve our own condition?

Rather than being apathetic, it is likely that most of us just do not know how our union’s government works.  If this describes you, you are one of many.  Equity does little to engage the member into voting.  Most of us don't know any of the candidates unless we or our colleagues have worked with them or seen their work.  All the candidates write blurbs saying things that just about everyone will agree with.  Also, most of us only know, in a general way, what we are electing these people to do.  Here are some basics:

First, you should know that the boss is you, the member.  It probably does not feel like it, but Council is beholden to our wishes.  There are many ways to exert your authority.  You can attend a membership meeting.  Write to Council (all letters must be read and attached to the minutes, as per our by-laws) You can join a committee.  You can run for Council.

Did you know that any member in good standing can observe a Council or Regional Board meeting?  (And please do.  They meet every month and Council members always notice when the boss is in the room.  Contact your region’s office.)

There are two components in the running of our union.  The first are your electeds – the Officers and Councillors, who set policy.  The second is the staff, who carries out the will of the membership as expressed through Council.  The former are volunteers; the latter are paid employees.

Acronyms demystified

Like any organization, those who work day-to-day at the union use their own shorthand.  While acronyms serve to save time and breath, they often alienate those who are not in the inside - i.e. the Members.  Here goes...

Council debates and sets policy nationally. Regional boards set policy locally. The country is divided into three discrete regions: Western, Central and Eastern.  Each Councillor serves 1) in a national capacity and, simultaneously, 2) as a board member in his or her region of residence.

Staff (Appointed and hired by Council)

Hence, a Councillor in the Central region will attend the monthly CRB (Central Regional Board) meeting.  We recently hired Sean Taylor (on staff as the Central Regional Director or CRD) to run the Central Region office.  In addition to Councillors from this region, there are members who are Non-Councillor CRB members (and who do not attend National Council meetings)

The Los Angeles office is run by staffer, Ralph Remington, the Western Regional Director (WRD), who is in charge of operations there.

The Eastern office houses the ERD, Tom Carpenter.  Tom also serves as our General Counsel (i.e. our in-house lawyer).

In addition to the Eastern offices, New York houses the National office for which Mary McColl, our ED (Executive Director) supervises national affairs.  She's staff, too.  The head of all staff in the country, as a matter of fact.

Electeds

There are 5 elected Officers: We have one President (currently Nick Wyman) and three national Vice-Presidents.  The 1^st VP works chiefly as a Principal Actor; The 2^nd VP mainly as a Chorus performer; and the 3^rd VP is a Stage Manager.  (Paige Price, Rebecca Kim Jordan and Ira Mont, respectively) The fifth officer is the Secretary/Treasurer. (currently Sandra Karas)

Each region has its own Vice-President, too.  Besides the Eastern Region Vice-President (ERVP - currently Melissa Robinette) there is the CRVP (Dev Kennedy) and WRVP (Doug Carfrae).  They serve as Chairs of their respective regional boards (see above) and each have 3 Vice-Chairs, who are elected internally, (i.e. not by you and me) serving alongside.

The 75 Councillors-At-Large are segregated into categories: Principals, Chorus and Stage Managers.  There is cross-pollinizations between these groups:  There are chorus Councillors have have worked under principal contracts; Principals who have worked as stage managers, etc.  All Councillors vote and consult on all issues whether they be specifically germane to their category or not.

Again, I reëmphasize: No one on Council receives a salary.  They are all volunteers.

There are also 9 Councillors Emereti, given that status for meritorious service to the Association.  The Emereti provide insight and discuss issues, but do not vote.

The real engine of the union is its committees.  The committees do the hard work and the draw-down of what they argue and decide about goes to Council. There are committees for just about every area of interest to Actors and Stage Managers.  There are contract committees, like Production, L.O.R.T. and Stock. Other myriad committees include: Equal Employment Opportunity; Member Education; Senior Performers.  There are region-specific committee as well as national committees. Some of these are Councillor only. (National Public Policy, House Affairs, Organizing, for example) This is due to a need for confidentiality.  Confidentiality is vital when Council is debating policy ahead of bargaining with our producers, for example.  

Most committees, however, are open to the membership.  Some have membership criteria like place of residence, but most are open to any member in good standing. There is no need to have any prior knowledge of parliamentary procedure.  What is required is passion.  Again, no pay here - just satisfaction at fighting the good fight.  To volunteer for a committee, call the office for your region. Everyone can participate, each to his or her own strength, and in every capacity.

Get to know your Council.  Here's a list (current as of March 2014) of the people who represent you.    For more, click on the “About Equity” tab at the top of the Equity’s home page.

Touring- or Why Are These Clowns on Council Giving Away the Store?

I asked an Equity member for his signature for my petition to run for Council.  He asked. "Are you on Council now?"

"No," I said.

"Then I'll sign your petition.  I won't support any of these clowns who are in now!"

A bit extremist perhaps, but he expressed very well the anger that has been building like a storm surge among our membership over tiered tours. 

Background

If you haven't been following the controversy or are just unsure about the facts: Two shows, NEWSIES and KINKY BOOTS, both with shelves full of Tonys and other awards, have announced tours.  In their respective EPA adverts their contracts were listed as Production Tier and Short Engagement Touring Agreement (SETA) tours, causing outrage.  A grass roots movement was born, manifesting itself in a Facebook group and other social media.  They decided to attend en masse the Eastern Region Membership meeting of January 17 and demand answers.  The groundswell of unrest was such that the Council held a town hall meeting specifically to address Tiers/SETA tours. The crux of the controversy was whether these shows - both doing great business on Broadway - should be allowed to pay actors less on the road.  For simplicity's sake, I'll just list the actor, not the SM or ASM, minimum weekly salaries:

At first glance, the reduced salaries jump right off the page.  Why did the membership (more than 90% of the voting members) ratify this?

Ten years ago there was a great hemorrhage of union jobs to the non-union sphere.  The Production Contract negotiations of 2004 were crafted with addressing this situation in mind.

The main goal was to win back the road.

But there is more to Tiers/SETA than the salary page.  A part of the package compensation is participation in overages.  (The amount over what has been guaranteed to the producer)  Producers are not allowed just to capriciously "pick a tier."  Indeed, there would be little use for any tier system in such a case.  There are financial hoops for that producer to jump through.  Also, Presenters, which are the people, distinct from the original producer who offer a guarantee in exchange for presenting a show at a given theatre, have a bigger role in the business.  If the Presenter is not confident that he or she can sell a given show, a smaller guarantee might be offered. (Click here for a glossary of road terms)

Now, when the overage is big, the share going to those under Equity contracts is also big, effectively increasing their salaries.  Some people have made more in overages than salary. But conversely, when there is little or no overage, you make the same (reduced) salary that you were contracted for.

Another contentious element of Tiers/SETA are the per diems.  In a class A tour, the idea is always to try to live off ones per diem and bank the salary.  That is not always possible with Tiers/SETA.  The per diems in many cases, do not reflect todays economy and prices on the road.

A not so discerning audience

"If it's not Equity it ain't Broadway."  Unfortunately, a good portion of the ticket-buying public either does not know or does not care about the difference between union and non.  What leads foremost in the consumer's mind is that such-and-such a show was a hit on Broadway, and "now it's coming to your town!"  The shows are marketed title first and as other media - movies, TV, sports - are the go-to events for ones entertainment dollar, theatre becomes a special (read seldom) event.   Much the same as standing ovations are ubiquitous at every curtain call on Broadway, just attending the latest iteration of a Broadway tour will present to the audience member the foregone result of being transcendant.  Theatre-going in many communities outside of New York is rare enough and special enough and costly enough that audiences will feel foolish if they don't enjoy the show.

Please don't think that I am saying that everyone outside of New York is a rube.  But the ones that make up most of the ticket buyers - the ones who are marketed to - often are less communicant with theatre-going in general.

So, that's the history.  What to do?

Since I am running for Council, I would look like a strong, no-nonsense reformer if I were to say, "I stand for the elimination of all tiered tours!" (Although I do)

First, know that the current contracts were negotiated a few years ago and are in effect until 2015.  Contract negotiations will not start until then.  I am in favor of these contracts evolving - which is to say I want all tiers and SETA to go away.  I think every Equity member does, actually.  When we (Equity) negotiate our next contract, we can refuse to even entertain the idea of continuing things the way they are. I can tell you that the chances of this happening are slim to none. Why? The economy.

As discrete as show business seems to be from the rest of the economy, it has the same dips and swells that every other business has.  Unless the road has an enormous spike in business (see the legit section of Variety) and the way of doing business on the road is entirely overhauled in the next year or so, it is a good bet that some sort of tiers system is here for at least the next contract cycle.

The best we can do, as negotiating partners with the Broadway League (The producers' trade organization with whom we bargain) is seek to raise salaries and per diems and lower the thresholds for overage participation.  Eliminating tiers will be a long-term game.

Some say that 'Equity should grow a pair,' and just demand to do away with all tiers.  This is certainly a valid strategy, but not a viable one.  I can tell you now that the only recourse we would have when the League walked out of contract talks would be a strike.  The road would be shut down, and no union members could work on those tours.

"Fine," some would say,  "Take the hard line."

The trouble with such a strike is that there is a very mature infrastructure in the non-union sphere.  Producers like NETworks and Troika Entertainment are everywhere the union is not and would soon fill the void a strike would create.  The other thing to remember is that when shows go on the road, new producing entities are created, like the many-headed hydra - cut one head off and another grows.  It's not like the old days when it was us against the Schuberts. Producers and producing is diversified and vertically integrated.

The best solution - though not as sexy as the show business equivalent of a Norma Rae-like stance - is strong negotiation. We have to be smart and prepared at the bargaining table.  And our voices are being heard by Council.  The other thing to keep in mind is that while there are many who will not even consider signing on to one of these tiered jobs - there are many in our number who would.  More kids than ever are graduating from very well-endowed theatre programs in universities all around the country.  They are better trained than I was at their age - and hungry. Of course, the number of jobs has not increased since I was their age.

As to the clowns that the member who signed my petition alluded to: While I was not part of the original negotiations that established tiers, I know many that were.  Some very caring and smart people crafted and negotiated these contracts.  The main goal that tiers set out to accomplish was to keep these jobs union. Tiers have been successful in not only keeping jobs union, but taking back some of the ground lost in the previous decade.  Now we have to change the structure to reflect the changing economy - not raze the structure entirely.  Keep chiming in, though.  We have to let Council know how we feel.  Pack those membership meetings.  Write Council.  The by-laws of the Association state that all letters must be read at Council meetings.  Thanks for making noise.  Keep it up!

Who's The Boss?

Poll your average Equity Actor or Stage Manager on how their union runs its business and those that have an opinion at all will usually answer in adjectives: lousy, clueless, out-of-touch, and other such.  Is your elected leadership really so incompetent?

It seems that the only time most members even think about what Equity's Council does is when they run up against some ruling or policy that seems to impede their progress.  And the story that they hear is usually from the producer side.  They don't know what went into a decision we made from our end.  I will not venture to say that everything we do in Council is perfectly realized. We get a lot of things right, but we have some notable misfires over the years.  But most members have no idea what goes on in the Council room.

Of course member apathy is a factor, but who can blame rank and file members for not feeling more connected to their union's leadership?  This divide between the membership and Council is a recurring topic with us. We are often stymied as to what to do, though.

We need your help.  Consider the daunting responsibility that you have entrusted us with.  We are responsible for managing millions of dollars of your money.   We make policies that directly affect you and your way of doing business.  We negotiate the contracts that set the conditions under which you work and the minimum salaries.  You should take an interest.  After all, you're the boss.  Officers and Council serve at your pleasure.

Do you know that any AEA member, in good standing and without interest conflicts (i.e. you're not also a producer) can come and observe Council meetings and Board meetings?  (Each member of Council automatically serves not only nationally, but also as a member of his or her regional board)  We have a meeting of each of these bodies at least once a month.  All you have to do is call your regional office in advance of the meeting and show up.

We always notice when The Boss is in the room.  I encourage you to become more involved.  Any member can run for Council.  Of course, Council service is not for everyone.  It takes up quite a bit of time, for which one is not paid.  Aside from Council service, we have dozens of committees affecting Equity's dealings on policy on many issues.  I invite you to join one or more.  If you have an Equity-related issue, there is probably a committee which deals with that issue.  You do not need any special knowledge to join a committee - just a willingness to show up.  The time commitment is not overly burdensome and work always takes precedence over committee work.  It is usually satisfying.  Sometimes it is even fun.

If committee work is not for you, please attend the membership meetings in your region, if you can. Membership meeting are exactly that - meetings for and about the Members.  Council members are not even allowed to speak during the member discussion period of these meetings - we have to listen.

Stay informed.  Read Equity News.  You can get it in the mail or online. Register for the Member Portal of the AEA website so that Equity can stay in contact with you.  Write letters to Council.  According to our by-laws, all member letters must be read out loud to us.

Learn our names.  And when you see us at an audition or at rehearsal, tell us what you think, Boss.

Inferiority Complex

 

Inferiority Complex 

The Blacklist

The Blacklist

Actors and Stage Managers live in fear of it.

Many suspect that they're on one already.

Or on several.

The Blacklist (I capitalize it in appreciation of its enormity and ubiquity) looms huge in the consciousness of so many of my fellows and enmires them in a fen of fear and inactivity.  All of us seek to put on our party manners when coming face-to-face with a potential employer.  Once we have the job, we want the employer's experience with us to be positive enough that we might be considered for future work.  I am astounded at some of my confreres, normally gregarious and capable of manipulating the emotions of an audience of hundreds, that they attach so much significance to the slightest gesture, comment, article of clothing and are possessed with the idea that one of these bits of minutiae will affect their employment opportunities.

I can tell you, from experience, that barring something absolutely egregious, like sleeping with the director's wife or blowing the theatre up, that there is no blacklist. I will go further.  Our own individualities and quirks are what keep us ever present in people's minds - especially employers.

An example. I did a stunt in a feature film that I won't now name.  I was young and hungry, and this was a big Hollywood film. A nice feather in my cap. After my stuff was wrapped, I got a call from a casting director who casts background players, asking if I wanted to work. I said, 'yes,' and went for a wardrobe fitting.  The address seemed a familiar one, and when I arrived it was indeed, the wardrobe department of the same film I had just worked on.  Since I was fairly anonymous in the stunt I performed, I figured that this background work would be icing on the cake and no one would get hurt.  Well, I got busted. The background casting director called me, furious that I had taken this background work when I was already a principal.  I repeated to her my rationale about no one getting hurt.

It took a few days for my eardrum to recover from the sound of the phone being slammed down.  I figured that I had entered the oft-referred to blacklist which I was sure this casting director kept on her person at all times.  I could not have been more wrong.  For weeks afterward, that casting director called me constantly for work.  After some time she forgot why I was foremost in her mind.  I guess it proved true that old bromide that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

I was talking to a Stage Manager just yesterday who was asked by the artistic director of a theatre where she was working to do additional work out of the purview of her Equity contract, and for no additional money. She complied, thinking that if she refused, that artistic director might find a more willing (and cheaper, as this SM had been there for quite a few seasons) employee.  I got apoplectic for her.  "That's why you have a deputy!" I yelled.  She acquiesced and was later replaced.  A fellow SM who took umbrage and spoke up, did not submit to the boss's request and stillworks there. Coincidence? Luck?

Sometimes the only thing we have is the courage of our convictions.  Most of us have that voice in our heads, or in the pits of our stomachs that tells us when things are right or going wrong. Yes, the possibility always exists that we might piss someone off.  More often I have found that standing up for oneself is more respected than blithe complicity.  It also seems not only to not emplace one onto the non-existent blacklist, but on the whitelist (?) which seems to increase the frequency of work.

If we heed Polonius' advice and are true to ourselves we might find more and better work in the aggregate. I want to shake Actors who sell themselves short. There is one school of thought, too, which says that it's better to be feared, than liked. Let us not give up our considerable power.

Freelance

I have worked quite extensively in Europe and just returned from a tour in Germany.  We did 23 different cities in 6 weeks and put in over 4000  miles (6400 km). We had one stretch where we played a matinee in one town, did an evening performance in another, then back the following day to the first city and then the evening in the second city.  Only those who negotiated for it got any extra money, and no one got enough sleep.

One does not have to work long in another country before realizing that American actors have the best working standards in the world.  A few years ago, in partnership with Fédération Internationale des Acteurs or FIA, Equity hosted Sankwe Michael Nkambole, who was then the president of the National Arts Association of Zambia (NATAAZ).  We showed Michael around New York, took him to see a few shows and had him as a guest at one of our monthly Council meetings.  He let us in on the state of the theatre in his country. Many of our actors snicker at seemingly frivolous requirements like the "Equity cot," while in Michael's country, when a production there got a bit controversial, and angered faction burned the theatre down.

In Germany, the arts are state-supported.  Most medium to large city have a Stadtheater or city theatre, and each of Germany's 16 states or Länder have their own Staatsheater.  These facilities are as good or better than anything we have on Broadway.  Most have full staffs of stagehands, stage management, front of house personnel, actors, dancers, orchestra, ballet corps, etc.  Actors get a 2-year contract and are therefore civil servants.  The idea of a freelance actor for the most part, does not exist in the consciousness of those in the lively arts.  Though the romance of words like "Broadway," and "Hollywood" resonate with German actors, when I explain the day-to-day life of auditions, meetings, agents, staged readings and the realities of the 90/10 ratio of unemployed/working, they are horrified and grateful that they are where they are.

They still long for America, though.

Though my tour did not involve anyone blowing up the theatre, I was still wanting many of the standards and protections afforded me as an Equity member in the States.  Though the GDBA Genossenschaft Deutsche Bühnen-Angehöriger (the German theatrical union) certainly has its standards and practices, it is nowhere near ours.

American actors have the idea that they are out battling the elements all alone.  So many long for a greater feeling of community.  Do you remember before you had your Equity card?  Having the card seemed like an unattainable goal; one that was prized and coveted.  How long did it take for some of us to lose that sense of accomplishment and fall into the jaded, been-there-done-that feeling that being an Equity member is now but a veritable tax which one is subjected to.

I got involved in things Equity like many, in that I was angry and "wanted to tell those clowns down there" a thing or two.  Very quickly did I find that I could not only affect change for the greater good, (as well as my own) but that I was part of a very vital community of artists and business people.  Yes, I am a free lance - roaming the countryside plying my trade - but I am also surrounded by a collective populace heading in the same direction.  It's a voluble, passionate, gregarious and talented group.  And I am one of them.

You can be, too.  Go to a quarterly membership meeting; join a committee (there is a committee for just about any facet of life in the theatre; attend a Council or regional board meeting as an observer (any member in good standing has this right) or run for Council.  You will get back much more than you give.