Corey Washington
Staff Writer
A recent ruling that would require union actors to receive minimum wage for theater work could threaten the quality and number of future theater productions in the Los Angeles area, opponents say. The requirement, which is intended to compensate and protect actors’ interests, could go into effect in May of next year.
The Long Beach Playhouse on Anaheim Street is one of many Los Angeles County theaters that could be affected by a recent ruling that requires union actors be paid minimum wage in the future.
Andrew Vonderschmitt, executive and producing artistic director of Long Beach Playhouse, said the mandate will have virtually no impact on the local theater. He said the theater will simply no longer use 99-seat theater plans. Vonderschmitt said most of the actors who work with Long Beach Playhouse are unpaid. He estimates less than five of his actors are part of the union, whom the theater will no longer be able to use for future productions.
In April, members of Actors’ Equity Association in Los Angeles voted 2,046 to 1,075 against the minimum wage requirement for 99-seat theaters. The council ruled in favor of the wage requirement. In addition, the union added a new code that said theaters with 50 seats or less would not be required to pay minimum wage to union actors if their theater offered 16 performances or less if the budget does not exceed $20,000. This code could be used up to three times per season. The code was among several new rules made by the union.
Maria Somma, a spokeswoman for Actor’s Equity Association, said the union spent a lot of time considering members’ feedback through the use of surveys, emails and one-on-one conversations.
Somma said the new rules have been met with a lot of positive feedback.
“There are people who have waited a long time to see this happen in L.A.,” Somma said.
Danielle Dauphinee, a spokeswoman for The Garage Theater in Long Beach, said the minimum-wage requirement could create stress on production quality and the ability for theaters to put on shows, especially if Los Angeles’s new $15 minimum-wage regulation goes into effect. (The wage increase was indeed approved by the Los Angeles City Council 14—1 on Tuesday.) Dauphinee said if the Garage Theater was required to follow the new mandate, it would cost about 75 percent of their production budget just to use one Actor’s Equity Association actor. She said if actors are paid minimum wage for performance time and rehearsals, it would stifle a theater’s ability to produce plays. The Garage Theater currently uses a waiver plan, which allows the theater to still use union actors without exorbitant costs.
“Nobody goes and works at these kinds of theaters to make money or expecting to make money,” Dauphinee said. “Even people who run the theater day in and day out for 10 to 15 years.”
Gary Grossman, a theater actor, said he has long been aware of plans calling for minimum wages for actors. Grossman is an artistic director and actor with Skylight Theater Company in Los Angeles. He said he acknowledges and agrees that actors should be compensated but does not approve of how the union is requiring theaters to pay union actors.
Grossman said he is hopeful that, through dialogue and future meetings with the union leaders, opponents like himself can find a common ground with the union about how actors should be paid.
“Obviously, this is not over,” Grossman said. “There are 13 months before this [becomes official]. We’re asking everyone to stay calm, stay level-headed, and we’re telling everyone there are alternatives we are all looking into right now, and the biggest alternative is to get us back into a room. I don’t feel this is over by any way, shape or form. I don’t think anybody should be throwing in the towel. I’m hoping that we can all work through this.”
