Union versus nonunion productions a complicated issue
Is a union touring theater production better than a nonunion one?
At one time, I would have said, almost always yes. Working Actors Equity members tended to be people who did theater for a living and were paid accordingly. Nonunion shows were often bargain-basement, with the actor bearing a good deal of the brunt of the cut-rate budget.
The low quality helped place union productions in a favorable light. And any Equity actor who dared tour in a non-Equity show was subject to fines or expulsion. This is a concern for Vegas because the touring shows at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts are a mishmash of what some would call “professional” and “nonprofessional.”
But even Equity President Nick Wyman admits the game has changed.
In a union newsletter, he notes that people often ask, “How come Equity is allowing all these national tours to go out on such low salaries?”
In a nutshell: America used to have plenty of “bus and truck tours” with split weeks and one-nighters. Equity was very strict about who was paid what. The attitude was sometimes referred to as “Our way or no highway.”
When the economy killed off those expensive enterprises, Equity was forced to make many concessions. Still, more and more producers began deciding that they couldn’t afford the union rules (which included health insurance contributions). By 2004, 40 percent of road business had been lost by Equity.
But Wyman says the union has been gaining a higher share of the market, thanks to frequently changing tiers of costs, depending upon types of productions and theater halls.
There’s a lot more to it, of course, and you can get a lesson in Touring 101 at actorsequity.org/AboutEquity/president_archive14.asp.
Bottom line: The situation is blurry now, and I’m seeing better and better actors in nonunion shows. (The recent excellent “The Color Purple” at The Smith Center is a prime example.)
What makes me uncomfortable is that those talented show people are reportedly not always being fairly compensated. And who knows how protected the actors really are from unscrupulous producers when they are performing in the middle of nowhere?
For me, Idina Menzel’s electrifying concert Sunday night at The Smith Center was only one part of a great show. When the evening began, I noticed a sea of cellphone lights occasionally interrupted by a flash camera.
Stay calm, I told myself. These people don’t realize how rude they’re being.
But I was amazed when one by one the policy violators were confronted by ushers (politely I’m sure). It wasn’t long before I couldn’t spot a single illumination that didn’t belong where it was. Smith Center guru Myron Martin has obviously trained his ushers well. They understand that it’s not enough to get ticket holders seated. These days audiences, unfortunately, need to be continually monitored.
In my recent review of the Vegas Fringe Festival, I misidentified the name of the director of “Kissing Hank’s Butt,” which was one-third of “Fringe Shorts.” The credit should have gone to John Dolpies. I’ve since replaced my reading glasses.
Anthony Del Valle can be reached at vegastheater
chat@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.
