AN OPEN LETTER TO THEATREGOERS EVERYWHERE- Page 4

[Jon]

Posted: 9/20/04 at 8:59am

Here's another way the non-equity tours affect performers outside New York:

I'm the associate director of an Equity theatre located in a suburb of Chicago. We are non-profit. We don't have a huge stage. We don't do shows with extravagant sets and special effects. Therefore, for us the actors' salaries are our BIGGEST expense. On our Equity contract we only have to pay $400 a week (salary is determined by size of venue - our theatre only seats 179), but then you have to add on around $150 a week per actor in health insurance and pension payments.

When a non-union tour comes through, paying the same $400 to their performers as we pay to our Equity members, plus, in most cases, NO HEALTH BENEFITS, it takes business away from our theatre. These tours are playing in 2000 to 3000 seat auditoriums, and charging $55 to $70 a ticket. Our tickets here have a top price of $20.

In other words, if my theatre sold every ticket at top price, it could take in $3500 a performance. A non-union tour can take in $100,000 a night. I think they could pay the actors a little more than we do.