LIT Equity Code Meeting on May 20 at 2 p.m.

The League of Independent Theater needs to hear your voice.

Our next Actors' Equity Code Strategy meeting will take place this Sunday, May 20th at 2 p.m. Anyone who has worked on Showcase Code productions and would like to see it changed is encouraged to attend. We would especially like to hear from members of the League of Independent Theater, Actors' Equity, Dramatists Guild, and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. We want to hear from others as well, including producers, stage managers, and venue managers.

We ask you to bring a pen, ideas for solutions to ongoing obstacles, and a sense of humor.

LIT Equity Code Strategy meeting
Sunday, May 20th at 2 p.m.
The Assembly Hall, at Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
near the West 4th Street station in the West Village

Keep Momma Malina in her Home

Aimee and I saw a couple Living Theatre-related events this week. First we went to an evening celebrating the release of Judith Malina's book The Piscator Notebook. It is always amazing to hear her talk. This event had a little something extra because it took place in the same room where she learned from Erwin Piscator.

We went last night to see the new print of The Connection at the IFC Center. It was astounding to see this. I'd never seen it previously and found myself time and again imagining the ripples this play must have made when it was first performed.

The Living Theatre has made contributions to the theatre that continue to impact the work done today. And, in fact, the Living Theatre and Judith Malina, now aged 85, continue to create theatre. As Brad Burgess, the Living Theatre's executive producer, has said, she is the mother of Off Broadway.

For those who don't know about the struggle the Living Theatre has had please read this article from the Village Voice. She is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame. In some ways, she has outlived her legend but continues to do her work. Members of the theater community should support her. One day, one of us might be so lucky to live so long and to keep pursuing our passions.

They only have one more day in their fund drive. Please give generously at the link below and spread the word.

http://www.luckyant.com/livingtheatre

Erin Maureen Koster for Actors' Equity Council

Hello Indie Theater Community,

My name is Chris Harcum and I am writing you to voice my support of Erin Maureen Koster for Actors' Equity Council. I currently serve on the Board of Directors for the League of Independent Theater. I am also a proud member of Actors' Equity, SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists Guild, and the Newspaper Guild. I believe in strong unions. At the same time, I completely support the creation of independent theater. Actors should be able to work on contracts when they are fortunate enough to land those jobs, and be able to create their own work to hone their craft and potentially gain future employment.

Independent theater is an important part of the NYC theater scene. It impacts the financial well-being of the city. It gives artists an invaluable chance to get their work seen in front of an audience in the best theater town in the world. It gives actors an alternative to paying for classes and auditions for industry people. It gives respect and recognition to some of our finest.

But the restrictions of the Showcase Code make doing this difficult.

Most showcases do not have enough time to rehearse. Frequently, word of mouth and press don't begin to drive audiences to these shows until the final weekend. Runs do not have the requisite number of performances to qualify actors for some awards. And the leap in cost to go from Showcase Code to a Mini or Off Broadway Contract has sidelined potentially successful runs of hits for many years.

Erin Maureen Koster is running for a Stage Manager slot on the Actors' Equity Council. You can read her statement here: http://kosterforcouncil.wordpress.com/category/statement/. Her two main positions are to get more union work for stage managers and to make positive changes in the Showcase Code.

I have already voted in support of Erin and encourage members of Actors' Equity to do the same. Voting is open until Wednesday, May 23. If you have signed up to e-vote you should have received an email with instructions. Otherwise, you should have received a paper ballot in the mail. If you want things to change for the Indie Theater community, please vote and forward this to all your theater friends to forward to all their AEA member contacts.

Like Erin on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/KosterForCouncil.

Many thanks,
Chris Harcum

The 4 Actual Types of New York City Theater

I have been thinking about these categories for many months now. I believe they cover all the variations one can find in New York City today. It is time to end the old way of things. Broadway, off-Broadway, and off-off Broadway designations do not do justice to what is really happening. To many, these classifications represent quality. In reality, they do not. Also, they do not represent where they are geographically. If this were true, the United Palace in Washington Heights would be a Broadway theater. Technically, they signify the number of seats in a theater. off-off is 99 seats and below. Off-Broadway is 100 to 499. Broadway is 500 seats and above.

I call for these 4 types of theater to be used when defining the type of theater you are seeing.

1. Destination Theater. Originally, I wanted to name this Tourist Trap Theater. I decided that was too harsh. If this name is to stick it should have something positive about it. (Of course, one could argue "off-off" has a negative connotation but that moniker has stuck for more than five decades so what do I know.) Destination Theater is made with big budgets and has some element most people know already. It has a name involved many people coming to the city would already know or the material is familiar. On the positive side, it brings needed money to the city.

2. Hometown Theater. There is a certain civic pride to theater made in NYC. It is for New Yorkers by New Yorkers. The local heroes involved in these projects carry a stamp of approval. People seek out this type of theater because their friends and other people they know whose opinions they respect will go to see it. (Note: New Yorker as defined here is anyone who has lived here long enough to self-identify as a New Yorker.)

3. Artisanal Theater. Usually vetted outside the city and imported in, this type of theater is pricey. People go to see this because certain publications have given their approval of it. Standing in the lobby at intermission, you can frequently hear patrons say they have no idea what is going on. I don't know if this is because the patrons usually spend their time thinking about other things or because they have so much money they do not care whether they understand something or not. They know so-and-so from such-and-such said it was good so it must be good.

4. Indie Theater. Made by the artists. Usually for budgets less (often way less) than $30,000. They mostly have runs of under three weeks because of rules in place by Actors' Equity and because tickets sales will never pay for the production, even if each night is sold out. It is the bedrock of New York City theater. People go to see this because they know one of the artists involved, want to work with one of the artists involved, or have slept with or would like to sleep with one of the artists involved. Or they would like to see one of the artists involved fail. The audiences usually are either overly-friendly or very guarded.

5. Added category. (I don't know if this should actually count. Therefore, it's not lumped in with the big four.) Bad theater. There is a lot of bad theater in New York City. There is more theater in New York City and more than its fair share of bad theater.

I believe this covers it. There are variations. Sometimes a piece of theater might go under more than one category and, yes, there could be sub-categories. But I think the main factors for categorization are money and approval. The amount of money spent on a production and who approves the work really determine the actual type of theater that is being made.

Pictured above, a Destination Theater on 41st Street in New York City getting prepared for a musical, produced by Disney and based on a movie, to begin its run.