San Diego Arts. : San Diego Actors Get Together, Form Co-Op to Help Take Care of Their Own : Theater

It all began over a beer at Playbill’s in September. Charles Philip Sneed and Linda Libby, cast members of the Gaslamp Quarter Theatre’s “The Wonder Years,” got together for a post-performance drink with D.B. Novak. (Most recently seen in “The Real Thing,” Novak appeared with Libby in “I Won’t Dance” earlier at the Gaslamp.)

The conversation drifted, unsurprisingly, to acting, and the three talked about how nice it would be if there was an actors’ support group in San Diego. They liked the idea so much they decided to start one. Now heading for its next meeting at 7 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Lyceum, the San Diego Actors Co-op has already arranged casting visits by artistic directors from the Arizona Theatre Company in early December, the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival in late January or early February, A Contemporary Theatre (Seattle) in mid-February, and Alliance Theatre (Atlanta) in April.

This is only the beginning, Sneed promised. He expects things to start snowballing now that the organization, with the help of the San Diego Theatre Foundation, has sent out notices to 200 theaters across the country.

“Actors often see themselves as powerless,” he said. “They sit around waiting for the phone to ring. We’re going to attract work to us.”

The Actors Co-op, which represents professional union and non-union actors, has also gotten commitments from 16 local theaters for auditions. In the meantime, the founding members aren’t letting any scripts yellow beneath their feet. Sneed returned to “The Wonder Years” Tuesday. Libby won’t join him in the show’s revival. She’s appearing in “Six Women With Brain Death” at the San Diego Repertory Theatre.