Equity’s Board Backs Referendum

The Western Advisory Board of Actors’ Equity has rejected a request to set aside a spring referendum that resulted in the adoption of a controversial Actors 99-Seat Theater Plan.

In his letter Tuesday explaining the board’s decision, Western Regional Director Edward Weston denied claims that the referendum ballot was unaccompanied by “a differing viewpoint,” that the voting time was any shorter than that of any Equity election and that a secret ballot was not employed in the referendum.

On May 25, attorneys representing 10 dissident actors and actor-producers threatened to take their case to the executive director of Actors Equity in New York and, if necessary, to federal court if the advisory board refused to rescind the referendum. On Thursday, a spokesman said the group would announce its next course of action next week.

Meanwhile, Weston also announced that an Equity membership meeting will be held July 15 at the Doolittle Theatre, which seats more than 750 people--a key demand of the Equity dissidents whose positions prevailed at the last membership meeting on April 15.