A Subsidy Plan for TV’s Farm Team--the Stage : ‘Wonder Years’ dad Dan Lauria got $100,000 from a television production company to put on four plays. He hopes studio executives will tap them for new TV shows, movies, actors and directors.

Ten years ago, unknown New York stage actor Dan Lauria asked big-name television and film production companies to subsidize Equity-waiver theater. He went to Paramount, HBO, CBS, and got nowhere.

But prime time does wonders for one’s clout. Lauria now plays the grumpy father on ABC-TV’s Tuesday night hit series, “Wonder Years.”

“There’s no question that the show made this happen,” said Lauria as he watched a rehearsal of “Old Friends,” the play he is producing with TV money. It previews March 1 at the Callboard Theatre in West Hollywood and opens March 8.

“This is what I’ve waited for.”

By getting Patchett-Kaufman Entertainment in Culver City, which produces the TV show “Working Girl,” to spend $100,000 to finance four plays this year, Lauria has accomplished his decade-long dream: that the film and television business invest in Equity-waiver productions to tap theater’s pool of writing, directing and acting talent--a minor league system for artists.

With “Old Friends,” a light comedy about a father trying to set up his son with their long-time neighbor, Lauria will stage a play written by his old friend, Martin Zurla.

Zurla was the artistic director of the Raft Theater in New York a decade ago when the two made a pact. “We promised if either of us ever made it big,” Zurla recalled, “we would give something back to the theater. It’s the kind of promise everybody makes, but when they get big, they forget about it.”

Not Lauria. He wants TV and movie executives to see an idea on stage instead of listening to a 15-minute pitch or hastily reading a screenplay. Forget the scaled-down character synopsis; how do they come alive before an audience? Can they be translated to the small or big screen?

“I can show people something tangible,” Lauria said. “And when the industry people hear the audience laugh or are moved, they will say, ‘Hey, maybe this will work.’ To me, this is development.”

If nothing else, even if the play’s plot is transparent and the writing trite, maybe there’s a face in the cast, a gesture, a presence, that could never be part of a development meeting.

“I’ve seen good plays die that would have made great television series,” Lauria said. “I’ve seen great writers and actors that nobody saw.”

That’s the key--exposure. Lauria sees himself as a bridge between the two media. By hiring a public relations firm and notifying friends who are decision makers in film and television, Lauria hopes to give Equity-waiver theater something it rarely enjoys--an audience.

“I was just in ‘Death of a Salesman,’ in Highland Lake, N.Y.,” said Keith MacKechnie, 34, the son in “Old Friends.” “It was a great show with phenomenal people. . . . But not many people saw it.”

MacKechnie said he has high hopes for “Old Friends.”

“Now, this could be the thing that opens the door for me. What if they turn this into a pilot?”

Tom Patchett and Ken Kaufman believe the chances of finding promising writers and a solid premise for a new television series run fairly high. They have worked for other companies--Patchett for MTM Productions, Kaufman for Warner Bros.--and savor the independence they’ve had since starting their own business last year.

“If we were owned by a studio, they would say we were crazy for spending the money and time on this,” Kaufman said. “They would say we were taking away from the real effort of making television shows. Luckily, nobody owns us.”

Still, they insist they didn’t sponsor the four-play series exclusively to develop vehicles for film and television. “We want theater in Los Angeles to thrive,” Patchett said. “We’re not going to turn down plays that we don’t see as potential sitcoms or movies. But if a play has that chance, we would, of course, be delighted.”

They have given Lauria complete creative control. He picks the plays, directors and actors. Only unproduced plays will be given consideration. He plans to use sets from other Patchett-Kaufman projects and even borrow a few from “Wonder Years.”

He enlists support from television colleagues such as Joanna Kerns (“Growing Pains”) and Ron Perlman (“Beauty and the Beast”), who read dozens of plays and offer their input. So far, just through word-of-mouth, 67 plays have been submitted since late December. Kearns, a good friend of Lauria’s, may direct one. Last year she directed “What Everywoman Knows” at the West Coast Ensemble Theater in Hollywood.

After “Old Friends,” which will probably run for about a month, Lauria has lined up “Self-Defense,” about a public defender, and is still deciding on the last two projects.

“Self-Defense,” written by Joe Cacaci of New Rochelle, N.Y., is an example of Lauria’s intent to discover writers from around the country. The four plays will run consecutively through the fall.

Lauria’s been addicted to theater since his college drama teacher heard him tell a joke on the football field and asked him to show up for an audition. He’s written, directed, acted and built sets. He has won several off-Broadway awards.

Frustrated, however, with Equity-waiver restrictions which kept him from larger roles in New York, Lauria moved to Hollywood in 1985. He wanted a television series and the security it provides. He got small parts in various television shows, including recurring appearances on “Cagney and Lacey,” and “Hooperman.” In February, 1988, “Wonder Years” made its debut.

Yet theater still assumes center stage. During a recent break from taping “Wonder Years,” Lauria studied lines in his dressing room. Television demands his time, not his respect.

“The art of television is not very demanding,” said Lauria. “I love this show, and it’s wonderfully written. But television is not acting. It’s a different art, the art of fitting the editing machine. We seldom ever create the show. In theater, it’s two hours and you create.”

Last year, with $15,000 of his own money, Lauria co-produced “A Bronx Tale,” and “What Every woman Knows” for small Los Angeles theaters. Both became hits. Lauria said Universal has offered to purchase the film rights to “A Bronx Tale” for $1.7 million, with Robert De Niro mentioned as the possible lead and director. Lauria isn’t sure what percentage of the sale he would receive.

Although “Old Friends” will be performed at a 99-seat house--the maximum for an Equity-waiver production--Zurla said the atmosphere more closely resembles an off-Broadway show, both for its quality and commitment.

“Dan’s concept is geared to the writer,” Zurla said. “Often in Equity-waiver shows you have to make the idea fit the actors, maybe some company where everyone is between 19 and 26. Here, we don’t have to do that. We don’t have any restrictions at all.”

Most Equity-waiver productions also can’t afford to pay talented actors. After all, why should an actor enjoying moderate success step backward and perform, with little financial reward and exposure, at a small theater? “You go to some auditions,” said Begonia Plaza, 26, the female lead in “Old Friends” who has had small roles in the films “Heartbreak Ridge” and “Maid to Order,” “and it’s really depressing. You’re thinking, ‘I don’t want to be in this.’ This is different. You have quality people, and you know you’ll be seen.”

Lauria will pay the actors $50 a week during rehearsals and $100 a week during the play’s run; under union guidelines, Equity-waiver producers aren’t required to pay salaries, and many don’t.

Kearns said the plays’ brief run and the exposure to industry heavyweights will allow busy actors to take a break from other commitments to help out the theater. Already, Lauria said, Anthony Dennison, formerly of NBC-TV’s “Crime Story,” and Perlman have shown interest in the productions.

“We’ll be able to get actors who are somewhat known,” Lauria said, “and others who are on their way.”

Altogether, Lauria figures the first play will cost $27,000, with anticipated ticket sales at about $7,000. Tickets will cost $15 each. Even if the play is well-attended, it likely won’t turn a profit. If there is any money left over from the $100,000, Lauria said, it will be paid to a playwright to write another story for Patchett-Kaufman.

So far, no other production companies have followed Patchett-Kaufman’s lead, but they are paying attention to see if the idea pays dividends.

“That has all kinds of possibilities,” said Paul Witt, of Witt-Thomas-Harris, which produces NBC-TV’s “Golden Girls” and “Empty Nest” on Saturdays. “It’s a fascinating idea. It could make us much more effective.”

Lauria is fully aware of the pressure to present productions that could be turned into films or television series. Otherwise, there may not be another $100,000 to play with next year.

“You bet I’m concerned,” Lauria said, “but all I can do is put on a good play. I think that every time someone gives me $100,000, I’ll have one play that will either become a movie or a premise for a sitcom, or at least we’ll get one writer or actor out of it that made it worthwhile.

“And, if I’m right, if I pick another winner like ‘The Bronx Tale,’ I got a feeling all the film companies are going to come to me and say, ‘How do I do this?’ I’ll say, ‘You see that little theater group over there? They do some good stuff. Give them $100,000 and take an option on their four plays.’ And eventually, we’ll have the film industry paying for the theater, which is the way it should be because anything that grows out of the theater makes a fortune for the film industry.”