THEATER NOTES : Actors Back Existing 99-Seat Plan

Members of Actors’ Equity recently voted to reverse two earlier moves that would have radically changed the union’s 99-Seat Theater Plan.

Meeting Jan. 19, members voted 62 to 12 to return at least temporarily to the former rules governing what happens when productions on the 99-Seat Plan “convert” to a contract after the 80 performances allowed under the plan. And they voted 50 to 1 (after attrition had depleted the ranks) to scuttle an attempt to reduce the number of allowed performances from 80 to 24.

Votes at membership meetings are not the final word; they are recommendations to the union’s Western Regional Board, which will meet Thursday. Last fall, based on votes from the October membership meeting, the board instituted a more rigorous “conversion” contract for 99-Seat Plan productions that pass the 80-performance point. The board also had referred to a committee the October recommendation to lower the number of performances allowed on the plan.

The turnaround in the voting from October to January reflected a campaign mounted after the October meeting, which was attended by only 55 members out of more than 8,000 in the union’s Western region. At the Jan. 19 meeting, 102 attended.

Holly Hunter, the Oscar-winning actress who was a co-founder of the reconstituted Met Theatre, was among those who spoke against the October proposals at the Jan. 19 meeting. She and others made the point that many of the sub-100-seat theaters in L.A. are membership companies, run by actors who are producing themselves--as opposed to the standard management-labor model.

Later, Hunter told The Times that the 99-Seat Plan “is like the independent film community in that it allows us to take risks because there is less money involved. That difference should be reflected in how the rules are structured.”

Interact Theatre co-founder James Harper offered figures about how the new “conversion” contract would have affected last year’s mostly sold-out run of Interact’s acclaimed production of “Counsellor-at-Law.” Under the 99-Seat Plan, that show’s total weekly payments to actors ranged from $375 to $600 (depending on the gross), then rose--under the former “conversion” rules--to $1,275. If the new contract had been in effect, weekly actor payments would have risen to $4,600, Harper said. Yet with $20 tickets in a 56-seat house, the thrice-weekly production was able to gross only $3,360 a week--which also had to cover rent and other expenses besides actors’ fees.

Harper told the meeting that any drop in the number of performances allowed on the 99-Seat Plan should take into account the terms of the conversion contract “so that a requirement to convert [from the plan to a contract] is not in essence an order to close.”

After the meeting, however, actor Ira Denmark--who had spoken in defense of the October proposals--denied that closing is the only option under the current conversion contract. He said many successful productions could increase the number of weekly performances “and the extra revenue could help alleviate the stress of the contract.” He pointed out that many sub-100-seat productions are not at membership companies. “There are many different types of venues with different agendas.”

“Artists like Holly Hunter have been blessed with success,” said Denmark, who plans to run for a slot on the Western Regional Board. Actor payments in sub-100-seat theaters “may seem like small potatoes to them, but to some of us it’s not.” He hasn’t worked in the sub-100-seat arena in years, he said, because of unrewarding experiences in the past.

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A MET RALLY: Speaking of Holly Hunter, she will join Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Bill Pullman, Alfre Woodard and James Gammon to read Beth Henley’s new “L-Play” Saturday and next Sunday at the Met Theatre, in a benefit for the Met.

Yet underneath the glamorous names, the reading is a do-or-die event for the east Hollywood company, said the theater’s co-manager Darcy Lee; if the two evenings don’t raise $25,000, the theater may close. With tickets priced at $100 (including a reception) and only 99 available at each performance, that means that more than $5,000 must be raised from donations above and beyond the ticket price.

The Met company was reconstituted five years ago with a “creative but frail” (in Hunter’s words) support structure: 18 “founding members”--including Harris, Hunter, Woodard, Gammon and Henley--contributed at least $3,500 to be able to do their own theater projects at the Met, scheduling permitting. However, while many members continue to “whip out their checkbooks” on an ad hoc basis, Lee said, no annual contributions were required.

Some members became too busy in their screen careers to maintain an active involvement. Some moved out of town--former Met sparkplug Darrell Larson now lives in New York, and Gammon--the only surviving member who was among the founders of the company in its first incarnation in 1973--now lives in Florida.

Meanwhile, the red ink has risen. Members now realize that “it’s time to get out of crisis management into more of an exploratory mode,” Hunter said. With the money raised at the readings, the company plans to hire someone to seek grants--something the Met has never previously done.

Lee said she realizes grant money is drying up. “Isn’t that crazy?” she said. “This person we hire is going to be sweating. But we can’t think of any other way unless an angel drops from the sky.”

Information: (213) 957-1152.

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JUNE 30: Born on June 30? Cornerstone Theater, which was born on that date in 1986, would like you to participate in its 10th anniversary project. Call 1-(800) 459-1116.*