'Pro99' Actors' Equity Members Send Open Letter to AEA President
Members of the 'Pro99' movement of Actors' Equity Association have issued an open letter to AEA's newly elected president, Kate Shindle, in response to her victory and to her inaugural address as president of the national union for actors and stage managers. The open letter is signed by over 400 Equity members (listed below), including such notable names as Ed Asner, Francis Fisher, Sally Kirkland and Alfred Molina. The 'Pro99' movement formed in late 2014 in opposition to AEA's rollout of a new plan that will effectively force 'intimate theaters' in Los Angeles to pay Equity actors minimum wage, go 'non-union' or even close - despite an overwhelming vote against the plan by 66% of the Los Angeles membership on an advisory referendum. 'Pro99' members around the nation, who take their name from the current AEA '99 Seat Plan' that allows members to volunteer in smaller venues, oppose AEA's new promulgated plan. They are requesting that Equity leadership put a moratorium on the plan until local members' voices can be heard, and that the union work with its members to develop an alternative plan that will more realistically address the needs of the Los Angeles theater community.
Photo Flash: French Stewart, Daisy Eagan, Frances Fisher and More at Pro-99 Rally in NoHo
Impassioned members of Actors' Equity Association in Los Angeles have raised funds from within their own ranks to follow up yesterday's North Hollywood rally with a full-page ad in Wednesday's Los Angeles Times to urge a 'No' vote on the upcoming AEA advisory referendum to eliminate L.A.'s 99-Seat Theater Plan. Scroll down for photos from the Pro-99 Rally, held yesterday, March 23!
Fountain Theatre's THE NORMAL HEART Hosts Post-Show Student Talkback Tonight
Tonight, Oct. 17, immediately following the 8 p.m. performance of The Normal Heart at The Fountain Theatre, guest speakers Timothy Kordic, Project Manager of the LAUSD HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit, and Nancy Ramos, Positively Speaking Facilitator, will host a special talkback with high school students and audience members about the reality of AIDS in 2013 and living with/preventing the disease. Director Simon Levy will moderate the discussion.
Fountain Theatre's THE NORMAL HEART to Host Post-Show Student Talkback, 10/17
This Thursday, Oct. 17, immediately following the 8 p.m. performance of The Normal Heart at The Fountain Theatre, guest speakers Timothy Kordic, Project Manager of the LAUSD HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit, and Nancy Ramos, Positively Speaking Facilitator, will host a special talkback with high school students and audience members about the reality of AIDS in 2013 and living with/preventing the disease. Director Simon Levy will moderate the discussion.
Photo Flash: First Look at Tim Cummings Bill Brochtrup and More in Fountain Theatre's THE NORMAL HEART
Fueled by love, anger, hope and pride, a circle of friends struggles to contain a mysterious disease ravaging New York's gay community. Simon Levy directs the exclusive Los Angeles revival of Larry Kramer's groundbreaking drama about public and private indifference to the onset of the AIDS crisis, and one man's fight to awaken the world to its urgency. The Normal Heart opens Sept. 21 at the Fountain Theatre. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!