For theater-lovers in Minneapolis or St. Louis, touring productions of Broadway shows can be lifelines. But they are also lifelines for the many New York actors and stage managers who depend on their relatively high salaries and generous benefits, and for the New York producers who look to the road to reap profits or recoup their losses. Last month, the Actors' Equity Association mounted a campaign to fight the proliferation of non-Equity touring productions, which they see as a threat to the job security of their 45,000 union members and a strain on commercial theater's wage and benefit standards. The issue will come to a head in June, when Equity's $100 million production contract with the League of American Theatres and Producers is up for renewal.
According to Equity figures, 90 percent of all touring productions of Broadway-originated shows used union performers a decade ago, but this year only 60 percent of touring shows do so. Just five years ago, union actors worked 44,000 weeks on road, while last year they worked only 21,000 weeks. The union launched its "Fair Wages All Stages" campaign with a rally in Duffy Square focused on a non-union tour of Miss Saigon. At the rally, Equity members performed The Jobless Chronicles, a musical built around the stories of an actual unemployed steel worker, a restaurant worker from Windows on the World who remains out of work, and a fictionalized cast member who runs away from the Miss Saigon production.
Producers that belong to the league are not allowed to make non-union contracts, but many are finding ways to circumvent this rule. Flora Stamatiades, the union's national director of organizing and special projects, explains that the Broadway producer of Miss Saigon entered into a licensing agreement with a non-Equity producer, who was then free to hire non-union casts and crews for the tour. (League members declined to comment on this issue, citing their desire to focus on the forthcoming negotiations.)
In the past, hierarchies of size and quality governed the road; major cities like Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles would play host to the more elaborate Equity productions, mainly of recent Broadway hits, while smaller cities would present non-union shows, often well after they had opened on Broadway. In recent years, however, non-union tours have begun to compete with Equity productions in major markets.
What's more, audiences are now paying top-dollar for touring shows. While once road shows cost about 50 to 60 percent less than in New York, tickets out of town can now cost 80 percent or more of Broadway prices. "Non-union productions often charge ticket prices as high as Broadway, even though their expenses are half to two-thirds what Equity tours costs, with actors being paid a third to half less than Equity performers," Stamatiades says. "This allows producers to maximize profits."
But do audiences know, or care, whether they see a union or non-union production? Stamatiades argues that "the difference between an Equity actor and non-Equity is experience, rather than talent," but notes that it is misleading for producers to market their shows as "straight from Broadway" when, in fact, they could never have played on the Great White Way. She also notes that some productions have had trouble casting age-appropriate performers, since most actors who are well into their careers are union members. In 2001, reviewers dubbed the non-Equity touring Music Man "Music Boy" because of the lead, who was clearly younger than the part demands.
Like much of the entertainment industry, the Broadway landscape has been transformed by consolidation. Three production companies, Troika, NETworks, and Big League, have been filling more and more prime markets with non-union productions. When Disney got into commercial theater a decade ago, it began negotiating its own contracts for touring shows, and some observers say this convinced other producers to demand changes to the Equity contracts. And the radio giant Clear Channel has become the world's largest producer of live entertainment, owning or operating more than 100 venues in the U.S. and 35 abroad. "When a tour needs to play for 40 to 50 weeks, and the majority of market is dominated by one presenter," Stamatiades notes, "you can't have a successful tour without them."
To keep its members working, Equity has made some concessions to producers on a case-by-case basis. The union has signaled that it would be willing to negotiate in June, but they clearly won't accept any arrangement that sacrifices jobs. And, with a $16 million deficit in their health insurance plan, shoring up members' benefits will be a major issue. For their part, producers have said they have two choices: either not do Broadway tours at all, or go to unions and try to create a new model of production.
Last month, the Boston Globe reported that Boston's Wang Arts Center, a long-time presenter of touring shows, is suffering because of competition by the for-profit Broadway in Boston enterprise, which is run by Clear Channel under non-union contracts. Ironically, the Wang Center played host to the non-union production of Miss Saigon that provoked Equity's current " Fair Wages All Stages" campaign. In the future, it seems, independent producers and presenters may have to work with Equity just to keep afloat in a commercial theater landscape dominated by Clear Channel.
PROTECTIONS FOR NEW YORK'S TALENTED YOUTH
Last month, Governor Pataki signed the Child Performers Education and Trust Act, which passed in the state Senate and Assembly in June after lobbying by Actor's Equity Association, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Screen Actor's Guild. Modeled after California's Coogan law, the New York law codifies protections for young performing artists, television actors, and athletes by mandating that 15 percent of their earnings be placed in a trust fund until they reach 18. (California's law is named after Jackie Coogan, who starred at age 7 in Charlie Chaplin's The Kid and was one of the most highly paid film actors of his day. Coogan's parents successfully denied him access to his $4 million in earnings when he turned 18.) The law also requires that child performers have access to qualified educators for tutoring.
Martha Hostetter has written about the arts for the Village Voice, American Theater and Empire New York.
New York City Council Stated Meeting Report
Every two weeks the New York City Council meets for its Stated Meeting to introduce and pass legislation. As a regular feature, Searchlight covers these meetings and posts a summary of the bills passed.
STATED MEETING - December 3, 2003
Quote of the Day:
"Nothing threatens the quality of life on Staten Island more than the reckless, unplanned overdevelopment that we have experienced over the last 25 years." - Councilmember Andrew Lanza, voting in favor of a major overhaul of the zoning laws in Staten Island.
Meeting Summary:
On December 3, the New York City Council unanimously approved a major rezoning for nearly half of the residential neighborhoods in Staten Island. The plan aims to preserve the borough's "suburban neighborhood character" by slowing housing construction, limiting the number of apartment buildings that can be built, and protecting open space, yards, and trees.
The legislation was submitted by Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro and a task force appointed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to address issues of overdevelopment pushed the plan through the city's process in less than four months. (Read the full press release from the mayor's office.)
The population of Staten Island has increased 20 percent since 1990 and, with a growing demand for housing, officials say many single-family homes have been torn down and multiple unit apartment buildings have been put in their place.
"The rules that govern building... are outdated, antiquated, and ineffective," said Staten Island Councilmember James Oddo. "When you see these homes being torn down, you have to do something."
The zoning changes will affect 40 percent of the borough's residential neighborhoods. They also:
- Require space between buildings
- Mandate the size of the yard around a house
- Require that trees be planted in new developments
- Limit the height of additions built onto the top of houses
- Require adequate parking in the area
- And restrict the building of private roads.
The zoning changes passed by a vote of 48 to 0 and will take effect immediately.
Some council members from other neighborhoods, particularly Queens, are hoping that similar zoning reform will occur elsewhere in the city.
"This shows a commitment to preserve our neighborhoods and their characteristics," said Queens Councilmember Melinda Katz, who chairs the land use committee.
The next Stated Meeting is scheduled for December 11.
For an archive of past meetings and council votes, visit Gotham Gazette's Searchlight.
On a recent Friday, I stood, shivering, on the dimly-lit corner of 116th and Broadway trying to call my friend on my new Sprint cell phone. As if dialing numbers on the tiny keyboard with winter gloves was not enough of an inconvenience, I found that the Sprint network was unavailable and that my phone was in "roaming" mode - looking for another network to place the call.
I dialed the number, waited a few seconds, and just when I thought that my friend's phone was ringing, I got a message from Verizon - was that James Earl Jones? -- saying that their network could not identify my phone. So, there I was, on my way to a party, but stuck in one of the city's many "dead zones".
One week later, I finally got around to reporting the problem on a short survey remembering Mayor Michael Bloomberg's announcement that the city is using the 311 non-emergency number and the nyc.gov Web site to collect and map information about these "dead spots."
In New York, mobility is not just a luxury, it is a way of life. And, many New Yorkers have come to rely on using cell phones to manage their lives, sometimes even canceling their land-lines in favor of their mobile.
By 2005, more time will be spent on cell phones than on land lines in New York according to data from Senator Chuck Schumer. This is true even when considering the large number of calls made in New York City, the world's biggest telecommunications market. In the next three years, the number of minutes of cell phone calls made in New York State is projected to increase 37 percent (66.7 billion to 106.2 billion) while the number of minutes of land line calls is projected to decrease 8.4 percent (106.2 billion to 98.0 billion).
Thus, poor reception quality and lack of cell phone coverage, is not merely an inconvenience, it is also a matter of public safety. Increasingly 911 phone calls are being placed on cell phones. According to Commissioner Gino Menchini, of the Department of Information, Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT), "in certain circumstances, cell phone dead zones create a hazardous condition for New Yorkers. We hope the cell carriers will use this information to improve the quality of their service for the good of their customers and the city."
KEEPING YOUR PHONE NUMBER
The city plans to make the results of its cell phone survey public on nyc.gov on the same day that a new federal policy (PDF file) goes into effect in the nation's top 100 metropolitan areas that allows consumers to switch wireless providers without having to give up their phone number.
In the past, many cell phone customers have been dissuaded from switching providers because they consider their phone number to be part of their mobile identity. Freelancers, consultants and small business owners rely on having a number where they can be reached anytime in order to keep in-touch with their clients.
In addition, the Federal Communications Commission ruling allows customers to change their home wire-line phone number into a cell phone number. According to The New York Times, industry analysts estimate that three percent to seven percent of telephone users in the United States - or 4.5 million to 10.5 million people - no longer have traditional land-lines and rely on cellphone services exclusively.
However, given the telecommunications failures of 9/11 and Blackout 2003, New Yorkers might want to think twice about taking their home number with them, at least until more reliable emergency communications have been implemented.
The city is also trying to make sure that wireless providers follow their own best practices, which were announced in September. Some of these include allowing for a 14-day trial period for new service and making service maps available at stores and on company Web sites.
Mayor Bloomberg's initiative shows support for this new federal policy and sends a positive signal to the wireless providers that serve New York City. The city can help providers improve their service but, in the end, if customers aren't satisfied, they can always switch providers.
For years, wireless providers have been lobbying in Washington to prevent the implementation of this law which was part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This is because customers already switch cell phone providers more often than they change companies in other types of services. This is called the "churn rate".
The new federal policy however, comes with a few caveats. Wireless carriers may charge customers a fee to move their phone number to another carrier. Getting a new phone also means having to re-enter hundreds of names and numbers into the address book of their new phones.
Since companies use different technologies, it is likely that customers will have to replace their phones. For example, an AT&T phone will not work on a Sprint network, and a Sprint phone won't work on a T-mobile network. Thus, many more cell phones will be dumped at landfills where they will be "leaking toxic metals and chemicals into the ground" according to the Associated Press. About 100 million cell phones are thrown out each year in the United States.
On November 19, Senator Chuck Schumer warned New Yorkers not to sign new long-term contracts with their cell phone providers because they won't be able to take advantage of better deals which will be offered after November 24th. Many companies including AT&T, Cingular and Sprint have been pushing to enroll customers before the new policy goes into effect. The new policy will promote competition among carriers which will lead to lower prices and incentives for companies to improve their coverage.
The Federal Communications Commission expects six million of the 150 million cell phone subscribers nationwide to switch providers within the first seven days of the new policy. But, only 42 percent of wireless customers nationwide know about the new policy according to telecom consultancy The Management Network Group as reported by The Washington Post. Thus, the city's efforts to make this information more easily accessible to the public should be applauded.
I don't know about you, but after my experience standing in the cold in a "dead zone" on Broadway, I'm certainly going to re-evaluate my cell phone provider once the new federal policy goes into effect.
Laura Forlano is a doctoral student studying communication technology policy at Columbia University.