[NEohioPAL]Professional?

Tue Feb 14 14:33:20 PST 2006

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Dear Dustin,

I recently started a post asking why there weren't more equity contracts,  
and mentioned that there seemed to be fewer than in past years. I was wrong. I  
still wish we had more contracts, but Cleveland's getting there with a lot  of 
hard work from the area theatres.

As I've said in the past, especially in my last couple postings, lack of  
Union membership does not mean that an actor is not professional. And a theatre  
that doesn't currently hire equity members can still be considered a  
professional venue. 

There are two schools of thought that I see in Equity. One: That  all people 
who are paid are professional, just not all unionized. Two:  That only equity 
members are professional, and all others are amateur. I follow  the first 
school of thought, and suggest you broaden your thinking and realize  that not 
everyone has to join the union to be a professional. This kind of  elitism (word 
of the day) is what gives equity a bad name.

I worked very hard to get my card at the Barn Theatre, in Michigan. It was  
basically slave labor for two summers of my life, 14 hour days mowing lawns,  
re-circuiting the entire electrical system every two weeks for a new show,  
rehearsing two and performing two shows at any given time while music directing  
a cabaret. The people I worked with who chose not to get their  cards worked 
just as hard as I did, and several of them are on national tours,  including 
the international tour of Rent, Tokyo Disney, and the nat'l tour of  42nd 
Street. They are paid professional non-union actors. And the companies that  use 
them are professional businesses. 

Adam Kern  

Adam  Kern
AEA
_www.adam-kern.com_ (http://www.adam-kern.com/) 

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<DIV>Dear Dustin,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I recently started a post asking why there weren't more equity contract=
s,=20
and mentioned that there seemed to be fewer than in past years. I was wrong.=
 I=20
still wish we had more contracts, but Cleveland's getting there with a =
lot=20
of hard work from the area theatres.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As I've said in the past, especially in my last couple postings, lack o=
f=20
Union membership does not mean that an actor is not professional. And a thea=
tre=20
that doesn't currently hire equity members can still be considered a=20
professional venue. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>There are two schools of thought that I see in Equity. One: That=20
all people who are paid are professional, just not all unionized. =
Two:=20
That only equity members are professional, and all others are amateur. I fol=
low=20
the first school of thought, and suggest you broaden your thinking and reali=
ze=20
that not everyone has to join the union to be a professional. This kind of=20
elitism (word of the day) is what gives equity a bad name.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I worked very hard to get my card at the Barn Theatre, in Michigan. It=20=
was=20
basically slave labor for two summers of my life, 14 hour days mowing lawns,=
=20
re-circuiting the entire electrical system every two weeks for a new show,=20
rehearsing two and performing two shows at any given time while music direct=
ing=20
a cabaret. The people I worked with <STRONG>who chose not</STRONG> to get th=
eir=20
cards worked just as hard as I did, and several of them are on national tour=
s,=20
including the international tour of Rent, Tokyo Disney, and the nat'l tour o=
f=20
42nd Street. They are paid professional non-union actors. And the companies=20=
that=20
use them are professional businesses. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Adam Kern=20
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=3D0 face=3DArial size=3D2 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF" PTSIZE=3D"10"=
><B>Adam=20
Kern<BR>AEA<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.adam-kern.com/">www.adam-kern.com</A></B></FONT></DIV></D=
IV></FONT></BODY></HTML>

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