What does 'professional' theater really mean?

Here are some facts about professional, Equity and union theater, courtesy of Observer theater writer Julie York Coppens. This is to clarify some of the comments on my previous post, which make some factually murky statements. And it's all relating to the now-shriveling efforts by Steven Beauchem to try to find community support for a regional, professional theater to replace the defunct Charlotte Rep.

There are several pro theaters in the Carolinas -- all more successful than Trustus, which one commenter mentioned: The most obvious are Flat Rock Playhouse, Playmakers Rep in Chapel Hill, Blowing Rock Stage Co. and Triad Stage in Greensboro.

The union/non-union question is worth addressing, Coppens says. When people say "professional regional theater," they mean (among other things) a company affiliated with Actor's Equity, i.e., most of the talent and crew are union and so earn what might be called living wages.

The pro companies listed above live at various points of a sliding scale Equity has devised to allow smaller and emerging professional theaters, which have lower potential box-office income, to hire fewer union members and to pay those at a lower rate than the larger, more established houses do. Thus, all are professional/union, but only Flat Rock (as far as Coppens knows) is fully so -- though even Flat Rock relies on a lesser paid army of "apprentice" laborers and chorus members who are working toward Equity status.

Charlotte's two remaining professional theaters (Actor's Theatre and Children's Theatre) provide occasional work for Equity members under Guest Artist contracts, but not at a pay level or of a consistency for someone to live and work here long-term. That's why so many of our best artists have left town. Steven Beauchem was trying to establish an Equity-affiliated company, which you really can't do for less than a quarter-million. Presumably most of the talent, especially at first, would be jobbed in from NY or Chicago.

Charlotte's fringe theaters (like BareBones) call themselves professional. Is it professional if the actors are making $100 for four weeks of work? But "professional" also refers to a company's orientation, its artistic ambitions, its emphasis on product over participation. Says Coppens, "I know some amateur/community theaters that show more professionalism, in the way they work and in the product they put on stage, than a lot of fringe theaters do. The old lines are blurring."

The Observer plans more coverage of the Rep-replacement issue in coming days.