<p>I would imagine that the Regional Venue is making that move to save money, too. “Local talent” is a nice word, but what is local to that theater? Is it New York/LA/Chicago? Is it Atlanta/Cleveland/New Orleans? Is it Portland/Boston? </p>
<p>I ask this in all seriousness, and I don’t mean it condescendingly - I mean it honestly, because I know a few in here are/have. How many of you have worked professionally as an actor/theatre practitioner? </p>
<p>As far as the argument about how easy/difficult it is to join Actors Equity - I realize there is no convincing many of you. The problem with CC is that many of you represent the Top 1% of young people in the field. If you can get into Michigan, CCM, CMU, etc - you will probably get many opportunities right out of Under Grad. </p>
<p>My issue is that there are many young students on here who won’t have those same opportunities and the road to Equity is TOUGH. This thread vilifies, in many ways, those young actors for “scabbing” and taking touring opportunities. </p>
<p>And vocal, I agree with your post - it is technically sound. However, what it lacks is the difficulty in gaining an Equity contract - heck, even being seen at an EPA or ECC is incredibly difficult. You most likely need to have an agent appointment to be seen as a Non-Eq, and you might only get seen for 5% of what an AEA member can be seen for at open calls.</p>
<p>EMC is a great way to go, but 50 points is a ton. (I would guess that even the most talented actors who don’t gain employment with a rep company spend at least two years accumulating them.) </p>
<p>I say this as someone who spent a few years as EMC, and a few years with AEA before dropping because my career path changed. I am also a member of SDC, so I am by no means Anti-Union.</p>