Los Angeles Outsider, Isaac Butler, Offers Some Outsider Analysis of the AEA 99 Seat Proposals by Colin Mitchell

Yes, I used “outsider” twice, cuz this come from a person who is clearly not that familiar with the ecology of Los Angeles Theater – and it shows – but Isaac Butler i…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 7:05pm on March 1, 2015☆⚑

Some of Los Angeles' Intimate Theater "Celebs" Come out Against the AEA Proposals by Colin Mitchell

It’s a veritable cavalcade of celebrities in support of LA’s 99 Seat Theater scene:

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 6:21pm on March 1, 2015☆⚑

John Flynn Responds to AEA Councillor Gregory North: "We want change " just not this change" by Colin Mitchell

Things remain heated over at Bigcheap and John Flynn, acting as a rep for the original plaintiffs in the Settlement Agreement, decided it was time to respond in an open letter to AEA Western…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 1:13pm on March 1, 2015☆⚑

Critique of the Week by Colin Mitchell

Some more good stuff from A-Burn, including some deserved criticism for a company still coming into its own, as well as some well-deserved praise for a company on the cusp of greatness. THE …

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 10:00am on March 1, 2015☆⚑

Long May He Prosper: Leonard Nimoy: 1931-2015: RIP by Colin Mitchell

In honor of the passing of Leonard Nimoy, who will forever be remembered as Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, I give you his rendition of “Bilbo Baggins” Rest in peace, sir. And thank…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:20pm on February 27, 2015☆⚑

99 to HAT: A Possible RoadMap for Gradual Growth in Los Angeles Theater by Colin Mitchell

Frankly, this what Equity should have done. But it seems clear that what they want to do first is get rid of the 99 Seat Plan. After that, it appears, they may be wiling to compromise and pe…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:04pm on February 27, 2015☆⚑

LA Times Puts Some Numbers to Names in the 99 Seat Debate by Colin Mitchell

Yes, the latest reporting from LA Times reporter Mike Boehm is clearly LA-centric – as it should be considering this is after all the LA Times and this is after all EXCLUSIVELY A LO…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 2:29pm on February 27, 2015☆⚑

The Friday Feature by Colin Mitchell

Saw this show The Temptation of St. Antony by Four Larks, last week and while it has some problems – details I’ll get into in another post – it is well worth checking out, …

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 2:11pm on February 27, 2015☆⚑

99 Seat Thoughts from the Fringes of the Los Angeles Blogosphere by Colin Mitchell

We’ve highlighted many stories from the big boys like American Theatre and Backstage and the LA Times and the LADCC and TPLLA and The Hollywood Reporter and Playbill (Playbill?),…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 1:53pm on February 27, 2015☆⚑

American Theatre Magazine Gives "Long Overdue Props" to the "Indispensable" Bitter Lemons by Colin Mitchell

That’s right, mofos, about freaking time! Of course that’s not all they do in their latest Offscript podcast called The Tiers and Tears Edition over at the American Theatre site,…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 6:31pm on February 26, 2015☆⚑

Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle on the 99 Seat Debate: "We foresee what could be the virtual demise of Los Angeles as a leading incubator of plays by Colin Mitchell

And this appears to be the money quote right here from the statement: The Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle urges all stakeholders in the cultural, civic and economic health of the region to …

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:11am on February 26, 2015☆⚑

Just a National AEA Councillor and a Los Angeles AEA Member Having a Friendly Conversation… by Colin Mitchell

I was guided to this exchange on Facebook by an interested party who understood the incendiary nature of it and why it would appeal to us at Bitter Lemons and to the people that read Bitt…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:26am on February 25, 2015☆⚑

The 2013-2014 AEA Members' Median Annual Earnings:: $7,463 by Colin Mitchell

Hey, it’s up $363 from last year’s tally! For the last few years I’ve been reporting these findings from Equity’s end-of-year financial summaries, gotten a little beh…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 1:59pm on February 24, 2015☆⚑

The East Coast/West Coast Coverage of the 99 Seat Debate by Colin Mitchell

Recently there have been articles from Backstage, the LA Times, American Theater Magazine and now Playbill and The Hollywood Reporter on the 99 Seat Debate, and there definitely seems to be …

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 1:34pm on February 24, 2015☆⚑

Critique of the Week (on a Monday) by Colin Mitchell

Been busy lately, but got a chance to read this humdinger from J-Beers. Dude is writing some of the best theater criticism in SoCal at the moment. This show sounds pretty good too. Here&#…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 10:21pm on February 23, 2015☆⚑

A Statement from the Theatrical Producers League of Los Angeles (TPLLA) by Colin Mitchell

This from the TPLLA/intimate site in response to the town hall that took place on Saturday: The Theatrical Producers League of Los Angeles/Intimate (TPLLA/Intimate) does not support the prom…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 9:29pm on February 23, 2015☆⚑

Independent Shakespeare Company's, David Melville, Offers a Somewhat Contrarian View by Colin Mitchell

This from David Melville today… I think AEA’s proposal is pretty hardline but at the end of the day I can see why they want to make these changes. The three tier approach will al…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:43pm on February 23, 2015☆⚑

Some Highlights from the TPLLA Town Hall by Colin Mitchell

This is going to be a very piecemeal post as I’m getting ready to hustle out to the membership meeting, but did want to highlight a few things from the Saturday town hall sponsored by …

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:37pm on February 23, 2015☆⚑

LA Times Reports on the TPLLA Town Hall: "A substantial force within the union was mobilizing against a pay hike" by Colin Mitchell

Again, not great reporting in my book from Mike Boehm at the LA Times, but hey, this needs to be continuously in the public’s eye, so ultimately it’s good that the Times at least…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 2:58pm on February 23, 2015☆⚑

Travis Michael Holder: "Some of the finest film and TV actors are people I've worked with or seen appearing for peanuts or free in some tiny 99-se by Colin Mitchell

Travis Michael Holder upchucks a free associative Beat poem in response to Equity’s proposals: Oh, Equity, how incredibly deluded you are. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone who act…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:19am on February 22, 2015☆⚑

For the Sake of Our Los Angeles Theater Community and All Its AEA Members " By Andrew J. Perez by Colin Mitchell

Once again in the spirit of allowing all voices to be heard, we here at Bitter Lemons have another opinion to offer into the mix. This from Los Angeles AEA member, Andrew Perez, who was guid…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 1:12pm on February 21, 2015☆⚑

LA Times' Charles McNulty Chimes in on the 99 Seat Debate: "Intelligent compromise strikes me as a wiser strategy than either militantly defending by Colin Mitchell

And pretty much lands on the fence. Though his thoughts are well met: I believe that all artists should be compensated for their work. An economic model must be arrived at that can pay actor…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 6:22pm on February 20, 2015☆⚑

So While I was in NYC Last Week Seeing Some Theatre I Decided to Track Down AEA President Nick Wyman… by Colin Mitchell

…and failed. To track down Nick Wyman, president of Actors’ Equity Association. Not in seeing some theater. I saw a bunch of shows (Hedwig!). Which I will get to in a moment, but…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 4:52pm on February 20, 2015☆⚑

Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA's Winterfest Reading Series Opens This Weekend (and I've got some shizzle in the dizzle) by Colin Mitchell

Translation: a cool EST/LA festival of staged readings of new works is opening this weekend over at the Atwater Village Theatre and I have a trio of new one acts that are included. I am actu…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 3:06pm on February 20, 2015☆⚑

Hollywood Fringe Festival Brand Design Contest is Again Open for Business by Colin Mitchell

This is always a very cool offering from the Fringey folk. Basically, it’s a contest for artists to design the brand logo and cover of the Fringe guides for the next Fringe Festi…

SOURCE: Bitter Lemons at 2:44pm on February 20, 2015☆⚑