Steven,
Your story implies that the Fountain was inaccurate or insincere in its position that Equity’s forced instatement of the new 99-Seat Contract would have significant financial impact on the Fountain and our fellow theatres. Not true. It has. If I had been asked to contribute to your story, I would have shared that the Fountain’s budget has ballooned since 2016. The Fountain may “produce at a similar pace as before,” but it does so at a tremendous cost. This is a financial burden we were forced to undertake because our vision was clear. The Fountain Theatre would survive. The Fountain would not become a non-union theatre. We did not take our difficult position lightly then and our stance remains the same today, no matter the hardship. For the Fountain, the impact of the new 99-Seat Contract isn’t seen only under a microscope but a wide angle lens.
Stephen, I interviewed Simon Levy for input fro the Fountain Theatre. He affirmed the hardship that the Contract has created (the need to double down on underwriting). I don’t believe for one minute that when, a couple of years ago, he presented evidence of the crushing impact the new Contract would have, that he or the Fountain were being insincere. He’s a straight-shooter, and he was speaking the truth based on information available at that time. Hardship or no, the current outcome nonetheless affirms the Union’s larger point, which was my point — not the character or motives of the theater(s).
Bravo
Steven,
Your story implies that the Fountain was inaccurate or insincere in its position that Equity’s forced instatement of the new 99-Seat Contract would have significant financial impact on the Fountain and our fellow theatres. Not true. It has. If I had been asked to contribute to your story, I would have shared that the Fountain’s budget has ballooned since 2016. The Fountain may “produce at a similar pace as before,” but it does so at a tremendous cost. This is a financial burden we were forced to undertake because our vision was clear. The Fountain Theatre would survive. The Fountain would not become a non-union theatre. We did not take our difficult position lightly then and our stance remains the same today, no matter the hardship. For the Fountain, the impact of the new 99-Seat Contract isn’t seen only under a microscope but a wide angle lens.
Stephen, I interviewed Simon Levy for input fro the Fountain Theatre. He affirmed the hardship that the Contract has created (the need to double down on underwriting). I don’t believe for one minute that when, a couple of years ago, he presented evidence of the crushing impact the new Contract would have, that he or the Fountain were being insincere. He’s a straight-shooter, and he was speaking the truth based on information available at that time. Hardship or no, the current outcome nonetheless affirms the Union’s larger point, which was my point — not the character or motives of the theater(s).
Well written. Food for thought.