Theatre performers look for audience backing for pay rises

Following the collapse of negotiations between the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the peak body representing commercial and independent promoters and producers, Live Performance Australia (LPA) for a new performers collective agreement, theatre patrons are to be urged to contact producers to help performers secure a real wage increase, protections against workplace fatigue and stability of employment.

With more than a year of negotiations having failed to reach agreement, the MEAA is calling on the hundreds of thousands of Australians who attend the theatre each year to back performers in campaign that will see performers handing flyers to theatre audiences at major productions in capital cities around Australia.

The action will begin this Thursday outside Beauty and the Beast, which is currently on stage at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney.

MEAA members began negotiations for a new Performers Collective Agreement, the framework for pay and working conditions in theatre, in 2022.

Agreement has been reached on most claims, but the MEAA says LPA is refusing to talk any longer.

MEAA Equity Director, Michelle Rae advised today “the Australian performers audiences love seeing on stage are struggling to make ends meet.

"Many had to live off their meagre savings during the COVID pandemic when they were unable to work but also weren't eligible for JobKeeper. Now, like all Australians, they are feeling the burden of the cost of living crisis.

"We have been negotiating with Live Performance Australia for more than 12 months and although we've made some progress, negotiations have reached a stalemate.

"So now performers are calling on audiences to back their demands for a real wage increase of about $34 a week for an ensemble cast member on a major musical.

"Producers need to hear from audiences that they support performers getting a fair deal."

In addition to a real wage rise, performers are also asking for limits on the number of times they perform in nine shows per week back-to-back, in addition to the many hours they spend in rehearsal and preparation time each week.

MEAA claims that as shows are so physically demanding this leads to injury and illness putting performers, and the show, at risk.

Performers also want some continuity of employment and job security while touring by restricting the number of multiple separate contracts that can be used for the same production.

Many productions are requiring multiple contracts for the one show with the time between contracts unpaid but the performer is still required to maintain their show ready performance levels, choreography and scripts on their own.

MEAA state that it can be very difficult for performers to secure work during the dates in between the contracts/cities as dictated by the tour schedule.

MEAA Equity Federal President Jason Klarwein said performers had been inspired to go public by the success of the screen actors strike in the United States.

Advising that the public action by performers was aimed at drawing attention from audiences to their situation, Klarwein claimed “70% of professional Australian performers earn less than $29,000 per year (and) most spend many months per year without any performance work at all. Many are leaving the industry as result of the low pay and insecure work.

"How can Australian musical theatre thrive without the best of the best?"