81 stories by "Peter Finlayson"
Footlights has received this letter from the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Actor’s Equity. It is their response to the announcements Equity made on June 28th, 2016 regarding its en…
This letter is in response to the statement made by Actors’ Equity concerning the 99-Seat Plan on June 28, 2016: My Dear AEA Councilors: Yes, I have indeed "become aware" of all of the…
FootLights is proud to be the premiere print magazine for theatre in Los Angeles. We serve more theatres and provide more information about theatre than anyone. While that has always been ou…
Do you hear the faint sound of trumpets blaring an announcement of something about to happen? Do you feel the tremor of excitement as a whirlwind of activity is beginning to transform Hollyw…
For ten years, FootLights has been trumpeting the merits of Los Angeles Intimate Theatre. Innovative work, intimate, powerful, the vision of the new American Theatre….and the value of thea…
Th direction of American theatre is changing. Not just hip-hop, but actor created productions, that share profits with the participants. As reported in American Theatre NEW YORK CITY:Â The…
The intimate theatre community is a community of artists. We believe artists should be paid. We share that common goal with Equity. We also believe Equity's attempt to radically alter intima…
I just spent about a year of researching 99-Seat productions that moved to contracts. And here's what I found (with help from the Los Angeles Theater Community): At least 127 productions tha…
"And the other is that " and I think this is one of the things that guided the Council " the idea that a mid-sized theater could open at this point, or even a smallish theater, could open at…
We thank Dakin Matthews, Steven Leigh Morris and many others for their eloquent, considered responses to Kate Shindle's recent statements during her interview on The Producer's Perspective. …
Actors' Equity Association, the labor union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States, is getting ready for its annual elections. Out of fifty thousand members, the hope…
February is Black History Month, an organized effort to recognize, accept and validate the African American Experience in Western Culture. It's complicated. It's about pride, it's about hist…
The hope of building theatre centers seems one step closer today, as the West Hollywood City Council has earmarked funds to take buy the Coast Playhouse on Santa Monica Blvd. For the full st…
Do you want to start an impassioned discussion? Get a range of opinions you didn't even know existed? Mention the word, "Diversity."  Boom, there it is.  The word that is fraug…
The City of Angeles is the land of the motored commute. And so it’s not surprising that many in Los Angeles are accustomed to the radio sound of the Steve Julian, the Morning Editi…
Sheldon Epps has been the Artistic Director of the Pasadena Playhouse since 1997. He came to that position with a great many credits, including being the Assistant AD at the Old Globe, the f…
We are days away from the end of 2015 and "What a ride it's been!" This year the greater Los Angeles Theatre Community discovered it was more than just the sum of its parts. We came to reali…
When a new baby is born, everybody gushes and compliments and speaks of the promise of youth. In most cases for the next 25-30 years, the only people that usually continue with that optimist…
FootLights is now ten years old. It started as a dream. The dream was to create a publication that would serve Los Angeles the way Playbill serves New York. A simple idea, hell, how hard cou…
The 2015 Ovation Awards was an impressive event. More than 1100 from the LA Theatre Community showed up to celebrate the accomplishments of our artists over the past year. Just as important …
A page has turned in the volumes referring to the LA stage community. The Los Angeles Stage Alliance (LASA) has announced Steven Leigh Morris as its new Executive Director. Well known both l…
I've been enjoying all the great things in the media about the show "Hamilton" on Broadway (and love the soundtrack). It seems to be a pretty special show. But I'd also like to tell you why …
by William Salyers If Britain had defeated its colonies in the war for American Independence, we’d all be speaking English today. More soberly, the word "patriot" would have a very dif…
Often in this space we talk about theatre as a community, and as a part of a community. But actually, theatre is more. In a very real and substantive way it is a part of the foundation of co…
The standoff between Actors' Equity Association (AEA) and its members moves on without any sign of shifting positions. The word from AEA is that they will not consider any changes to the pla…
