On July 12, 38 Guild members and thirteen of their guests were treated to a matinee of the brilliantly funny Buyer and Cellar at the Mark Taper Forum followed by a Conversation with Jonathan Tolins, who was every bit as delightful and insightful as his play.

It was a busy Saturday. Earlier that day, fifteen Guild writers had convened with nine songwriters and the amazing Michael Kerker of ASCAP for a Songwriter/Bookwriter Exchange.

This was our second event of its nature – think speed dating for potential collaborators on new musicals – and proved to be an even bigger success than its first. Business cards and email addresses were flying, and there were several potential team-ups reported.

It should be noted (and trumpeted) that our first Exchange yielded the collaboration of Guild playwright Duane Poole and the composer/lyricist team of Brendan Milburn and Valerie Vigoda. This “marriage” led to the creation of Beautiful Poison, which was recently presented at the NAMT Festival of New Musicals in New York.

Poole was back for the second Exchange, hoping lightning would strike twice. “A wonderful collection of writers, composers and lyricists. I’m happy to have made a couple of solid connections. And to think Brendan, Valerie and I might never have met if not for the DG/ASCAP workshop a couple years ago.”

On a completely different note, I want to alert SoCal playwrights – especially self-producing playwrights – to recent events that may drastically change the landscape of the LA theatre scene.

If it sounds a little cryptic, that’s inherent to the plot. In mid-August, I received an email invitation for coffee from a prominent LA theatre colleague who I respect and trust. The message simply said “Need to chat with you about something.” No details. A follow-up phone call yielded little more information, other than key members of the LA theatre community were being brought together to discuss something big.”

So I showed up at the coffee shop where I was sworn to secrecy (no blood oath, thankfully) and presented a sizable document to read. I was told that I could make notes on it, but I could not keep the document. Very Mission: Impossible.

In a nutshell, this is what I learned. There have been some grumblings about the pay scale on the 99-Seat Theatre Level (which – for readers outside of Los Angeles – is where the majority of work is being produced here).

These are valid grumblings, I might add. Because the beauty – and tragedy – of the current model is that it draws from a pool of extraordinary talent: directors, actors, designers, technicians. Award-winning work is being created on shoestring budgets.

But the artists can’t pay their rent. And it was reported that some have spoken with attorneys and the California Labor Board about taking action, because the pay is not even approaching the minimum wage.

To be clear, no one is getting rich. Artistic directors of small theatres rarely take salaries, and stipends have actually increased for designers in many theatres. But the economics of small theatre in Los Angeles – only so many seats with a cap on ticket prices – make it nearly impossible for theatres to be profitable.

But rather than react, some key theatre leaders are taking the initiative to effect change. And they were wise enough to address community members not as a feverish mob, but in small groups of four or five, where ideas could be exchanged and opinions presented in a calm and professional manner.

This is my takeaway: like it or not, pending litigation could force the 99-Seat theatre system to change. Ideally, it will evolve rather than crumble. Smart, concerned people are diligently working on new idea, carefully crafting a plan that provides for different levels of productions. This plan may even potentially enable the more successful small theatres to gradually develop into larger, sustainable companies.

As playwrights, this will not impact us monetarily so much as it will affect the number of opportunities to develop new work and have it produced. The incarnation that I read had an interesting proviso for play development workshop productions that excited me.

Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to discuss specifics until the movement goes public. By the time you read this, an announcement will most likely have been made. I encourage you to look to media outlets like Howlround.com for more timely information.

This regional report will self-destruct in five seconds…

ldharris@dramatistsguild.com