Actors Without Pay

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32011, 11 June 1969, Page 16

Actors Without Pay

Hayes Gordon, principal of the musical, “Fiddler on the roof,” which will open at the Theatre Royal on Friday, makes no secret of the fact that he is a moonlighter.

His real job and first love is the small Ensemble Theatre Group which he founded in Sydney 10 years ago. It plays to a tiny audience (capacity 162) seven nights a week throughout the year. The only trouble is that the permanent actors get no pay“So they have to make a living doing other work, such as television parts,” said Mr Gordon yesterday. “That’s what I’m doing at the moment in this show.”

He wants to bring the Ensemble Theatre to New Zealand—both as a means of broadening its horizons and as a way of widening its circuit. If a tour could be extended to take in New Zealand cities as well as the Australian state capitals, it would be more attractive to the best actors, Mr Gordon said.

Unlike the permanent company and students, outside professionals did draw a salary—at least the Actors Equity minimum. But if they also had offers of parts in television productions or other work they would have to weigh it up, and a New Zealand tour could make al) the difference. Mr Gordon said the Ensemble Theatre Group had given many actors, dramatists and producers their first ot their most conspicuous stage opportunities. Sunday nights were often used for trials—-one-night performances of new plays or the work of new producers. “We expose them to professional theatre-goers and to professional actors,” he said. “If the ’work clicks we give it a season.” He said the only reason the Ensemble Theatre kept going was that “we’ve got a bunch of fools working there for nothing.” The group received only a minute grant from the Arts Council, and its future looked precarious unless some other benefactor could be found. Mr Gordon is shown with his miniature “spy” camera. The American actor was non-committal about any connection with the CXA-, and claimed that he was trying to change the image of the conspicuous American tourist into that of a surreptitious American tourist