With an eye toward surviving in this down economy—which has hit the state of Michigan harder than most—eight Equity theatre companies around the state have come together to form the Michigan Equity Theatre Alliance (META). The group will share branding and marketing, technical elements and know how, and, perhaps, even bargain collectively for Equity contracts.

“There are probably 20, 30 or 40 projects that we could collaborate on,” said Carla Milarch, executive director of Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor.

Right now, the group is using a $15,000 grant from the Cultural Alliance of Southeast Michigan (CASM) and the Michigan Non-Profit Association (MNPA) to hire a research firm to do focus groups on branding and how people currently see theatre.

“We’re going to test some of our assumptions through this research,” said Lynn Simon of the CASM.

They’re also putting together their financials, mining their data “to make our point that theatre does have an impact, and Equity theatre specifically has an impact” on the Michigan economy, said Milarch. She estimates that Equity theatres contribute $30 million a year.

When some of this research is done, META will apply for a larger grant to implement some of the branding and marketing ideas.

But that’s only one part of the process. In addition to marketing and audience development, META will also focus on collective bargaining with vendors as well as Actors’ Equity. It will look at sharing spaces and facilities. Milarch, who is leading the group in lieu of a paid executive director, is currently putting together an online catalogue of META theatre’s sets and costumes.

“We’re looking at it being a staffed organization that is a networking group, a brain trust and a collaborative partnership between the seven groups,” said Milarch.

They are also benchmarking other theatre and cultural alliances, including the National New Play Network, of which Performance Network is a member.

META is just one of many arts groups the Cultural Alliance of Southeast Michigan is putting together. “The whole purpose of this project is to find multiple artistic alliances in southeast Michigan,” said Milarch.

The theatres participating in META right now are: Performance Networks, Purple Rose Theatre, Detroit Repertory Theatre, Tipping Point Theatre, Plowshares Theatre, The Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Meadow Brook Theatre and Williamston Theatre. All are Midwest Equity theatres that negotiate with Chicago’s Equity office.