Proposition Reopens Saturday; Albert to Hire Former Actors

The Board of Directors of the Proposition Workshop Inc. announced yesterday that the Proposition will reopen with a new cast at its theater in Inman Square this weekend.

In a news conference held yesterday at the theater, Allan Albert, artistic director of the improvisational theater group, said the new smaller cast will be made up of four or five former Proposition actors as well as new actors and actresses. They will work for $125 a week and may be hired as "independent contractors," Albert said.

The Proposition has been closed for four weeks because of a strike by its nine actors and four musicians. The strike ended Friday night when the employees announced the end of their association with the Proposition.

Albert and the actors agreed that the basic reason for the final split was the animosity built up on both sides during the strike.

The actors felt that too much energy would have been taken up with forcing Albert to "adhere" to the terms of their contract, Steven Warnick, a former Proposition actor, said yesterday. "A contract is no better than the people who sign it," Warnick said.

Albert said he felt it would have been difficult for him and the actors to work together again and that the would have resigned even if the actors had accepted a new contract.

The actors hope to stay together as an ensemble, but as of yesterday, they had no solid offers of employment, Warnick said. He said the actors are searching for a director to assist them in creating a new act.

The act will probably contain some improvisation, but the format is not yet established, Warnick said, adding that it would be useless to create a "carbon copy" of the Proposition.

Warnick said the actors have no intention of interfering with the Proposition's plans to reopen. He also said they do not resent the "veterans" for returning since the strike is over.