Equity’s national council is scheduled to decide on Tuesday whether to require the theaters to start paying union actors the minimum wage. As the debate has raged, Equity has suggested it might carve out exceptions for some theaters; some actors have come up with compromise proposals, suggesting that wage requirements should be tiered, depending on a theater’s budget.

Gail Gabler, Equity’s Western regional director, said the union decided to act in response to complaints from members who were tired of working without compensation. She said the small theaters were “crowding out most other theater in L.A.” and had become a problem for actors who aspire to earn a full-time living from stage work in the region.

The union points out that there are small theaters in other parts of the country that pay union actors more than a stipend. And, the union says, even in Los Angeles some of the small theaters pay musicians, publicists, box office workers — just not actors.

Armina LaManna, an actor and director who spent years working in 99-seat theaters, said she was shocked when she relocated briefly to Philadelphia, where, she said, actors in small theaters were paid. “If Communism didn’t destroy theater, how is a minimum wage going to decimate theater?” asked Ms. LaManna, who was born in the Soviet Union.

The actors who oppose the union’s efforts say that Equity misunderstands what is happening nationally and locally. They argue that in many other cities, small theaters are dying out, and that Los Angeles has a large and innovative scene unlike other cities; they also say that, although a handful of small theaters have large budgets, most struggle to stay afloat and find audiences.

“This is the craft, and if I can’t practice my craft, I’m going to be less creative,” said Jimmi Simpson, an actor who earns his living in film and television, but spent the last several weeks portraying a chimpanzee in a $34,000 Circle X Theater Co. production of “Trevor.” The much-praised production, in which Mr. Simpson co-starred with Laurie Metcalf, an Emmy-winning TV actress, ran for seven weeks. Mr. Simpson and Ms. Metcalf were paid $800 each for the entire run, which they donated back.

“I do television and film so I can take months off and contribute to culture,” Mr. Simpson said. “If this goes through, I will be doing plays in my friends’ living rooms.”