Alan is absolutely right - although you shouldn't be surprised by the offer of a 'non - Equity' contract; they are rife these days throughout the industry.
It may be that the company concerned are rankly ready to abuse actors' rights, or, if you wish to be more charitable, that they are a company full of good ideas who lack any decent funding.
In the latter case, they may still be decent people to work for (as opposed to sharks who are out to make as much profit as they can for themselves whilst allowing you to live in poverty) - but basic problems of susbistence etc. will still apply. Sometimes, a company feels the need to be upfront about the notion that they cannot pay actors up to Equity standard, because they realise that it is damaging to the cast members involved, and they must give a prior warning.
The basic truth, as Alan has said, is that you need to research the company concerned and their set-up carefully, if you are considering taking a role with them. Often, when a company is not paying equity rate, there are expected 'trade - offs', for instance, that you will be offered all - inclusive accomodation, meals or expenses even if the wage is irregular but you are having to travel, or, at the very least, that, in a profit share, you will be allowed time off to work at another job in order to support yourself. If these kinds of agreements are not in place, the 'contract' is definitely not worth taking on, as it will leave you seriously out of pocket.
If they are offering a formal written contract, then you can certainly get Equity to read it through for you, and detect any loopholes contained in it (they won't offer you a contract, until you have been cast in the production, of course).
