Actors Equity

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Actors' Equity Association

The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union embracing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or through-storyline (vaudeville, cabarets, circuses) may be represented by AGVA. As of 2007, Equity represents over 45,000 theatre artists and stage managers.

History

At a meeting held at the Pabst Grand Circle Hotel in New York City, on May 26, 1913, Actor's Equity was founded by 112 professional theater actors, who established the association's constitution and elected Francis Wilson as president. Leading up to the establishment of the association, a handful of influential actors—known as The Players—held secret organizational meetings at Edwin Booth's old mansion on Gramercy Square.

Actors' Equity joined the American Federation of Labor in 1919, and called a strike seeking recognition of the association as a labor union. The strike ended the dominance of the Theatrical Syndicate, including theater owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner, Mark Klaw. The strike increased membership from under 3,000 to approximately 14,000. The Chorus Equity Association, which merged with Actors' Equity in 1955, was founded during the strike.

Equity represented directors and choreographers until 1959, when they broke away and formed their own union (see Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC)).

Causes

In the 1940s, Actors' Equity stood against segregation. When actors were losing jobs due to 1950s McCarthyism and the Hollywood blacklist, Actors' Equity Association refused to participate. Although its constitution guaranteed its members the right to refuse to work alongside Communists, or a member of a Communist front organization, Actors' Equity never banned any members. At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the blacklist, Richard Masur, then President of the Screen Actors Guild, apologized for the union's participation in the ban, noting: "Only our sister union, Actors Equity Association, had the courage to stand behind its members and help them continue their creative lives in the theater. For that, we honor Actors Equity tonight."

In the 1960s, Actors' Equity played a role in gaining public funding for the arts, including the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Actors' Equity fought the destruction of historic Broadway theaters. It played a major role in the recognition of the impact the AIDS epidemic was having on the stage.

Alien performer issue

In 1976, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) brought suit against Actors Equity charging the union practiced discrimination toward alien visitor performers. While American and Canadian members were charged their dues on a sliding scale, from $42 to a maximum of $400 annually, aliens were charged 5% of their gross wages as dues. Yul Brynner participated in the suit, successfully seeking the return of $45,000 he was required to pay during the first year's run of The King and I.

The union claimed the higher dues structure was necessary because (1) to limit the number of alien actors in the United States, (2) to prevent reprisals from British Equity, Britain's "friendly adversary" correlative of Actors' Equity, and (3) to counterbalance British Equity's power to exclude as many American actors as it wants by telling the British Labor Board whom it wants excluded. Finding no merit in Equity's claim the suit was time-barred, one of their defenses, the Administrative Law Judge ordered Equity to desist from imposing a discriminatory dues schedule and ordered repayment of all amounts collected after April 6, 1976 (six months before the complaint was filed in this case) in excess of what non-resident aliens would have paid if treated like residents or citizens. Evidence was presented showing that no other American performer union acted in this manner. The suit was brought to a close in 1981.

Exchange of actors between U.S. and U.K.

Under current rules, a producer who wants to bring a British actor to the United States must seek the approval of Actors' Equity, just as British Equity's approval is needed to bring an American actor to the United Kingdom. In theory the two unions try to balance the exchange, but over the years it has been charged the exchange provisions have been unevenly applied. Many feel the restrictions should be loosened or ended, while others claim the flow of talent across the Atlantic is mostly one way, from East to West. While established stars are normally admitted automatically under common visa exceptions, the problem arises with non-star talent.

Actors' Inequity

In 2008, Actors' Inequity, a spoof of the Actors' Equity website, was launched. The site offers an "Inequity Card" for performers to carry. In addition, Actors' Inequity offers free resources to non-union and non-paid actors—and to non-Equity theaters. Actors' Inequity was originally criticized for supporting "unpaid actors" until it defined them (in its "About Inequity" section) as developing actors and community players (those who volunteer their time to community theaters). Realizing that all actors must start somewhere, the theatre community has now embraced the organization. In February, 2008, they touted more than 200 members.