Founded in 1912, following the dissolution of the Actors' Society of America, it had its constitution and bylaws formalized in 1913 with Francis Wilson elected as its first president. In 1910 the Actors' Society president Thomas Wise had remarked, “The motto of the Actors' Society is ‘equity.’ It is their desire to establish an equitable contract, equitable for the actor and equitable for the management.” The need for “equity” arose from the gross abuse of performers by much callous management. Actors often had been stranded far from home, had been forced to rehearse for weeks without pay, and frequently had been given little other consideration. The growth of the Theatrical Syndicate, or Trust, had only aggravated matters. Making but small headway, the actors struck in August 1919, closing virtually all Broadway shows. Performers held a number of benefits to draw financial support, and the public, looking on the actors as friends and aware of the indignities they had suffered, responded wholeheartedly. George M. Cohan, himself a beloved performer, and the Producing Managers' Association organized a rival organization, the Actors' Fidelity Association, enlisting many distinguished, more established performers into their camp. But numbers told, so Equity prevailed. With the coming of the New Deal and its support of organized labor, Equity sometimes grew brazen and destructive. For example, its refusal to allow Eva Le Gallienne and her Civic Repertory to offer Sunday performances probably doomed that fine group. Always sensitive to foreign (read British) actors taking jobs away from American performers, Equity refused to allow Jonathan Pryce to re‐create his London performance in Miss Saigon (1991) on Broadway until producer Cameron Mackintosh threatened to cancel the entire production. In recent years the minimums and bonds demanded by this and other unions have been a factor in stifling production, shrinking the road, and forcing musicals to perform in auditoriums that are really too large for live performances, although the avarice of producers has played no small part in this last absurdity.
Actors' Equity Association
| American Theater Guide: Actors' Equity Association |
| Wikipedia: Actors' Equity Association |
| Founded | 1913 |
|---|---|
| Members | 48,000 stage actors and stage managers |
| Country | United States |
| Affiliation | AFL-CIO |
| Key people | Mark Zimmerman, President |
| Office location | New York, NY, Hollywood, CA, Orlando, FL, Chicago, IL |
| Website | actorsequity.org |
Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or "Equity"), founded in 1913, is the labor union that represents more than 48,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans, for its members. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.
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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.[1] 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.[1] 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: Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC)).
Causes
In the 1940s, Actors' Equity stood against segregation.[1] 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."[2]
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).[1]
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. Actors' Equity is the only union in the United States that boasts an unemployment rate of 90% at any given time.[1]
See also
- American Federation of Television and Radio Artists
- American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA)
- Stage Managers' Association
- Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
- Clarence Derwent Awards
- Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
- Paul Robeson Award
- St. Clair Bayfield Award
- Screen Actors Guild - for film rather than theater
- British Actors Equity Association
- Canadian Actors' Equity Association
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Actors' Equity Association. "Actors' Equity: A 90 Year Celebration". http://www.actorsequity.org/NewsMedia/misc/celebration/index. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
- ^ Greg Krizman, webpage: "Hollywood Remembers the Blacklist", Screen Actor, January 1998 (special edition).
External links
- Actors' Equity Website
- Actors' Inequity Website supporting non-union and non-paid actors (originally a parody, now a resource)
- Actors Organizing History - Timeline
- NLRB v. Actors Equity
- Actor's Equity Timeline
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
 | Karmyn Tyler (Vocal Music Artist, 2000s) |
| Frederick O'Neal (Actor, Drama/Romance) |
| Blanche Yurka (American theater) |
 | Is it true you have to be part of the Actors Equity Association to get cast on Broadway? |
| What are the roles of associates in a equity firm? |
| What is capital equity in a civil association? |
Copyrights:
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 | American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Actors' Equity Association". Read more |
- What does the actors equity association do?
- Why are stage managers part of the Actor's Equity Association?
Mentioned in
- Karmyn Tyler (Vocal Music Artist, 2000s)
- Frederick O'Neal (Actor, Drama/Romance)
- Blanche Yurka (American theater)
- Ellen Burstyn (Actor)
- Death and the Maiden (play)
- Blacklisting (American history)
- Ezra Pound (literature)
- Mercedes Ellington
- Jessica (R.) Harper (children's author/illustrator)
- Joe A. Callaway Award
- Philip Loeb Humanitarian Award
- Chorus Equity Association
- Sybil Thorndike
- Rosetta LeNoire
