Latest in Actors’ Equity Association

Actors' Equity Association has launched an emergency "Curtain Up Fund" and issued a grant to the Actors Fund to help get members who lost work because of the COVID-19 shutdown of legit theaters across the country to get back on their feet financially. The union is contributing $500,000 to start the fund and will match…

As the coronavirus knocks out regional theaters all across the country, Actors' Equity is making new streaming media agreements available to select regional producers to capture and make performances available online for one-time viewing to ticket-buyers in areas where there are limits on public gatherings. "These new…

Actors’ Equity, the union representing actors and stage managers, told members today that Broadway’s month-long shutdown is “uncharted territory,” and that discussions with employers about salary payments and employment contracts are ongoing. “With today’s news regarding theaters on Broadway and beyond going dark, we…

Actors’ Equity Association president Kate Shindle is calling on Congress and local governments to step up with economic relief for live-theater workers in the wake of a growing number localities placing limits on public gatherings because of the coronavirus. On Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee ordered a halt to…

Actors' Equity Association has reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League for a new contract, both sides say. "This agreement is a win for Equity members who will have stronger financial and workplace security and for the entire industry as we have ensured that theatre can continue to grow and prosper on…

Calling President Donald Trump’s proposed elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts “short-sighted at best,” Actors’ Equity Association has vowed to continue fighting what has become an annual Trump tradition. "For the third consecutive year, the Trump administration's budget has proposed the elimination of…

Update with League statement Actors' Equity Association and Broadway producers have reached what Equity is calling a “historic” agreement on a profit-sharing contract model for union members participating in early stage production development. With the agreement, Equity has removed the Broadway League, the producers…

An old Broadway tradition has a brand new name: The “Gypsy Robe,” part of an opening night ceremony dating back to 1950, will now be called the “Legacy Robe.” The name change, prompted by sensitivities to the term “gypsy,” was announced today by Actors’ Equity Association. Equity members chose the new name through a…

Refresh for latest… As organized labor was left reeling from today’s Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME that public service employees don’t have to pay union fees, Hollywood guilds planted a flag of defiance. In the high court’s second 5-4 decision along party lines in two days, following Monday’s upholding o…

Actors’ Equity thinks Broadway’s choruses and ensemble casts should be eligible for Tony Awards, and is now actively campaigning for just that. A petition on a new website called EveryoneOnStage.com is aiming for a chorus of support. The Equity Association’s campaign mission is to convince the Broadway League and the…

Actors’ Equity Association today named Come From Away, A Doll's House, Part 2 and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 as co-recipients of the union’s Extraordinary Excellence in Diversity on Broadway Award for the 2016-17 season. Chosen by Equity's National Equal Employment Opportunity Committee, the award…

Tyler Perry has union troubles. His stage play Madea On The Run is touring the country, but SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity are telling their members not to work on the show or face disciplinary action. In the play, Madea is in trouble with the authorities and on the run from the law. Members of Equity and SAG-AFTRA who…