Dana Ivey and David Furr

The AEA Foundation's St. Claire Bayfield Award is presented to David Furr, honoring his performance as Orlando in Shakespeare's As You Like It at the Delacorte Theatre. Students from his alma mater, Appalachia State University, observe the presentation by Equity Councillor Dana Ivey.

Getting to know you: Equity Members in South Florida meet with President Nick Wyman at the Plaza Theatre in Manalapan. Topics on agenda include upcoming negotiations, healthcare and a recent stagehands strike at the Kravis Center.

Council overwhelmingly ratifies a new four-year SET (Short Engagement Touring) Agreement, with significant salary and per diem increases. Since 2008, 30 tours have used the SET Agreement, generating 20,700 work weeks - jobs that would otherwise be non-union. ED Mary McColl, who served as Chief Negotiator, says: "Because of SETA, audiences nationwide benefit by seeing Equity productions that employ our members."

Equity members in Atlanta raise a record-breaking $27,000 for Open Hand, the nation's largest community-based provider of home-delivered meals and nutrition services.

Equity Members Raise $27K
Photo courtesy of Equity News

Equity has lost two past members of Council: Conrad Bain on January 14 and Paul Ainsley on January 19.

Not only is The Phantom of the Opera celebrating its 25th anniversary on Broadway tonight, but it is actually the first Broadway show ever to do so!

The Theater Hall of Fame at New York's Gershwin Theatre celebrates its new inductees today, including Equity Members Betty Buckley and Sam Waterston, playwrights Christopher Durang and Paula Vogel, directors Andre Bishop and Michael Kahn and, posthumously, costume designer Martin Pakledinaz

Accessibility is alive on Broadway! Disney's The Lion King and Newsies have entered into an alliance with The Broadway Accessibility/ Audience Expansion Initiative, a partnership between Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts and G- PASS, a service company utilizing technology from Sound Associates Inc. to create I-Caption for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons and D-Scriptive, for blind and low-vision patrons.

Wheelock Family Theatre, Oliver! Jane Staab as Fagin
photo by Gary Ng

Speaking of accessibility, the Wheelock Family Theatre has been recognized for years for its commitment to accessible, multi-cultural, and multi-generational productions for families (they won Equity's Rosetta LeNoire Award in 2000). This month, the theatre's co-founder and co-artistic director, Jane Staab, is taking on the role of Fagin in their production of Oliver!, a role made famous by such male actors as Ron Moody, Clive Revill and Rowan Atkinson.

Whew! That was close! As the year begins, Congress approves a last minute budget deal to avoid the so-called Fiscal Cliff!

VITA, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for Equity members, opens its doors for its 37th season at 5 am. Actors line up in the wee hours to get free tax assistance, including Amy Fortgang (Connor) who has used VITA for 26 years - "I've been with VITA through two marriages, a divorce, raising three child dependents, several career shifts and a $60K game show win - and VITA always gets it right"

San Diego members celebrate both Black History and Women's History months with a single event today: An Afternoon with Lydia Diamond. A performance of Diamond's adaptation of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye followed by AEA sponsored reception. Ms. Diamond's appearance is sponsored by the Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company, which produced her play Stickfly in 2011

George Ives, a member of Equity Council who served as Western Regional Director and Assistant Executive Secretary from 1990-1997, dies in Los Angeles

Bravo! Equity receives an honorary Column Award at the Dallas/Fort Worth Theatre Metroplex. Western Regional Director Mary Lou Westerfield accepts the award and a Proclamation from Texas State Senator Wendy Davis.

Actor's Equity receives an historic National Charter from the AFL-CIO at the Federation's Executive Council meeting in Lake Buena Vista, FL. AEA 1st VP Paige Price and Executive Director Mary McColl accept the charter from AFL President Richard Trumka, which gives Equity a stronger association in the labor community and strengthens Equity's position in the entertainment industry. Price says: "Receiving the charter on the threshold of our Centennial renews our commitment to working on behalf of our members and all Americans to create a workplace where there is fairness and dignity for everyone."

(L-R) AFL-CIO Secretary Elizabeth Shuler, AEA E.D. Mary McColl and1st VP Paige Price, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and VP Arlene Holt-Baker.

Pope Benedict XVI announces he will resign, making him the first Pope in nearly 600 years to not die in office.

A meteor explodes over the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, injuring 1,491 people and damaging over 4,300 buildings. It is the most powerful meteor to strike Earth's atmosphere in over a century.

The Equity Foundation's Joe A. Callaway Awards for best performance in a classic play goes to two actors who appeared in the same production: Merritt Wever and Michael Shannon, in Soho Rep's Uncle Vanya.

Meritt Wever and Michael Shannon, Uncle Vanya
Photo courtesy of Soho Rep

The Eastern Region Equal Employment Opportunity Committee celebrates Women's History Month with "Opening Up Possibilities for Women Through Cross-Gender Casting": an evening featuring scenes demonstrating a variety of ways to create more opportunities for women in Shakespearean productions and beyond by utilizing non-traditional casting via cross-gender and gender-neutral casting. Joanne Zipay, Artistic Director of the Judith Shakespeare Company, leads the event. Additional directors presenting work are Rebecca Patterson, Artistic Director of The Queen's Company, and Emily Davis, Artistic Director of Messenger Theatre Company. The coordinator is Equity member Gael Schaefer.

After just two days in conclave, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina is elected the 266th pope, taking the name Francis. He is the first Jesuit pope, the first pope from the Americas, and the first pope from the Southern Hemisphere.

Everything old is new again: Broadway sees revivals of beloved musicals this season: that ever-optimistic Annie returns for her 35th anniversary, and Stephen Schwartz’s Pippin returns for the first time in nearly 40 years!