Equity in the News

“Many of them can’t afford the tax hike,” said Sandra Karas, secretary/treasurer on the national council of Actors’ Equity Association, a labor union that represents 51,000 American theater actors and stage managers. “They don’t know what to do with these expenses that they have, that they must spend, to continue their careers.”

The Broadway League and Actors’ Equity Association have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the two groups announced Monday. 

Actors’ Equity Association has reached a tentative agreement with the Broadway League for a new contract, both sides say.

Christine Toy Johnson, chair of Equity’s National EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) Committee, recognizes the phenomenon of some producers and directors treating diversity as a box-ticking exercise, although she likes to think it may lead to more diverse casting. “If we get into the room both physically and philosophically, the teams of writers and directors and everyone else have to be open to seeing us and giving fair consideration to us.”

According to the Actors’ Equity 2018 Regional Theatre Report, which measured work weeks in cities other than the entertainment meccas of NYC, Chicago, and L.A., there’s work to be had outside of the major markets. Below we profile half a dozen AEA members who are making a living, and a life, in their resident metropolises.

There’s no question that the entertainment industry is one of our most vital economic engines, creating and retaining jobs, not just in Los Angeles and New York, but also in small- and medium-sized cities across the country such as Sarasota and Pasadena who treasure their theaters and art scenes. Protecting performing artists and their families from undue financial burden is a bipartisan cause.

Actors' Equity Association has announced the 2019 Tony-winning musical Hadestown as winner of the 13th annual Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus. Presented by Equity's Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs, the award is the only industry accolade of its kind to honor the distinctive talents and contributions made by the original chorus members of a Broadway musical.

Earlier this tax season, the secretary and treasurer of Actors’ Equity, Sandra Karas submitted testimony on the Performing Arts Parity Act’s impacts to the House Ways and Means Committee (which, since the 2018 midterms, is now chaired by a Democrat). She also serves on the New York board of SAG-AFTRA, which has 160,000 members nationwide. Karas represented both unions in her testimony.

SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity are hoping that a bill introduced in Congress will fix that by updating the Qualified Performing Artist deduction that was signed into law by President Reagan. The bipartisan bill, known as the Performing Artist Tax Parity Act, was introduced by House members Judy Chu (D-CA) and Vern Buchanan (R-FL).

Inspired in part by a Herald-Tribune series “The Work of Art,” U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and Judy Chu, D-California, introduced legislation Wednesday to update a tax deduction that would help a great majority of American actors and performing artists.