Equity in the News

There’s no cheek-to-cheek dance or whispering of sweet nothings between Belle and the Beast in a new show attraction that’s the latest Walt Disney World production revamped for a park without actors.

The move to replace BEAUTY AND THE BEAST with a show that features performers not represented by Actors' Equity has sparked backlash.

Walt Disney World on Sunday repurposed another stage to present a show that does not feature performers represented by the Actors’ Equity Association. The theme-park company and the performers union are locked in a battle over how to safely return actors to work.

The Performing Arts have enjoyed a summer home in The Berkshires throughout the last century. In late February 2020 schedules and plans for the hundreds of performances that would take place on dozens of stages across the region were announced.

Walt Disney World and the Actors’ Equity Association have been butting heads about the reopening of the theme parks. Disney previously said that they would love to reopen stage shows, but the Actors’ Equity Association has been pushing back.

Actors’ Equity Association is calling the pending expiration of federal pandemic unemployment benefits “inexcusable” and says Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “dithers” as theater workers “stare down an uncertain future.”

Actors' Equity Asks 'How Much Longer Will Senator McConnell Wait to Bring up the HEROES Act for a Vote?'

Up characters Russell and Dug the dog are out — and so are the Actors’ Equity members who played them — in a revamped version of a bird-show attraction at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom.

Dr. David Michaels, former head of OSHA during the Obama Administration, is working with Equity to establish safe and sanitary procedures for theatrical work during COVID-19. These guidelines are all built on four core principals required to ensure the health of our members as well as everyone else who works at or attends theatre during this time. In this video from Actors’ Equity, Dr. Michaels explains what each of these principals mean.

As Broadway artists buckle down for an extended period of unemployment, many arts workers around the country prepare for the same bumpy road. Just last month, the Broadway League announced that Broadway will remain closed through at least the rest of the year, meaning that performers, musicians, craftsmen, designers and more will remain out of work. That trend doesn't end in New York City.