Equity in the News Backstage

Stage actors will be getting raises and producers will be allowed to make their shows available for online streaming, according to a new performance agreement approved by Actors’ Equity Association and the Off-Broadway League.

Theater actors will now have an easier time becoming a member of Actors’ Equity Association: The union has announced that it will now open membership to any actor or stage manager who has worked professionally in the United States.

On Thursday afternoon, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9-trillion stimulus package aimed at helping workers and companies that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Theater is coming back! Sort of.

Lin-Manuel Miranda should be proud. According to Actors’ Equity Association, “Hamilton” has led to a sizable increase in jobs for actors of color.

Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA have reached an agreement over which union can cover the contracts for recorded or streamed theater.

The two biggest unions that represent actors are currently fighting. The conflict concerns who should handle the contracts for theater productions that are recorded for streaming. Actors’ Equity Association has accused SAG-AFTRA of taking theater productions that it would normally cover with its contracts.

Broadway theaters will remain closed through May 30, 2021 and possibly beyond, the Broadway League announced Oct. 9. The news, an inevitability that does not make it sting less, adds four months to the previously announced January reopening aim. All Broadway shows have been suspended since March of this year.

After almost six months of nationwide shutdowns because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Actors’ Equity Association is allowing three theater companies to mount indoor shows using union members.

The COVID pandemic has hit many industries hard, but theater artists have had more trouble than most getting back on their feet, and many are facing dwindling options with no federal safety net to fall back on.