The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or through-storyline may be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). The AEA works to negotiate quality living conditions, livable wages, and benefits for performers and stage managers. A theater or production that is not produced and performed by AEA members may be called "non-Equity".
Stage management is a broad field that is generally defined as the practice of organization and coordination of an event or theatrical production. Stage management may encompass a variety of activities including overseeing of the rehearsal process and coordinating communications among various production teams and personnel. Stage management requires a general understanding of all aspects of production and provides complete organization to ensure the process runs smoothly and efficiently.
United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829, formerly known as United Scenic Artists of America (USAA), is an American labor union. It is a nationwide autonomous Local of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. It organizes designers, artists, and craftspeople in the entertainment and decorative arts industries. The organization was part of International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades, however it reaffiliated with IATSE in 1999. United Scenic Artists was organized to protect craft standards, working conditions and wages for the entertainment and decorative arts industries.
The Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), established in 1919, is the federation of trade unions for performing artists in the United States.
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian trade union representing performers in English-language media. It has over 30,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media. The organization negotiates, safeguards, and promotes the professional rights of its members. It also works to increase work opportunities for its members and lobbies for policy changes at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.
An Equity card is proof of membership in the Actors' Equity Association of the United States or Equity in the United Kingdom.
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) is a trade union representing professional writers working in film, television, radio, and digital media production in Canada. Members of the WGC write dramatic TV series, feature films, Movies of the Week, documentaries, animation, comedy and variety series, children's and educational programming, radio drama, as well as corporate videos and digital media productions. The organization administers the annual WGC Screenwriting Awards.
Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as for aesthetic values. Productions may take place in venues ranging from the open air, community centres, or schools to independent or major professional theatres.
The Canadian Comedy Awards (CCA) is an annual ceremony that awards the Beaver for achievements in Canadian comedy in live performance, radio, film, television, and Internet media. The awards were founded and produced by Tim Progosh in 2000.
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and concert dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of over 6,000 artists, AGMA provides forceful advocacy and defense of its members' employment and artistic rights. AGMA negotiates and enforces over 65 collective bargaining agreements throughout the country, ensuring fair and safe working conditions and enhancing the quality of life of its members. AGMA has a direct charter from the AFL–CIO and is affiliated with the AFL–CIO Branch of Associated Actors and Artists of America and the Department for Professional Employees (DPE). AGMA is also a part of the Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds (COBUG).
John Juliani was a Canadian actor, writer, producer, director and educator. His career spanned four decades in a number of different media, including radio and film. In addition to his artistic contributions, Juliani was a strong advocate of Canadian theatre and the arts. He is the father of actor Alessandro Juliani.
The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), formerly known as Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC), is an independent national labor union established in 1959, representing theatrical directors and choreographers working on Broadway, National Tours, Off-Broadway, and in various resident, regional, and stock theatres throughout the United States.
The Alhambra Theatre & Dining in Jacksonville, Florida, is the oldest continuously-running professional dinner theater in the United States, and the only professional resident theatre in Northeast Florida.
Alison Smyth is a Canadian actress, singer, and educator. She trained in classical vocal performance at The Glenn Gould School in Toronto. She is a performing artist and member of ACTRA and the Canadian Actors' Equity Association (CAEA). In January 2016, Smyth launched her own performing arts studio: Alison Smyth Performing Arts. The studio provides in-person and virtual personal coaching and group workshops in acting, singing, directing, and mentoring. Smyth became a certified yoga teacher in 2014 through the Downward Dog Yoga Centre in Toronto.
Scott Bellis is a Vancouver-based Canadian actor, director and theatre instructor. He has been working out of Vancouver since 1987. He was appointed as President of Canadian Actors' Equity Association in November 2017, having served as Councillor since 2012.
The 1919 Actors' Equity Association strike officially spanned from August 7, 1919, to September 6, 1919. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the theatre industry was revolutionized by powerful management groups that monopolized and centralized the industry. These groups created harsh working conditions for the actors. On May 26, 1913, actors decided to unionize, and they formed the Actors' Equity Association. After many failed attempts to negotiate with the producers and managers for fair treatment and a standard contract, Equity declared a strike against the Producing Managers' Association on August 7, 1919. During the strike, the actors walked out of theaters, held parades in the streets, and performed benefit shows. Equity received support from the theatrical community, the public, and the American Federation of Labor, and on September 6, 1919, the actors won the strike. The producers signed a contract with the AEA that contained nearly all of Equity's demands. The strike was important because it expanded the definition of labor and altered perceptions about what types of careers could organize. The strike also encouraged other groups within the theatre industry to organize.
The Producing Managers' Association (PMA) was a coalition of theatrical managers established on April 23, 1919. Formed in an effort to reduce conflicts between producers and theater managers and share common interests, it became the main vehicle for negotiation with the Actors' Equity Association (Equity) and Actors' Fidelity League (Fidelity) during the 1919 actors' strike.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the performing arts, mirroring its impacts across all arts sectors. Due to physical distancing requirements and closure of the physical venues, curtailing not only public performances but also rehearsals, many performing arts institutions attempted to adapt by offering new digital services. In particular this resulted in the free online streaming of previously recorded performances of many companies – especially orchestral performances and plays – lists of which were collated by journalists as well as bespoke crowdsourcing projects.
Arden R. Ryshpan is a Canadian Casting director, and actress, working in French and English in a variety of capacities.
The Actors' Fidelity League (Fidelity) was a short-lived unaffiliated American craft union representing actors who worked in live theatrical performances. It split off from Actors' Equity Association (Equity) in August 1919 when the parent organization affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and adopted strike tactics. Fidelity approved of collective bargaining but objected to breaking contracts once signed. A few of its members objected to trade unionism itself in the belief that they were artists rather than craftsmen. Though not a company union in the traditional sense, there was some merit in Equity accusations that the League was too close to the producers.
