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".
Equity, formerly officially titled the British Actors' Equity Association, is the trade union for the performing arts and entertainment industries in the United Kingdom.
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording artists, promo and voice-over announcers and other performers in commercials, stunt persons and specialty acts—as the organization itself publicly stated, "AFTRA's membership includes an array of talent". On March 30, 2012, the members of AFTRA and of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voted to merge and form SAG-AFTRA.
A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line was vogue during the first half of the 20th century, modern theatre uses the terms "ensemble" and "chorus" to indicate all supporting players in a stage production.
Abraham Lincoln Erlanger was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theater owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate.
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these talents endeared her to audiences. On stage, she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who lived happily ever after. She died suddenly from complications of nasal surgery at age 37.
The term "Ziegfeld Girl" is used broadly to describe the "singers, showgirls, comediennes, [and] dancers" who appeared in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.'s theatrical Broadway revue spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies.
Doris Eaton Travis was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, owner and manager, writer, and rancher, who was the last surviving Ziegfeld Girl, a troupe of acclaimed chorus girls who performed as members in the Broadway theatrical revues of the Ziegfeld Follies.
The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses, dancers, and models whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Virginia Bruce, Claire Dodd, Paulette Goddard, Betty Grable, Virginia Grey, June Kirby, Joi Lansing, Barbara Pepper, Marjorie Reynolds, Pat Sheehan, Gail Sheridan, Ann Sothern, Larri Thomas, Tyra Vaughn, Toby Wing, Vonne Lester, and Jane Wyman.
Pearl Eaton Levant was an American Broadway performer, actress, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.
Blanche Ring was an American singer and actress in Broadway theatre productions, musicals, and Hollywood motion pictures. She was best known for her rendition of "In the Good Old Summer Time."
Hubert Edward Hassard Short, usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer in musical theatre who directed over 50 Broadway and West End shows between 1920 and 1953. Theatre historian Ken Bloom called him "one of Broadway's greatest directors and lighting designers", while theatre writer John Kenrick described him as a "groundbreaking director and choreographer".
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.
John Lionel Golden was an American actor, songwriter, author, and theatrical producer. As a songwriter, he is best-known as lyricist for "Poor Butterfly" (1916). He produced many Broadway shows and four films.
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 Earl Carroll Vanities was a Broadway revue presented by Earl Carroll in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial.
The Ziegfeld Follies of 1919 was a revue produced by Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Billed as the thirteenth edition of the Ziegfeld Follies series, it had a tryout at Nixon's Apollo Theatre in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on June 10, 1919 and opened at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre on June 16, 1919 and closed on December 6, 1919. It is often considered to be the best and most successful of the Follies series produced by Ziegfeld.
In musical theatre, the ensemble or chorus are the on-stage performers other than the featured players. Ensemble members typically do not play named characters and have few or no spoken lines or solo parts; rather, they sing and dance in unison. An ensemble member may play multiple roles through the course of a show.
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.
