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".
The Guthrie Theater,founded in 1963,is a center for theater performance,production,education,and professional training in Minneapolis,Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions among Sir Tyrone Guthrie,Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler. Disenchanted with Broadway,they intended to form a theater with a resident acting company,to perform classic plays in rotating repertory,while maintaining the highest professional standards.
Ma-Yi Theater Company is a professional,not-for-profit,Obie Award and Drama Desk Award-winning theater company based in New York City that was founded in 1989. Ma-Yi Theater is headed by executive director Jorge Ortoll and artistic director Ralph Peña. Some of its recent notable productions include:
Joe Dowling is an artistic director. He was artistic director for the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis,Minnesota,United States. He is known for his work as artistic director of the Abbey Theatre in Ireland and his production involvement can be found in the Abbey Theatre archives. He has also directed plays in other theatres in Ireland as well as theatres in London,New York City,Washington D.C.,Montreal,and Alberta. In 1975 he directed "Katie Roche" by Irish playwright Teresa Deevy.
School of Drama at The New School is a multidisciplinary training program for theater arts,located at 151 Bank Street,and 55 West 13th Street New York City,It is a part of The New School's College of Performing Arts.
Gremlin Theatre is a small,nonprofit,professional theatre company based in St. Paul,Minnesota,United States. Gremlin primarily performs actor-centered plays in the classic American style of realism,seeking,as their mission statement reads,"to provide artistically brilliant,accessible,and enjoyable theatrical experiences." Recently,Gremlin has turned its attention to producing new plays by local Twin Cities playwrights and to bringing Equity actors into their casts. They are the resident company at the Loading Dock a small theater space which was constructed out of an unused warehouse/loading space in the basement of the Renaissance Box,a former warehouse in St. Paul that has been retrofitted into an arts/office complex. The Renaissance Box staff credits the staff of Gremlin with all of the work it took to create the Loading Dock,which has played home to other small theatre companies in the Twin Cities,including Starting Gate Productions and Theatre Pro Rata.
Main Street Theater is a theatre company in the city of Houston,Texas. It consistently produces a repertoire of classic and contemporary plays,and its seasons generally run throughout the entire year.
The Children's Theatre Company (CTC) is a regional theater established in 1965 in Minneapolis,Minnesota,specializing in plays for families,young audiences and the very young. The theater is the largest theater for multigenerational audiences in the United States and is the recipient of 2003 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. The November 2,2004,edition of Time magazine named the company as the top theater for children in the U.S.
Casey Childs is an American theater director and the founder of Primary Stages,a non-profit off-Broadway theater company in New York City. Since 1984,the company has produced new plays,many directed by Childs.
The Ivey Awards were an annual award show,celebrating Twin Cities professional theater. Established in 2004,the non-nomination based awards served to recognize outstanding achievements within the past theater season in direction,performance,design,etc. The awards were founded by Scott Mayer and administered by a panel of local theater professionals and theater patrons. The Iveys ceased in 2018 due to lack of funding.
Rick Shiomi is an internationally recognized,award-winning Japanese Canadian playwright,stage director,artistic director and taiko artist,and a major player in the Asian American/Canadian theatre movement. He is best known for his groundbreaking play Yellow Fever, which earned him the Bay Area Theater Circle Critics Award and “Bernie”Award. Over the last couple decades,Shiomi has also become a notable artistic and stage director. He directed the world premiere of the play Caught by Christopher Chen for which he received the Philadelphia Barrymore Award Nomination for Outstanding Direction. He is currently the Co-Artistic Director of Full Circle Theater Company.
The Pioneer Theatre Company (PTC) is one of four professional theatre companies in Utah,and the only fully professional theatre in Salt Lake City,contracting with union members belonging to Actors' Equity Association (AEA),Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) and United Scenic Artists (USA829). PTC was formed in 1962 and performs at the Simmons Pioneer Memorial Theatre on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. The non-profit company produces seven plays each season,running from September to May,including classics,musicals,dramas,and comedies. The company creates its own productions on site,including costumes and scenery,while sometimes using actors and directors from out-of-state. Among a number of premieres,the company produced the nation's first regional premiere of Les Misérables in 2007,giving 82 sold out performances.
Oak Park Festival Theatre (OPFT) is a professional theatre company in Oak Park,Illinois,under contract with Actors' Equity Association. The company was founded in 1975 by Marion Kaczmar,an Oak Park resident and arts patron,and performed Renaissance works,almost exclusively by William Shakespeare,until 2004,when it broadened its scope to classics of other eras. Its outdoor venue has been Austin Gardens,a wooded park near downtown Oak Park within walking distance from restaurants,Frank Lloyd Wright landmarks,and Metra and CTA trains. To attract a greater following,Renaissance,classical,and modern American works were added to the offerings,some being produced indoors in historic Farson-Mills Home and,in the 2010-11 season,in the studio space in the Madison Street Theatre.
John Sargent Pillsbury Jr. (1912–2005) was an American attorney,insurance executive,community leader,and patron of the arts in the U.S. State of Minnesota. He was a member of the Minnesota Pillsbury family,"one of Minnesota's most notable,public-spirited families" which built its fortunes in flour milling,iron ore,and forestry,and which practiced "a civic-minded capitalism that gave back to the community by supporting education,the arts and public institutions".
Laurie Dorothea Carlos was an American actress and avant-garde performance artist,playwright and theater director. She was also known for her work mentoring emerging artists in the theater.
Joseph Haj is an American artistic director and actor who is the eighth artistic director of the Guthrie Theater. Before joining the Guthrie,he worked at PlayMakers Repertory Company.
Lou Bellamy is an American stage director,actor,producer,entrepreneur,and educator. He is the founder and artistic director,Emeritus of Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul,Minnesota. He taught at the University of Minnesota from 1979 until his retirement as an associate professor in 2011.
Andrea Jenkins is an American politician,writer,performance artist,poet,and transgender activist. She is known for being the first Black openly transgender woman elected to public office in the United States,since January 2018 on the Minneapolis City Council and as the council's president from January 2022 to January 2024.
Aditi Brennan Kapil is an American playwright and screenwriter.
Theatre in the Round Players (TRP) is a community theatre performing in the West Bank Theater District in Minneapolis. In existence since 1953,it is the longest-running theatre in Minneapolis,and the second-oldest (non-academic) theatre in the Twin Cities. Since 1969 it has performed in its own 287-seat arena stage in with the audience surrounds the stage. TRP continues its work of supporting the theatre community today,in ongoing partnerships with the University of Minnesota Theater and others,providing a training ground for theater professionals in training. In 2018,TRP's Jeeves in Bloom was its 550th mainstage production.
