An Equity card is proof of membership in the
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...
of the United States or
Equity in the United Kingdom.
United States
History
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...
founded the "Players" in 1888
which held meetings at the "Players." The "Players" was an actors' club in
Gramercy Park
Gramercy ParkSometimes misspelled as Grammercy () is the name of both a small, fenced-in private park, and the surrounding neighborhood (which is also referred to as Gramercy), in Manhattan in New York City.
The approximately park, located ...
in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The second organisation, Actors' Society of America, was formed in 1895 and was led by
Louis Aldrich.
Actors' Society of America was dissolved by vote of members in 1912.
The
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American trade union, labor union representing those who work in Theatre, live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions w ...
was founded in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
on May 26, 1913.
Joining Equity
One method for an
actor
An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...
to become eligible to join the union is being under an Equity contract.
An actor may also apply for membership if they are a member of any of the sister unions in the performing arts. These unions are the
American Guild of Musical Artists
The American Guild of Musical Artists (AGMA) is the labor union of singers, dancers, and staging staff in opera, ballet and contemporary dance, and concert choral performance in the United States. A national union with a membership of over 6,500 ...
(AGMA),
American Guild of Variety Artists
The American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) is an American entertainment union representing performers in variety entertainment, including circuses, Las Vegas showrooms and cabarets, comedy showcases, dance revues, magic shows, theme park ...
(AGVA), and
Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA).
The third way one gets an equity card is through the "Equity Membership Candidate Program" (EMC).
In this program, actors are allowed to work in Equity productions as credit towards eventual membership. An actor is eligible for membership once he completes fifty weeks of work at theatres that are a part of the EMC program.
Once a member, the actor is required to pay "yearly dues" of $118 plus "working dues" which are 2.25% of the gross earnings through an equity contract.
Member benefits and privileges
The first major benefit to having an Equity card, as an actor, is that many professional auditions are Equity-only calls. Non-members are allowed to attend, but with no guarantee of being seen. Equity members are allowed to attend these Equity-only calls without these restrictions.
Contract benefits for members include minimum wages, work rules such as length of work day,
health insurance
Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...
,
pension
A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...
, and
workers' compensation insurance.
Once an individual is a member of Actor's Equity, they may not rehearse or perform in a non-Equity production without written permission from Equity.
The rule does not apply to children under the age of 14, who may temporarily withdraw membership in order to perform in a non-equity production such as a school play.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Actor's Equity Website
Actors' trade unions
Actors' Equity Association