Actor's Equity

I know I may get crucified for this comment.....

I am very pro-Equity. Join as soon as you have the credits to back it up. Union jobs protect an actor salary and work-wise. The level of most Equity shows (especially tours) tends to be higher than the non-Equity tours.

I'm proud to be a 4 year member of Equity. Ok....crucify me if you must....

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oops

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Updated On: 10/11/04 at 10:34 PM

i don't know what universe you are living in, but i have never been in a show where equity members were getting paid less than their non-equity counterparts. non-equity tours don't pay nearly what an equity tour pays either.

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i suppose you could look at it that way?

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because the non-equity producers have taken all of equity's jobs.

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there are indeed two sides to every story. since i am a proud equity member....i choose to support them. sure....they aren't perfect, but until there's solidarity with the League of Producers, the companies who hold the rights, the SSDC, etc, etc, etc....equity can't do much on it's own. that solidarity is forming, and i'm looking forward to the future of hopefully more equity road shows and the demise of the non-equity first national tours.

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But equity actors have EARNED the right to be in National tours.

Non-equity actors just have to work hard to earn their card, and THEN they can do the "big time" shows.

That's my opinion anyway.

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No national tour should ever be non-eq. If it is, then the word Broadway should not appear in the advertisments or the title of the tour. If it's not Union, it's not Broadway.

The world of live theatre does not care about giving people chances. I'm not going to give up my hard earned position on a national tour just so I can be nice and let some non-eq play it just because that would be the non-broadway bully way to do it.

I am totally oppsed to the phrase, "oh just let them do it once in a while, you don't need it as much."

I've heard that a thousand times, and I'm sick of it. My answer is simply NO.

Call me a bully if you want!

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"No national tour should ever be non-eq. If it is, then the word Broadway should not appear in the advertisements or the title of the tour. If it's not Union, it's not Broadway."

NO national tour should be called a "Broadway" tour because it gives clueless theatre goers the impression that it's the same company from New York.

I'm currently living in the middle of no-where, so I have to admit that I'm grateful for the non-equity tours because they come here. I just can't see bringing theatre to people who would otherwise never be able to see anything resembling a "big show" as a bad thing.

"But equity actors have EARNED the right to be in National tours.

Non-equity actors just have to work hard to earn their card, and THEN they can do the "big time" shows."

But so many actors on Broadway and in big national tours earned their cards by being cast in these shows. Some have far less experience then those in the non-union tours.

One of my best friends moved to NY last year and was almost immediately cast in the chorus of a show. She had two community theatre credits to her name.

I also know people who are out on non-equity tours right now who are actually equity-eligible, but they want to work steadily so they won’t join unless cast on Broadway.

I’d say that they have more then earned the right to be on a national tour.

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if a non-equity actor is that good, why don't they come to the equity chorus call and audition for the equity show? most equity chorus calls will see non-equity people, and if they're good enough they might get a callback and even possibly the job.

i agree that all tours should be equity in an ideal world, but the networks and troikas of the world have shown that an ideal world is a non-existent world. they have taken over the market of the equity bus and truck tours that used to be soooo prevalent.

equity tours used to play my hometown all the time....granted they were scaled down bus and truck tours, but it was still equity talent. now, they only get non-equity tours in. i've seen a few, and the product really does suffer. say what you will about non-equity talent, but you'll never convince me that an all non-equity show is superior to an equity one. i've seen both, and there's just no comparison.

stepping off my soap box now.

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Oh course you should join Equity. Then you'll have the chance to persue a career other than performing cause as we know, less
than 10 % of their memmbership actually can make a living at it.

And always remember that if it's a non Equity tour, it's crap. Only Equity performers are capable of doing anything like a national tour. If you're Equity, then you are talented. If you are not Equity, then you are not even capable of walking the stage without hitting the furniture. And yes...go to summer stock cause that's the only place non Equitys should work. They should not even dream of touching a professional stage until they join cause they are crap.

Thank god I just saw the Mille tour with an all Equity cast. Sure most of the performances were lacking and boring but..they were Equity so it had to be great!!

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Updated On: 10/12/04 at 10:58 AM

Mr. Tuttle - before I block you for another of your moronic rants - I must say that your post here only re-solidifies the thought that you are simply a bitter, non-union performer who cannot find work anywhere - at least thats how your posts ALWAYS make you look.
You might want to re-think your approach to how you state things in the future - you're alienating a lot of folks with your insipid comments. I, for one, after this post, will be thankful for the "blocking" mechanism on this board, which, from this moment on, will make it possible for me to look at threads like this without having to read your belittling comments.

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