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#1

Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:17pm

The whole concept of getting your equity card has always confused me. To get work you should be in equity, to get in equity you need to work... How often are non-equity shows available? And will agents take you if you're not in equity? It's all far too confusing...

#2

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:27pm

Well my friend... it is a complicated little thing. Many performers (myself included) are members of EMC which is Equity membership candidate which means that a performer can work at a theatre that offers these points, usually one is working with other Equity actors, and are given one point for every week of work. Also one can be simply offered a Equity contract and you become equity. There are non-equity theatres regionally, and many LORT theatres that offer EMC points. Many summer and regional houses are non-equity or are EMC theatres. Many people choose to wait to get their cards for awhile so they can work regionally and beef up their resume. However many people try to get their cards quickly. It all depends on where you are in your career. I am no expert on Equity, and I am sure more intelligent people on this subject will put their 10 cents in. Hope it helps a bit!

#3

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 9:29pm

i'm a student equity member... work that one out lol

Jesus Loves You... Everybody else thinks you're an idiot!

#4

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 10:39pm

It's a bit of a catch 22. You have to be in Equity to work, but how can you get your card if everyone working is Equity so they won't hire you? If they want you badly enough, theatres will hire non-equity performers and ask you to join then. Or like at a regional theatre they will hire you and you get points from that.

"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife

#5

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 10:48pm

"There are non-equity theatres regionally, and many LORT theatres that offer EMC points."

Hey there, just to correct here- Non Equity Theatres actually cannot offer EMC Points. The inspiration behind EMC (as I understand it to be) is that you get points while at the same time learning by watching and working with "Professional Equity Actors." While this was what I remember the inspiration to be, it's not neccesarily the rule A) That you will indeed learn anything or B) That the actors who are Equity are any more professional than those cleaning the toilets and playing a chorus role. Just my 2 cents there.

You have opened up a much-hashed out can of worms here and I'm sure you can find a few hundred posts about how one can join Equity and on top of that, the viability, the neccessity (or lack there of) and the apparent incomprehensibility of the Actors Equity Association...let the games begin :)

#6

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 10:57pm

Im wondering the same. Many performers say "that role got me my equity card."

How do the contracts work? Can anyone get one?

#7

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 11:28pm

What do "points" earn you?

"Needless to say the crew is well acquainted with my ass and that's ok because they are the coolest guys ever." - Idina Menzel

#8

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 11:39pm

Every wook you wok as a Non-Equity performer in an Equity theatre, you get one point. When you have accumulated 50 points, you have to join Equity.

On the other hand, you can be offered an Equity contract at any time. For instance, in most Equity regional theatre, a certain number of Equity contracts are required in each production. If the theatre is doing a show with a small cast - I DO, I DO - for example, which only has two people, then both performers have to be Equity. If the director wants to cast a girl who happens to be non-Equity, she has to join.

#9

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 11:41pm

You usually get a contract by signing with an equity production. Regardless of whether an audition is EPA or ECC, anyone is allowed to attend. But the catch is that they will see you AFTER they've seen ALL the equity members. So that means, they probably won't see you. But there are those rare occasions in which a non-equity member nabs a role, they will be asked to sign an equity contract, thus landing them an AEA card.

This is my signature.

#10

re: Equity

Posted: 6/15/05 at 11:42pm

theaterworks USA is the best way to get your card. A few of my friends on their first freakin auditions got cast in their shows and got cards... in all honesty once returning from their tour, not working again... but, they tend to hire a GREAT deal of non eqs.

#11

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:00am

There used to be a reciprocity deal where SAG and AFTRA members could get Equity cards without a contract, membership points, or anything. The result: a whole lot of Equity members who had NEVER BEEN IN A PLAY!

#12

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:29am

I know several who got their cards through Theatreworks USA and never worked again...so there is no BEST way to get it.

The best advice one can give you regarding getting your card is...Don't force it to happen. It will happen when it happens. If you get offered a contract for a show, there's a good chance you're talented enough to be working regularly, but if you are fresh out of college...or better yet, AMDA, Don't rush into Theatreworks USA begging for an Equity card. You have NO resume to back you up on your next audition and won't make it past preliminary screenings on submissions. Just let it happen and make certain you have a good deal of experience before getting it.

#13

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:04am

a few clarifications:

After reaching 50 points, you do not have to join Equity for 5 years. (This is how I joined).

If you live in a right-to-work state, you can take an Equity contract, but not join Equity (just earn points if you are EMC). This happened with me as I was nowhere near moving to NYC and being Equity in Houston would not have been advantagious at that time.

And, camthom is right--there are many threads on this subject. Do a search a watch out for the fireworks as there are some who are anti-Equity. I'm NOT going to participate in another Equity debate. It's very simple: You want to be a Broadway/Off Broadway/ or Broadway National Tour actor, you aspire to join Equity at some point in your career--either by earning the EMC points or by being hired to take an Equity role. Like it or not, that's the game.

I strongly advise newbies to this discussion to take the negative comments with a pile of salt.

johnraymondbarker.com

#14

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 7:15am

It's a lot like getting an Agent in New York - supposedly, you have to be seen in something, but to be seen in something you practically have to have an agent - this business is FULL of Catch 22's!

"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!" Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!

#15

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 8:34am

And with all due respect to jrb... you have to take the positive comments with a pile of salt as well (to off-balance the sugar-coating you may receive).

#16

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 9:04am

Our union does have a lot of problems...but you can't escape one simple fact. To work on Broadway (which, for many, is the goal), you have to be Equity.

I have a dear friend that just got cast in her first Broadway musical. She has paid her dues. Right out of college, she did non-Eq tour after non-Eq tour. She built up a resume and finally landed a major role in an Eq tour. And she's worked at great regional houses. When she went in for the Broadway gig, she almost didn't get it because the casting agents were worried about the fact that she had so much non-Eq work on her resume. In the end, her glorious voice won them over and she'll be making her Broadway debut in July.

I've been Equity since I got right out of college. And I worked steadily my first year and on and off since then. It's not easy. There is a lot to weigh before you jump into that pool.

"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."

#17

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:12am

If you have your equity card, can you perform on a NON EQUITY stage?

"Needless to say the crew is well acquainted with my ass and that's ok because they are the coolest guys ever." - Idina Menzel

#18

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:31am

Does it hurt you to have an equity card and little or no experience? If so, why is that?

"You know, a little orphan girl once told me that the sun would come out tomorrow. Her adopted father was a powerful billionaire, so I supressed the urge to laugh in her face. But now, by gum, I think she might have been on to something!" --Reefer Madness

#19

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:31am

No, I'm pretty sure you can only perform at Equity sponsored theatres.

This is my signature.

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 10:31 AM

#20

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:53am

No, Equity actors can only work Equity contracts. It could be a guest artist contract at a non-Equity theatre.

johnraymondbarker.com

#21

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 12:53pm

I think you can get permission for special circumstances if you want to perform non-eq but have your card. It hurts to have your card with little or no experience because: Say you are fresh out of college. You have done no regional work, and have not built up a resume. On some off chance, you get cast in a show and forced to (or do for whatever reason) join Equity. Once you finish that show, you have no resume except for that one thing, so no Equity theatre is going to hire you. You also cannot work in non-equity theatres to build up you resume because you aren't allowed by equity. You are then out of work.

Robbie- Your friend's story is great. She really worked her way up from the beginning. Just one question. Why were the casting directors of the Broadway show so worried that she had so much non-equity experience? I mean, she was still doing show, touring, etc. Why would that effect their decision so much? I mean, I realize that Equity shows are different from non-equity, but they are still good shows, right? Where she is getting paid and stuff? I don't see why that would make them not want to cast her.

"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife

Updated On: 6/16/05 at 12:53 PM

#22

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:06pm

I can't tell you the number of times people just pass me over in auditions because I don't have a Broadway credit. I made a decision early in my career to stick close to the City as much as possible and try to make a name for myself here. But it limits your visibility. Even when you do something that gets picked up (like URINETOWN, which I did in the Fringe Festival), invariably they want to cast a lot of the roles with established talent. Only one person from the Fringe U-Town was brought along the way. It's a tough thing to put your all into a show for literally no money, have it be a success and then be told you're not 'good enough' to move on with it. But it's the business.

I'll never understand the hesitancy to cast my friend. She is a glorious singer and quite beautiful. The fact that some of her credits were non-Eq shouldn't (in my mind, at least) affect her casting. But it does. Luckily, it all worked out for her.

"I'm so looking forward to a time when all the Reagan Democrats are dead."

#23

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 1:13pm

This should answer all of your questions.
Actors' Equity Association

"For me, THEATRE is an anticipation, an artistic rush, an emotional banquet, a jubilant appreciation, and an exit hopeful of clearer thought and better worlds." ~ an anonymous traveler with Robert Burns

#24

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 10:37pm

See, my thing is I want to work in Stratford... and I have a history with the company. There is a conservatory for young actors, and if you get into the conservatory, you are much more likely to put you in the company, and they give you an ACTRA card... but, if you're working at the festival, probably in multiple shows, I can't see how getting your card could be a bad thing... I don't know, I don't really want to work on Broadway. I mean, it would be great and everything, but I don't expect it to happen...

#25

re: Equity

Posted: 6/16/05 at 11:47pm

uhhh, what's an ACTRA card?

I'd fire you... if you weren't so g*dd*mn beautiful out there. - Blades of Glory blog

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