Equity Actors- Page 5
Equity Actors
BWAYboi_yes
Featured Actor Joined: 1/29/05
#100re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/23/05 at 3:29pmBush makes something like 200,000, but fair enough. Listen, jrb or whatever, your constant jabs at my not knowing about what I'm talking about is really annoying. I guarantee that I know as much or more (likely more) about the working of the Equity union than you. Just because I make some joke about stage managers doesn't mean that I didn't know they were in same union. Everyone knows that. Accept that I know ALL about this, and have formed my opinions accordingly. You're not going to convince me of anything by providing information, I've already got it. I'm through with this thread. I'm not posting again. Let's just let it die.
#101re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/23/05 at 3:38pmok--I will accept that you are informed if you will merely tell us what role you play in the business. And be honest. Are you a producer? An actor? A director?
BWAYboi_yes
Featured Actor Joined: 1/29/05
#102re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 12:21amI am two of the three things you listed. And I'll give you a hint. Equity doesn't cover either of my areas.
#103re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 1:49am
Well, how do you feel about the director's union?
And what type of theatre do you work in--community theatre, Equity regional, tours, off-bway, bway, or off-off/showcases?
sparky310
Featured Actor Joined: 11/10/03
#104re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 8:13ami have to agree most equity people i know are in it for the money..not the art..not what it was originally meant to represent..it has become a status symbol and a way for some actors to climb up on a soap box and spout off how great they are..when, in some cases..is just aint so. although i think equity serves many good purposes i believe it has lost its main focus and is actually stifling the growth of art.
Tom1071
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/04
#105re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 10:44am
Switz78
"Also to the person who said one week of their production contract pay goes to rent, boo hoo. I have loans from school and bills and rent and I use up more than one weeks paycheck on rent. If you want more STUFF, move to Astoria or someplace cheaper or invest some and buy a place. It is more possible than people think."
That was my post, Switz78. You should learn to read more carefully before you attack people with false accusations of statements that were never made. This is what the post actually said:
"That $1381 minimum that some of you are all up in arms about doesn't really go very far.
One of my dear friends is currently in the ensemble of a Broadway show right now. Her contract is negotiated for a little over $1400 a week. After taxes, agent commission, and 2% Equity working dues are deducted from her paycheck she brings home a little over $700. Her rent which she splits with a roomate is about $1500, which means that one week of her take home pay is already gone. Factor in bills, groceries, voice lessons and dance classes and that's pretty much it for her."
I was simply stating another persons experience. She has never complained about not making enough money. She just says that she makes just enough to meet basic needs and there isn't much left for savings. She is proud of the fact that she is doing what she loves and doing it on Broadway and she wouldn't trade that for anything.
And as far as moving to Astoria; I already live there. She lives in Manhattan and her rent is cheaper than mine.
BWAYboi_yes
Featured Actor Joined: 1/29/05
#106re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 12:44pmI feel like SSDC is very interesting. Having been required to join, I find that the intentions are clear, but it's not nearly as complicated. A director and choreographer seeking work outside of their minimum salary is more welcomed to do it. The pay scale is much higher for directors and choreographers, but in a way, it should be. Directors assume responsibility for the whole show, even if it's bad. Chorus members work hard, but don't carry the load of a director... usually. I do not work in a theatre, I work commercially out of offices and studio. However, do I think that SSDC is needed? No. I feel that it was just done out of habit, essentially. Directors should be able to negotiate for themselves. If actors didn't have a union, producers and directors like me would take advantage of them... BUT, it is hardly taking advantage of actors when you're offering 700/week and there's a line two miles long to happily accept it. Why should we be required to jump to 1381? See what I mean?
Tom1071
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/1/04
BWAYboi_yes
Featured Actor Joined: 1/29/05
#109re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 2:36pm
sparky--no one joins Equity to get rich. We join because that is now the tradition and requirement if you want to work on Broadway, Off-Broadway, or leading role in Regional Theatre, etc.
bwayboi--you say and I quote, "If actors didn't have a union, producers and directors like me would take advantage of them..."
That 110% supports everything I and others have said.
You have a problem with the chorus minimum, but you attack Equity as a whole. You are in a union yourself--and yet you attack actors (and not stage managers) for being in one.
I will say with all respect that it seems as if you truly do not care about actors--that we are second class to everyone else in the theatre in your eyes. And, frankly, that is a truly sad thing.
Jamie Hat
Broadway Star Joined: 4/5/04
#111re: Equity Actors
Posted: 2/24/05 at 3:08pm
FACT
40% of all of Equity's membership made $5000
or LESS during the last YEAR working under Equity's contracts.
MaryPoppins2
Swing Joined: 3/21/05
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