What is the Actors Equity Association?
Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) is a labor organization for live theatrical performers and stage managers. Directors and choreographers have a separate union, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, while television and film actors belong to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Some performers prefer to belong to the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA); circus performers, showgirls, comedians, and magicians, for example, tend to be in the AGVA. Like other labor organizations, the Actors’ Equity Association negotiates on behalf of its members for better rates of pay, working conditions, set hours, and other protections. Theaters that wish to host Equity actors must fulfill certain conditions set out by the Actors’ Equity Association, including meeting basic pay requirements. In theaters where Equity and non-Equity actors are mixed, this can result in inequality and unrest at times, as Equity actors typically receive a higher rate of pay.
