The Actors’ Equity Association is an actors union
that represents actors who perform in theatre or
theatrical productions. The Actors’ Equity Association,
or Equity for short, was formed in 1913 and is the
oldest of all the major actor unions, such as Screen
Actors’ Guild and AFTRA.
Equity was formed to ensure that actors were treated
fairly by producers. Equity ensures that actors are paid
fairly and in a timely fashion. It ensures that actors
are able to perform their crafts in reasonable working
conditions. It also handles benefits, salaries and other
aspects of the actors’ career.
How Does Actors’
Equity Association Help Actors?
The Actors’ Equity Association helps actors in
a number of ways. In particular, Equity provides
benefits and contractual representation, as well as
other services that help actors further their careers.
Benefits Include:
Equity negotiates the minimum
rates at which their members must be paid for
Equity-recognized projects.
Health benefits for members
Retirement benefits, such as
401k and pension
Alerting actors to auditions for
productions that are recognized by Equity
News bulletins
Seminars on acting and other
topics
How Can I Join
Actors’ Equity Association?
Actors can join the Actors’ Equity Association in
a number of different ways. The most common ways of
joining Equity are as follows:
Actors can join Equity by simply
working in or on an Equity-recognized production for a
number of weeks. You can find out whether or not a
production is Equity by asking the producer or by
contacting
Equity.
Actors can join Equity if they
have been a member of another major actors union, such
as the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) or the American
Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA), and
have performed as the principal performer while being
a member of that union.
Actors can also join Equity by
contacting Equity and proving to the union that they
are going to be performing in an upcoming production
that is affiliated with Equity.
