AEA and AGVA Make Special Agreements for Cirque du Soleil's PARAMOUR on Broadway

Actors' Equity Association and Cirque du Soleil Theatrical, the theatrical division of Cirque du Soleil and the division charged with producing shows for Broadway, have entered into an agreement for all future Cirque du Soleil Theatrical productions on Broadway (as well as pre-Broadway and post-Broadway tours) to be produced under Equity contracts.

As part of their new relationship, Actors' Equity Association and Cirque du Soleil Theatrical will enter into a special one-time agreement for the upcoming Broadway production of PARAMOUR. This special agreement contains many of the same terms and conditions as the Production Contract, including minimum Broadway salary, benefits and safety rules. This special agreement will cover the actors, singers, dancers and stage managers of the company. This agreement was created because PARAMOUR contains traditional Cirque acrobatics and feats and the remainder of the company is made up of experts in the Circus Arts.

BroadwayWorld has also learned that while 16 of the singer/dancer/actors in the cast and the 4 stage managers will be represented by AEA, the remainder of the cast (22 circus artists, aerialists, acrobats, etc) will be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA).

Mary McColl, Executive Director of Actors' Equity said, "We are delighted to welcome Cirque du Soleil Theatrical to the Equity family. We look forward to a successful, long-term relationship and to the many additional work weeks this agreement will provide for our members on Broadway and across the country."

"This is a terrific way to start the New Year," said Equity President Kate Shindle. "On behalf of the membership, I would like to congratulate Equity's staff on the great work they did negotiating this, and, additionally, to thank the National Council and the many members-at-large who participated in the effort. We continue to hear that our 50,000-plus actors and stage managers want 'Broadway' and 'touring' to be synonymous with 'Equity,' and this represents a major gain toward that goal."