Actors' Equity Association Turns 98!

Actors' Equity Association celebrates its 98th Anniversary today, May 26, 2011. The oldest performing arts union in America, Equity proudly represents more than 49,000 professional stage actors and stage managers nationwide. On this day, 98 years ago, 112 Actors gathered at the Pabst Circle Hotel in New York City to form the Union and to improve the wages and working conditions of all men and women working in the noble profession of acting and the American Theatre.

The Actors' Equity Association (AEA) is an American labor union representing the world of live theatrical performance, as opposed to film and television performance. However, performers appearing on live stage productions without a book or through-storyline (vaudeville, cabarets, circuses) may be represented by AGVA. As of 2010, Equity represented over 49,000 theatre artists and stage managers.

Actors' Equity Association ("AEA" or "Equity"), founded in 1913, represents more than 48,000 Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Equity seeks to advance, promote and foster the art of live theatre as an essential component of our society. Equity negotiates wages and working conditions and provides a wide range of benefits, including health and pension plans, for its members. Actors' Equity is a member of the AFL-CIO, and is affiliated with FIA, an international organization of performing arts unions.

For additional information, visit: http://www.actorsequity.org/