Equity Members Earned $124 in Regional Work Last Season

New York – For the second consecutive year, Actors' Equity Association, the union representing 51,000 theatre actors and stage managers across the country, released its Regional Theatre Report. This report analyzed the job opportunities available to members in each of its 28 Liaison Areas around the country.

This year's report, covering the 2017-2018 season that ended in May 2018, confirms $124 million in wages earned by Equity members – an increase of 3 percent over last year. Additionally, 18 of the 28 regions (nearly two-thirds) saw gains in work weeks per member when looking back at last season. Work weeks per member increased 8 percent over last season.   

Washington, D.C./Baltimore is the first region to surpass an average of more than 20 work weeks per member. Additionally, the area also generated more than 20,000 work weeks – for the second consecutive season.  

"The data in this report allows us to look at the great work being done onstage and backstage in theatres throughout the country," said Mary McColl, Executive Director of Actors' Equity Association. "We are thrilled to see an upward trend of work weeks created for members in many of these cities and will work to continue creating more opportunities for them."

Equity defines Liaison Areas, defined as all theaters and Equity members within a 100-mile area around each city, regardless of size. This report does not include information about the three biggest cities, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, each of whose theatre scenes operate very differently than the Liaison Areas. National tours were classified based on a show's city of origin, in keeping with longstanding practice. (The report includes data based on work done under paid contracts and excludes internal membership codes.)

This report is an invaluable organizing tool, done in part to help guide the Equity 2020 mission to be aggressive, inclusive and responsive on behalf of the membership.

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its Members by negotiating wages and working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. #EquityWorks.