Talk:Actors' Equity Association

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[edit] Spelling of "Theater"

I saw that "theater" had two different spellings on the page and changed them all to "theater", then I saw that someone else had recently specifically changed some (but not all) from "theater" to "theatre". While I prefer the American spelling for this article about this American organization, I don't really feel it's that big a deal which spelling is chosen, but I do more strongly feel that it should be spelled the same way throughout the article.Danorton (talk) 18:23, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The spelling for the actors' art should be "Theatre", and for the building should be "Theater". See this interesting discussion on the origins of US/English spellings, thanks to Noah Webster: [1]. JohnClarknew (talk) 01:32, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Changes Reverted

I'm reverting two changes:

  • The union infobox was deleted without comment - why?
  • Also restoring "Mark Zimmerman" as President - Patrick Quinn recently died and Zimmerman was elected to the position.[2]

--Chancemichaels 15:20, 6 October 2006 (UTC)Chancemichaels

A minor point just to complete the history above - Patrick Quinn resigned as president to become executive director. AEA press release JoanR 16:04, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Neutrality

Regarding the addition of the NPOV box: This page seems to be extremely sympathetic of the organization to a fault. It describes opposition as exerting "iron-fisted dominance", and hails it with such weasel-wording as having "refused to bend to the will of the industry bosses". It then features a quote from Richard Masur which seems to serve little purpose besides point out that the AEA was particularly brave and noble in this endeavor, hardly an addition for an ideally NPOV section. I personally know about as little about the history of theatre as one can know, and even without any preconceptions to the contrary, this article still seems inappropriately biased and aggrandizing in favor of the AEA. Either the wording should be made more neutral, or the calims better justified by a more detailed history of the events at hand; as-is, not even links to article about events like the "famous strike" exist, much less summaries on the AEA page. MrWallet 23:22, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

The offending phrases have been taken out, so I have removed the POV template. The Masur quote still needs to be cited, as does the article in general. --GentlemanGhost 16:15, 12 December 2006 (UTC)


I agree-I can attest from working with a small theater company that there is a severe downside to AE69.9.28.202 04:05, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Present Day

The article is 95% on the history of the organization and not on the present day role of union, including the benefits of being a union member, etc. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 199.111.85.50 (talk) 14:46, 15 March 2007 (UTC).

And its downsides. In general, the impact (both good and bad; both in and out of New York) of Equity on American theatre is an important topic in understanding it. 67.172.93.9 23:23, 5 June 2007 (UTC)
What is a good published source to gain a balanced understanding of Equity? If there is no source for a balanced approach, then what are the most reputable sources for criticism and support of Equity? Online sources of articles discussing these matters would be best. Keep in mind that this is an encyclopedic article and not an opinion piece, so the article cannot take a position, it must remain neutral or Wiki will shut it down. If all opinions can be presented fairly and accurately, in a balanced description, and properly referenced to reputable published sources, the article might be well received. I don't think this is a good forum for laying out specific union benefits, but a discussion of the comparative situations for theatre employees pre-union and after might be possible, if the discussion remains factual and balanced. The negative and positive roles of Equity would be difficult to present without bias. I am willing to dabble in this over the summer. I'm not in the theatre world, which allows me to be unbiased, but it also keeps me from knowing the best sources. Point me in the right direction. I have limited time, but I can try. If you provide sources, others can try as well. Feel free. Pat 00:00, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

I've attempted to include additional historical framework, but quite a bit more is left to be done. More details are needed about the fight against segregation, support for arts funding and the NEA, the fight against historic theaters being torn down, and the AIDS fight. Sourcing of some of the details about the Theatre Syndicate is needed. If someone can find out when AEA joined the AFL and include that date with a source, that would be useful. A broad description of the current role of the organization might be appropriate towards the beginning of the piece, but the information needs to be more encyclopedic and less like something you'd read on the organization's home page. Pat 01:34, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Yes, this article suffers by comparison with the article on its parallel organization, SAG. Needs more information on the nature of Equity rules, how one becomes eligible to join, etc. 96.232.208.7 (talk) 02:08, 24 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alien performer issue

This case, filed by the NLRB, was instigated by Lynn Redgrave. She had been sued by Equity (under the leadership of Donald Grody) because she refused to part with 5% of her gross earnings from a US tour she financed with her own money, despite the fact that she was already a permanent resident. However, she lost the suit. That is when she went to the NLRB, and changed the course of US and British Equity's discriminatory practices towards each other. But unlike Yul Brynner, she did not get a refund (the ruling did not help those with earlier dates). I know because I was there. JohnClarknew (talk) 18:23, 28 February 2008 (UTC)