Friday, March 13, 2020
Actors' Equity Places Focus on Displaced Workers Following Broadway Suspension
www.broadwayworld.com: Mary McColl, Executive Director of Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, released the following statement after reports that Gov. Cuomo has ordered performances to be suspended until the week of April 13, 2020.
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It is good to know that the unions are there to back up artists in this difficult time. Obviously health and safety is of the utmost priority in this time but most artists are just scraping by to begin with, and an entire month of unemployment may be refreshing to the psyche and revitalizing of creativity, but it is incredibly scary financially and logistically. Luckily, us students are in a much better place logistically to handle this situation. Our educations are obviously important, but most of us are not yet supporting ourselves financially through solely theatre work. We may have been evicted from our dorms but we are not as at risk for being evicted from our homes. Because of this level of security that we have, it becomes part of our responsibility to look after the arts community we are a part of. Support creators and freelancers who are out of work, while remaining safe and healthy. Push for more union and federal support for these struggling artists.
One of the first things I faced while I came to terms with this universal shutdown was the horrifying reality of being a freelance worker. I first encountered this on the Stagehand Humor facebook page, as the posts turned from humor to ominous reports of events cancelling by the hour all around the globe. When it finally set in that thousands of people just lost every single job they had lined up for up to the next six months, I felt so, so horrible. Now, with the closing of Broadway and other theatrical institutions around the country, it is reaching our onstage peers along with stagehands as well. It is very reassuring to see that Actors Equity Association is making sure that their members are protected and paid for their work, and have assistance finding their unemployment benefits. People will undoubtedly need that help. As artists and other members of working society begin applying for unemployment, I hope (perhaps foolishly) to see the federal government providing necessary support to get through this panicked period in history.
The Broadway shutdown, and all the entertainment shutdowns in general, are disappointing but unfortunately necessary. We’ve all seen the statistics in the past week about ‘social distancing’ and ‘flattening the curve’ to keep our hospitals and medical systems from being completely overwhelmed, requiring us to stay away from other people as much as possible and certainly to avoid groups. The problems with this are mainly economic ones, and I’m really worried for people living paycheck-to-paycheck right now who can’t actually afford to take two weeks off of work and who are not being supported by their employers. The arts industry is really going to struggle here because the businesses remaining open are the ones who do jobs intrinsically necessary to support society and life, like hospitals and utility workers. The arts isn’t that, and public performances require large groups of people in the same space, which we’re trying hard to avoid. I’m glad Equity has made a statement about their commitment to help their workers - I would be interested to see the steps they are actually taking, more so than just a vague statement of support.
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