why i joined aea

On Monday, August 20th, I finally did what I said I would do after January 30th, 2010: I joined the actor's equity association.

Equity (or AEA) is the professional actor's union, in case you didn't know. They are the ones responsible for making the lives of actors bearable. There are a lot of people who want to be actors but not a lot of theatres or roles for actors (and even less for female actors, which is funny since there are WAY MORE female actors.... but that's a different post). When situations like this occur, it could be easy for producers to cut corners and take advantage of the actors. AEA provides fair pay, rehearsal breaks, respects the safety and time of actors as well as a ton of other stuff.

You have to earn your way in to Equity though...either by receiving an equity contract (which is hard), being a member of another acting union or working at a non-equity theatre for at least 50 weeks (one point per week is earned). Then you have to pay a lot of money and ta-da! You're a member.

I have had my points for 4 years. Since 2008. You have to join within 5 years of earning your last point or you forfeit your membership. Every time I've started a conversation with another actor they always ask if I'm equity. I have always said, "I have all my points, but I haven't joined yet." They are always, ALWAYS flabbergasted by this. "WHY NOT???" they scream (actors are dramatic).

Well, here was why:
A. I didn't have enough money to join until recently
B. I didn't feel I was "ready" to join
C. I kept thinking I would get more work as a non-equity actor

Well, here's the problem with C: I hardly ever went to any auditions. And WHY did I not go to many auditions? Because the non-equity (or OPEN) calls are insane and horrible.

On January 30th, 2010 Chris and I left our apartment at 3am to get in line to audition for the Broadway production of Hair, which was having an open call. Chris wasn't auditioning, he was just keeping me company because it was 3am on January 30th. It was freezing. The audition site was the Public Theatre... which is far away from where we live and not exactly in the best neighborhood on earth. Plus, I was going to have to sit on the street until 10am. I was still new to NYC. I had only been there for 3 months but I knew we had no choice but to get there no later than 4am. Because non-equity calls are insane and horrible.

We were 200th in line. At 4am. On January 30th. By the time the auditions started there were more than one thousand people in line.

It was the longest 6 hours of my life. It was like 20 degrees outside. And all the kids in line started singing and dancing and drawing peace signs and flowers on the sidewalk in chalk. Because obviously they're all real hippies. Because hippies still, obviously, exist in the exact same form they existed in 45 years ago. And, OF COURSE, the casting director would see their dedication and cast them immediately, from the line, at 5am, without an audition.

Whatever. I got a spot, I actually had an amazing audition under the circumstances (sitting on the street in 20 degree weather for 6 hours with no sleep are not exactly the ideal conditions for a great vocal performance) and then I went home and went to bed. I believe I heard one person was cast from that audition and it was, of course, a guy. Probably a regular guy, too, who showed up at the last minute.

But it was THAT DAY that convinced me I HAD to join equity. I have requested specific work shifts because I wanted to go to an audition... and then I didn't go. Because I always flash back to that day. I know it was an extreme circumstance. It was a Broadway show! But I've been to many non-equity auditions.... and unless they are AT a regional theatre, or they are booked by appointments, they are all insane and horrible.

I had to save my money for more than a year to raise the $400 needed to join. I still don't know if I'm "ready" to join. I realize that by joining Equity there is no chance I'll ever work at some of the theatres I've worked at ever again. Some of these theatres followed equity rules (which ALL theatres should) even for non-equity employees. However, some did not. Some of them paid me like $100 a week and made me clean bathrooms or cook food. Or both in one day. Some of them gave their equity actors a 2 hour dinner break and gave the non-equity actors a 20 minute break when they had been there the entire day and the closest food was a 10 minute drive. I am thankful for every single theatre I've ever worked at. If it wasn't an amazing experience, it taught me what was NOT an amazing experience and made me look forward to future amazing experiences. And, at the very least, I was getting to perform... and let's face it, that's the only thing I'm really good at.  (Besides writing this blog post.)

I didn't join right away because I was scared. Scared I wasn't good enough, I guess. But there's tons of people who aren't good enough and they still joined. I haven't met anyone at an non-equity audition who was my age in YEARS. People who are nearly 30 have all left the business or already joined equity because they realized non-equity auditions are insane and horrible.

When I told my parents I joined they were like, "YAY! Now you can get on that TV show that films in new york...." So. You know. I have that to look forward to. But mainly what I look forward to is auditioning for something in a civilized manner (unless it's one of those crazy Agent Access Auditions which I hear are pretty popular) and maybe, hopefully, getting another acting job someday. And the best part is that I KNOW I will never have to clean a bathroom as part of my acting job responsibilities. Because that is INSANE and HORRIBLE.