Stage Directions has merged into PLSN magazine and we will no longer be updating this website but we invite you to join us at Stage Directions on the PLSN website by clicking here . You will find all the latest theater news, buzz, and happenings, the SD Digital Issues Archive and some fun SD Extras to keep you informed on all things theater!
CLICK HERE to get to Stage Directions at PLSN and keep up with all the latest theater news!
It is a strange and trying time for all of us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. We certainly understand times are tough for you, as they are for us. We have been proud to bring Stage Directions for free all these many years and we will continue to provide you with complimentary subscriptions during the pandemic. However, we would like to ask in these difficult times that you consider a small donation to help support our efforts here at Stage Directions as we work to keep our industry up to date by providing you with a continuous stream of current and vital information when it is needed, today more than ever, to keep us all in the theater community connected.
May 26, 2020—Actors’ Equity Association, the national union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers working in live theatre, has released the four core principals needed to support safe and healthy theater production. A memo from Dr. David Michaels, former head of OSHA during the Obama Administration was released. The memo was shared with Equity members and Equity producers on May 26, 2020.
“These four principles are the foundation for our continued work with Dr. Michaels,” said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association. “We intend to build out protocols that can be used by our employers and all of our colleagues to insure that everyone who works in the theatre has the safest workplace possible.”
The principles include:
- The epidemic must be under control, with effective testing, few new cases in the area and contact tracing.
- Individuals who may be infectious can be readily identified and isolated, with frequent, regular and accurate testing with speedy results.
- The way we audition, rehearse, perform, and stage manage may need to change and the venues we work in may need to undergo changes in order to reduce the risk.
- Efforts to control COVID-19 exposure must be collaborative, involving Equity members, employers, the union and all others involved in the production of theatre. There must be collective buy-in and ongoing evaluation and improvement of health and safety practices.
Click here to view the memo from Dr. Michaels
Actors’ Equity immediately went to work early on to protect members even before Coronavirus was officially declared a pandemic. Equity made its first public statement on March 2 that staff were making plans to prepare for a possible pandemic. Equity then asked producers to put members’ health and safety first and postpone Equity EPAs and ECCs.
In New York, the union publicly called on Mayor Bill de Blasio to put worker safety first as the mayor considered whether to limit public gatherings to slow the spread of Coronavirus.
Equity has advocated for unemployment provisions included in the CARES Act that improves access for entertainers. And Equity has called for a 100 percent federal COBRA subsidy to ensure no one loses their health care during a pandemic while the entertainment industry is shut down.
Equity has made a public statement telling employers that it is “unclear how” a theater could safely reopen under the current circumstances and asked members to contact the union if they are asked to go back to work.
Further information from the Actors’ Equity Association: www.actorsequity.org
