I had been working in Chicago for a year at Equity theatres under non-Equity contracts. Sometimes the roles were small, sometimes they were extraordinary. The kicker came when Frank Galati, the great and generous artist, offered me a beautiful role at the Goodman Theatre in his adaptation of Cry, The Beloved Country. The role was not large, but it was important, and Frank inspired the very best in me. It began to bother me that I am working harder than many company members and earning far, far less because I was not Equity. As that show ends, I am offered a principal role in Zorba by a theatre in Highland Park. A major role, not the star, not the lead, but one of the six major roles in the musical. Five of those roles were Equity contracts; I was offered $50 a week on a non-Equity contract. It won’t even cover gas money from downtown Chicago to the suburbs, not to mention groceries or rent. I had enough weeks under the Equity Membership Candidacy program, so I asked the theatre to offer me an Equity contract. They say no. They asked, “Why would you want to join Equity?” I said, “So I never have to argue over $50 again.” They said, “You’re new in town. If you join Equity, you won’t work in Chicago very much. Think about it.” I said, “I’ll take my chances.”
A few months later, the Goodman offered me another role in its lovely annual production of A Christmas Carol. Here we go again: I said, “I want to join Equity.” They said, “Congratulations and welcome aboard.” I took my chances, and all these years later, from the Goodman to Steppenwolf to Broadway, I’m glad I’ll never have to argue about gas money all by myself again. I’ll always have Equity behind me to ensure that I am treated with respect and dignity and never threatened for asking for what I am fundamentally worth.
