I got my Equity Card in 1985, the year I moved to New York from Alabama. I played Jane in Leave It to Jane at the Goodspeed Opera House. Jane was actually my second summer stock job that year. The first role I played was Marian in the [now closed] American Musical Theatre’s production of The Music Man in New London, Connecticut. The company there was allowed to hire a couple of non-Equity leads and I was one of them.
Let’s just say that I am glad Goodspeed Opera didn’t do the same. As of writing this, that was 19 years ago and I’ve loved being an Equity member every bit those of 19 years.
