Equity in the News

A pair of lawmakers in Congress, Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., introduced bipartisan legislation Wednesday to fix a problem in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that makes it difficult for performing artists to deduct their work-related expenses.

Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), both Ways and Means members, have legislation that would update a deduction that actors and performers can take for work expenses.

Actors’ Equity has helped spearhead the introduction of a bill that aims to bring back tax deductions for performing artists.

Actors’ Equity, the U.S. union for professional stage managers and stage actors, recently announced the launch of a new hotline where members can report instances of harassment or abuse in theater workplaces. The helpline, which was announced in the union’s latest edition of Equity News magazine, is the latest step for the labor organization that’s in the midst of redefining itself as more engaged and activistic.

Malcolm Ewen, one of the three founding directors of Weston Playhouse Theatre Company, lost his battle with cancer Monday at the age of 64. Not only did we lose one of this country’s most respected stage managers, and a co-creator of Vermont’s foremost theater company, we lost a beacon of humanity — both inside the theater and out.

Malcolm Ewen’s first foray into a life in the theater was in his hometown of Winnetka, in a middle school production of The Hither and Thither of Danny Dither. He played the role of God. Ewen died on Monday at the JourneyCare hospice in Glenview at the age of 64, three years after receiving a diagnosis of bile duct cancer.

Malcolm Ewen, who grew up on the North Shore, died Monday in Chicago, according to the theater company, which said he was 64 and had cancer. His hard work, organizational skill, cool head and sense of humor were recognized when he was tapped in February as the first stage manager to become a member of the famed Chicago ensemble.

Miners Alley Playhouse is the latest Front Range theater company to join the actors' labor union

The new Regional Theatre Report says $124 million were earned in wages by Equity members around the country. Work weeks per member increased 8 percent over last season, and 18 of the 28 regions saw gains in work weeks per member.

Actors’ Equity has named Lynn Rhinehart as special counsel, effective immediately. Rhinehart comes to Actors’ Equity from the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), where she served as general counsel from 2009 until her retirement from the organization in 2018.