Broadway Actors May Be Striking Too!
The contract between the Broadway League (the producers) and the Actors' Equity Association (the thespians) has expired as of Sunday. Both sides, however, say negotiations on a new contract are continuing.
Luckily, neither side wants a repeat of the strikes that took place last November by the stagehands. That resulted in more than two dozen Broadway shows being dark for 19 days.
Oh, and it also cost the producers and city millions of dollars in lost revenues!
Peaceful strikes can make an impact.
In a joint statement, both sides have said "The talks remain productive and both parties are confident a fair and equitable contract will be reached."
The negotiations will include talks about the obvious, such as health care benefits and pension.
They will also be talking about the touring program, which was started back in 2004, which allows for different levels of pay for different kinds of tours such as the large hits like Wicked, which can last in some cities for weeks and months.
Then the lesser known plays are usually riskier and will only play weekly sets at a lower pay scale.
Also taken into consideration will be the topic of "new media" in which scenes and performers from the shows are used to promote the shows on the Internet.
Whatever happens, let's just hope they don't go on strike.
[Image via WENN.]