<p>^^^You and me both Momcares. 
I feel very fortunate to have a few of the above posters on my speed dial in the meantime. Nothing to add beyond that but reading this thread with great interest. Thanks to all those “in the know” for sharing. It’s fascinating.</p>
<p>The being ready in this case was about talent and training. Apparently, she was not always impressed. It was kind of a you only get one chance to make a first impression sort of warning. But, that’s a good point about logistics. How do you assess? I have no idea. But I do think the kids will figure this out. They watch their peers and get a pretty good sense of where they fit. </p>
<p>I hope.</p>
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I still get confused about all of this.</p>
<p>D apparently knows non-Equity grads with agents in NYC who still spend (waste?) a lot of time attending open calls. Can an agent get a non-Equity actor seen for ALL Equity shows, or only for a subset? </p>
<p>Also - I thought I’d read somewhere that Equity actors can sign up for audition slots for Equity shows without an agent if they choose to. Is that true?</p>
<p>Does anyone have more thoughts about whether being Equity gets the attention of more agents at a Showcase, or is it totally irrelevant to potential agents?</p>
<p>Someone also mentioned that there may be certain actor housing in NYC that is only available to Equity actors. Is that true?</p>
<p>@MomCares</p>
<p>What I think I know… if anyone else can chime in…</p>
<p>An agent can get an non equity actor seen.</p>
<p>An agent has a certain number of slots per audition. So if you are not one of the actors they choose to send, you can go to the open call and be seen before any non-equity folks. In fact, you get to be seen before any of the non-equity folks who may have been waiting for hours. </p>
<p>I don’t think your equity status makes a difference to an agent at showcase.</p>
<p>There is actor housing in NYC with a waiting list a mile long.</p>
<p>I have had this discussion with my son who opted for his equity card. It leaves you out of any non-equity tours or non-equity summer stock or theater work. I thought he should have waited. Sometimes I forget that he is in charge of his career and not me </p>
<p>@lojosmo - Thanks!
Do agents tend to give their Equity clients preference over non-Equity clients, since they presumably make more $ if an Equity client lands the role? Do “top” agents get more slots than others? Do agents work within large agencies who share a certain # of audition slots, or are most of them independent? Any tips for figuring out which agents are the best?
So if you are Equity, but not sent by an agent, you still go to the front of the line at an open call, or do you sign up for a pre-assigned audition slot?
Are the waiting lists only open to Equity actors, or to anyone?</p>
<p>@lojosmo - IIRC your S is still in school. Has he still found plenty of summer work since taking his card?</p>
<p>Sorry for all the questions. Hopefully my D knows more about this than mom does!</p>
<p>@MomCares</p>
<p>I don’t know how to do the copy in the box thing!</p>
<p>Agents will not make more $ because if you book an equity contract, you make equity wages. You have to join the union. I don’t know the answers to the other ?s in that group.</p>
<p>You go to the front of the line. From the equity website: Non-Members, including EMCs, are seen only when no Equity Member is auditioning or waiting to audition. </p>
<p>Housing: not sure - it is NYC subsidized housing.</p>
<p>He is still in school. He has found some summer work (he booked one for this summer but still waiting on answers from another) but as I said, he was not able to do summer stock and regional theater that were paying but were non equity. I personally think it is limiting; he thinks it is the right thing for him.</p>
<p>@lojosmo - Thanks again!! To do the boxed quote you just use [ quote] text text text blah blah blah [ /quote]… but removing the spaces after the [ .
I’m pretty sure D has had offers in the past where she had a choice of joining Equity or not joining and earning less $$ to do the same work - maybe by taking EMC points or claiming Taft-Hartley. Or I could be misremembering.</p>
<p>Of course our kids are in charge of their own careers, but it’s interesting as a parent to try to understand their options, and it’s natural that we want them to make choices that best serve them over the long run. :)</p>
<p>I think you have to take the points if you are working in an equity theater but you make the same $</p>
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<p>You go, @lojosmo!! :)</p>
<p>I am quite certain she’s been offered two choices (on more than one occasion, at different theatres), and the non-Equity option involved earning less $$ for the exact same job. Anyone else have experience with this?</p>
<p>@MomCares - I would guess that the circumstances where your d was offered a choice was in an LORT or lesser theatre, where only some fraction of the actors are from Equity (there are many types of Equity agreements). </p>
<p>Here is the verbiage from the LORT agreement (Equity calls non-members, “non-professionals”):</p>
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<p>I don’t think that there are many full-Equity theatres outside of New York; there are less than 10 “A” houses in the LORT.</p>
<p>@EmsDad - Thanks! That makes sense, as both were well established Regional theatres, so I doubt they would have been breaking any rules.</p>
<p>MomCares, here’s my take on your original questions for what it’s worth–
Yes, you are definitely more likely to get better representation if you are equity. This makes sense, since the agents take a cut of your salary, and your salary is likely to be higher if you are equity.</p>
<p>Which leads me to: Yes, an equity actor in any number of kinds of equity theatres can be paid more than a non-equity. If you are agented, your agent can negotiate a higher salary as well. (This would depend on you, the show, the theatre and the agent.) To clarify, as was said above, it is only in a very small number of theatres on B’way and a few outside that you are awarded equity upon being cast. In most equity regional theatres you earn EMC points toward equity. </p>
<p>Showcase is only one way of getting seen by agents. There are many other ways. If you are equity it is easier to be seen by an agent by appointment or other ways. </p>
<p>@connections - Thanks! I’m hoping some day I’ll understand at least some of this, but I know without the help of you all I wouldn’t stand a chance. :)</p>
<p>@connections and @EmsDad
Thanks… what I think know, I don’t!</p>
<p>@lojosmo - Haha - what you know about this has me beat! If you’re like me, our main window into this world is our kids’ experience, and I often feel like I’m peeking above the surface using a very small, foggy periscope, </p>
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<p>And to further clarify, this would be all Broadway shows and most off-Broadway. Additionally, if you are cast in an Equity tour, you are now an Equity member.</p>
<p>@alwaysamom - Thanks! And I gather there are circumstances at Regional theatres where they instantly grant Equity cards to certain performers, though I don’t understand exactly when or why. Can all Equity theatres that are allowed to hire a percentage of non-professional contracts offer EMC points, or do only certain part-Equity theatres participate in that program?</p>
<p>First, to be clear, I am no expert! This is just my own impression so someone else please chime in if I"m wrong–</p>
<p>But alwaysamom, yes, sorry I realize I didn’t phrase it right.Yes, all B’way is Instant Equity (is this my own term? likes Instant Oatmeal?). Many Off-Broadway. Equity Tours. Main Disney actors (cruise, parks). And a few regional. </p>
<p>As to the EMC program–the theatre will state if it participates in the EMC program. As far as we’ve seen - someone else correct me - most regionals participate. Momcares, I don’t know why a theatre would award Instant Equity to only certain performers and not others. Do you mean a theatre that also participates in EMC, awarding equity to someone and not to others? </p>
<p>As Emsdad alludes to, there are also many different sorts of equity theatres each with various tiers in pay scales. </p>
<p>You know, the more questions I ask, the more questions I realize I have, even when I tried to dig around on the Equity site for clarification! Maybe this is a sign that this is a topic I need to let D figure out, since it seems that so many practices and rules seem unique for specific theaters, shows and roles. Maybe understanding the details of Equity is above mom’s pay grade?</p>
<p>I think some theaters have a couple of Equity cards that they can hand out at will. I could be wrong, but I do remember hearing this after a local girl got her card from a specific director at a regional and was so grateful to him in the local paper. Not everyone gets handed their card when they book a show there and her part was a lead but lots of parts are leads who don’t walk away with Equity cards. But, again, I could be wrong.</p>