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29-756: First Folio Theatre was a not-for-profit theater company affiliated with the Actors' Equity Association . Founded in 1996, First Folio, originally named First Folio Shakespeare Festival , was located on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate in Oak Brook, Illinois , United States. First Folio utilized the "Folio Method" as developed by Patrick Tucker (at one time of the Royal Shakespeare Company ), who first introduced his approach to American actors, directors and teachers in

58-514: A major role in the recognition of the impact the AIDS epidemic on the world of theater, co-founding Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS . In 2021, Actor's Equity introduced an "Open Access" membership policy, whereby "any theatre worker who can demonstrate they have worked professionally as an actor or stage manager within Equity's geographical jurisdiction" may join the union. This opened eligibility to

87-568: A member of one of Equity's sister performing arts unions, the "Four A's": SAG-AFTRA , AGMA , AGVA or GIAA . Such applicants must have been a member of said sister union for at least one year, be a member in good standing of that union, have worked as a performer under the union's jurisdiction on a principal or "under-five" contract or at least three days of extra ("background") work, and must have completed non-union theatrical work. The AEA has several different types of contract, with different rules associated with them. Each contract type deals with

116-631: A more organized equality strike. Starting on June 5, 1929, Gillmore attended several meetings in New York with the heads of Broadway. After the meeting, he notified the AEA that appearances in sound and talking motion pictures had been suspended until the outcome of the meetings with the international Studio Crafts Union. Due to the negotiations and the suspension of contracts through the AEA, studios were desperate for actors to speed up production, which had dropped significantly. The New York Times wrote, "It

145-570: A series of workshops sponsored by the Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City at The Shakespeare Center beginning in 1982, which led to an awakened interest in the First Folio. The Folio Method employs the text of William Shakespeare 's First Folio to illuminate the textual clues for the actors and the audience. First Folio Theatre was listed as a Major Festival in the book Shakespeare Festivals Around

174-453: A specific type of theater venue or production type. These include, but are not limited to: Council of Resident Stock Theatres (CORST), Guest Artist, Letters of Agreement (LoA), League of Resident Theatres (LoRT) Small Professional Theatres (SPT), and Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA). AEA actors and stage managers are not allowed to work in non-Equity houses or on any productions in which an Equity Agreement has not been signed anywhere within

203-443: A studio would put out worldwide. On July 20, 1929, the AEA gained its first victory, which gave producers and actors a leg to stand on in their battle for equality. Over 30 days (up to August 20, 1929), Gillmore fought to give the AEA the ability to represent all actors, producers, radio personality, vaudeville performers, and agents in the country. This would also give all power and representation to one organization in order to create

232-494: Is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book or through-storyline ( vaudeville , cabarets , circuses ) may be represented by the American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA). The AEA works to negotiate quality living conditions, livable wages, and benefits for performers and stage managers. A theater or production that

261-466: Is not produced and performed by AEA members may be called "non-Equity". Leading up to the Actors' and Producers' strike of 1929, Hollywood and California in general had a series of workers' equality battles that directly influenced the film industry. The films The Passaic Textile Strike (1926), The Miners' Strike (1928) and The Gastonia Textile Strike (1929) gave audience and producers insight into

290-570: Is the successor to the Clearwater Players, organized in 1930 as a community theater which presented productions in ad hoc venues around Clearwater, Florida for several years. In 1935, the first president of Actors Equity , Francis Wilson, a winter resident in Clearwater, convinced a friend, Mary Curtis Bok (later Zimbalist,) to contribute $ 5,000 for the construction of a permanent home for the Clearwater Players. Mrs. Bok agreed to

319-529: The Hollywood blacklist , the AEA refused to participate. Although its constitution guaranteed its members the right to refuse to work alongside Communists , or a member of a Communist front organization, the AEA did not ban any members. At a 1997 ceremony commemorating the blacklist's 50th anniversary, Richard Masur , then president of the Screen Actors Guild, apologized for its participation in

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348-542: The AEA's jurisdiction. [REDACTED] Media related to Actors' Equity Association at Wikimedia Commons Francis Wilson (actor) Francis Wilson (February 7, 1854 – October 7, 1935) was an American actor and founding president of the Actors' Equity Association . Wilson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania . He began his career in a minstrel show with Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels , but by 1878

377-838: The Actors Equity Association, with more than 111 actors and Francis Wilson as its founding board president. At a meeting held at the Pabst Grand Circle Hotel in New York City, on May 26, 1913, Actors' Equity was founded by 112 professional theater actors, who established its constitution and elected Francis Wilson as president. Leading up to the association's establishment, a handful of influential actors—known as The Players—held secret organizational meetings at Edwin Booth's The Players at its Gramercy Park mansion. A bronze plaque commemorates

406-556: The Retreat Wing of Mayslake Hall. This venue seated up to 130 and was First Folio's primary indoor venue through 2023. Along with their formal stagings, First Folio's Educational Outreach program also offered four educational touring shows and an artist-in-residence program. The four touring shows included Master Shakespeare and His Stories , designed for grade-school aged children; Shakespeare's Warring and Wooing , The Fifty Minute Midsummer Night's Dream , and Edgar Allan Poe and

435-859: The Tell-Tale Heart , all geared toward middle and high school students. First Folio gave over 250 performances of their touring shows for over 125,000 students throughout Illinois and Iowa. These programs were included in the Illinois Arts Council's Arts Tour Roster. First Folio's outreach program was chosen as the Artists-in-Residence for the Quad Cities Arts Program in November 2006. Actors%27 Equity The Actors' Equity Association ( AEA ), commonly called Actors' Equity or simply Equity ,

464-607: The Wilderness (1905); 'nd The Bachelor's Baby (1909), which he also wrote. He also appeared in several productions of Rip Van Winkle. He formed his own theatre company in 1899. He was the author of Joseph Jefferson : Reminiscences of a Fellow Player (1906), The Eugene Field I Knew (1898), Francis Wilson's Life of Himself (1924), and John Wilkes Booth : Fact and Fiction of Lincoln's Assassination (1929), written with information from his close friend Edwin Booth . Wilson wrote several plays, of which The Bachelor's Baby

493-614: The World by Marcus D. Gregio ( Editor ), 2004. After 25 years in operation, First Folio Theatre ceased operations with its last performance in February 2023, due to the retirement of its Founding Executive Director David Rice. https://firstfolio.org/26th-season-preview/ First Folio Theatre performed in the Event Hall of the historic Mayslake Peabody Estate. Its first venue was its outdoor stage, built in 1997 and located adjacent to

522-562: The ban, saying: "Only our sister union, Actors' Equity Association, had the courage to stand behind its members and help them continue their creative lives in the theater. For that, we honor Actors' Equity tonight." In the 1960s, the AEA played a role in gaining public funding for the arts, including the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The AEA fought the destruction of historic Broadway theaters . It played

551-408: The beautiful Portiuncula Chapel. Lawn seating allowed up to 500 audience members to enjoy a picnic while they watched Shakespeare-under-the-stars. The second venue was First Folio's chamber theater, opened in 2004 and located in the formal library of Mayslake Hall. With seating for 80, this venue was used for more intimate productions. The third venue was the Event Hall, opened in 2008 and located in

580-548: The effect and accomplishments of labor unions and striking. These films were set apart by being current documentaries, not merely melodramas produced for glamor. In 1896, the first Actors Union Charter was recognized by the American Federation of Labor as an attempt to create a minimum wage for actors being exploited. It was not until January 13, 1913, that the Union Charter failed. It later reemerged as

609-473: The loss of their jobs. The theater strikes combined with freelance contracts fueled the need for actors and stagehands to strike for better working conditions and pay. Frank Gillmore , the head and treasurer of the Actor's Equity Association, understood that he would need multiple unions across the country to make a change not only in proper representation and pay, but in actors' ability to negotiate any contract

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638-488: The movie stage under better conditions, but this was the least of its problems. In late December, groups of theater owners and non-represented producers filed lawsuits to claim damages from the AEA's contract holdout. "The plaintiffs not only seek a temporary injunction against the defendants, pending trial on an order to show cause why a permanent injunction should not be granted, but also ask damages of $ 100,000." The AEA allowed small numbers of contracts to be negotiated over

667-566: The next few years. In 1933, the Screen Actors Guild was created and took the AEA's place as the main representative for movie actors and producers. This allowed the AEA to focus on live productions, such as theatrical performances, while the Screen Actors Guild focused on movie production and non-scripted live performances, such as minstrel, vaudeville, and live radio shows. In the 1940s, the AEA stood against segregation . When actors were losing jobs through 1950s McCarthyism and

696-712: The room in which The Players met to establish Actors' Equity. Members included Frank Gillmore , who from was the executive secretary of Actors' Equity from 1918 to 1929 and president from 1929 to 1937. Actors' Equity joined the American Federation of Labor in 1919, and called a strike seeking recognition as a labor union. The strike ended the dominance of the Producing Managers' Association , including theater owners and producers like Abe Erlanger and his partner, Mark Klaw . The strike increased membership from under 3,000 to approximately 14,000. The Chorus Equity Association , which merged with Actors' Equity in 1955,

725-516: The union to theatre workers who had not previously worked for Equity employers. Theatre workers need to provide a copy of their contract and proof of pay. This policy was made permanent in 2023, superseding previous methods for earning eligibility to join Equity such as the Equity Membership Candidate (EMC) program. Asides from Open Access, theatre workers may join Equity by being employed under an Equity contract, or by being

754-597: Was founded during the strike. Equity represented directors and choreographers until 1959, when they broke away and formed their own union . The Actors Equality Strike was a series of walkouts that started in 1927 in local theaters in Los Angeles and quickly grew to the motion picture stage. During the nationwide walkouts, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started issuing contracts to freelance film actors, which led Hollywood's actors and actresses to fear

783-833: Was playing at the Chestnut Street Theatre , Philadelphia, and the next year appeared in M'liss with Annie Pixley . After several years in regular comedy , he took up some comic opera , appearing with the McCaull Comic Opera Company and making a great success in Erminie (1886). In 1889, leaving New York's Casino Theatre , he made his appearance as a star in The Oolah . Plays in which he starred subsequently include The Merry Monarch (1890); The Lion Tamer (1891); The Little Corporal (1898); The Strollers (1901); The Little Father of

812-467: Was pointed out that while the Equality regulations were in effect, about 2000 motion picture contracts, involving salaries said to amount to $ 500,000 were offered to actors in New York." Any actor who entered into a contract not approved by the AEA would be banished from the union and have to reapply for admission after negotiations were finished. By December 1929, the AEA was negotiating terms to reset

841-473: Was the most successful. He was the founding president of the Actors' Equity Association . Wilson's first wife was Mira Barrie with whom he had two daughters. Their older daughter was Frances Wilson Huard , who became a French baroness, and wrote memoirs of her life in France during World War I . After her death he married Edna Bruns (1879–1960) with whom he had a son and daughter. Francis Wilson Playhouse

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