Patti LuPone, a three-time Tony Award winner and Broadway star, announced her departure from the Actors Equity Association (AEA) on October 17. The seasoned actress released the following statement. on leaving the AEA:
“It was a busy week on Broadway when my name was mentioned. I filed my Equity card and left the circus. “Solve it up.”
According to LuPone, the AEA accepted her resignation, informing her that if she wanted to return, she would be authorized. She continued,
“And that’s the real reason I left Equity.” This year marks the 50th anniversary… I’ve been a member of Equity for a long time and they don’t know who I am. They just said, ‘Okay, but if you want to join again, we’ll have to authorize you.'”
Patti LuPone is said to have left the AEA after a conflict broke out last week when Hadestown singer Lillias White shouted at a deaf audience member from the stage. White mistook the audience for the person filming the show. However, the woman indicated that she was using a subtitle recorder. The Lillias White scandal reminded LuPone when, in 2009, she berated an audience member for taking pictures with a flash during a Gypsy performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZSZplRvA2c
After the Hadestown incident, LuPone fined the audience for not following the rules. Patti LuPone went on to say that AEA has never endorsed the actor and she doesn’t want to pay any more for them. She also hinted that she might not return to the stage. In the meantime, the veteran actor will not be able to perform in non-Equity regional and touring shows, as well as in concerts and pubs.
More about the Equity card
The Equity Card verifies a person’s membership in the Actors’ Equity Association in the US or Equity in the UK. As an Equity contract actor, he is eligible to join a union. If an actor is a member of one of the sister associations in the performing arts, such as the Music Artists Association of America, the American Association of Entrepreneurial Artists, or the Screen Actors Guild – Union Association of Television and Radio Artists of America, they can apply for membership.
The Equity Card is also available through the Equity Membership (EMC) Candidate Program. The program allows performers to participate in Fair performances and qualify for membership after 50 weeks of work in the theater. An actor must pay a $118 annual membership fee as well as a working membership fee after becoming a member. Membership benefits include minimum wage, health insurance, pensions, and workers’ compensation insurance. Members are not allowed to participate in a non-equity issue unless authorized by Equity.
Future projects of Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone is currently working on film and television projects, she says she will “never give eight concerts a week again” because it’s so difficult right now for her.
The actress most recently appeared on Broadway in last season’s Company, for which she won her third Tony Award (she previously won for The Wanderer and Evita in 1980). The 73-year-old actor will next appear in Netflix’s fantasy series The School for Good and Evil, scheduled for release on October 19. This is followed by the premiere of FX’s upcoming series American Horror Story: NYC on the same day. day.
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education