How do you join one of the Actor's Equity sister unions?

Question

I was reading about Actor's Equity and I found that before you can join Actor's Equity you have to be a member of one of their sister unions for one year. Does anyone know what their sister unions are and how to join them?

Answer 1

These are the sister unions of Actor’s Equity Association:

SAG – Screen Actor’s Guild (for productions shot on film)
AFTRA – American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (for productions shot on tape)
AGVA – American Guild of Variety Artists

Of the three, the easiest to join, historically, has been AGVA, chiefly because SAG and AFTRA are not interested in enlarging their memberships.

There are ways, however, of joining any of them simply by earning roles in productions on the merits of your artistic ability.

1. Equity theatre companies are not forbidden from casting non-union actors in union shows, particularly in regional repertory theatres where there may be an agreement between the union and the theatre company obligating the use of some percentage of local talent. Smaller roles in Repertory companies are sometimes ‘bones’ thrown to local actors, who can acquire experience toward Equity membership.

2. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 made it, in essence, illegal to forbid work to non-union members (all kinds of unions) when union membership is not accessible. As such, SAG and AFTRA have, for decades, made provisions for signatory production companies (those who operate in agreement with union conditions and policies as a prerequisite for employing union actors) to hire a non-union actor provided that they attempted to fill the role with a union actor (meaning they auditioned an appropriate number of union actors, proportionately) and that the non-union actor they want to hire has demonstrated a certain “uniqueness” necessary to portray the character in question (which can be as simple as the producer or director saying, “I can’t imagine anyone else in this role”). An non-union actor hired in this fashion is given a one-time exemption to the union membership stipulations to play a role (even in a TV commercial) on a union project. He/she is “Taft-Hartleyed.” The big upside is that after doing the job, this actor is now considered SAG-Eligible (or AFTRA-Eligible if it’s an AFTRA job). What this means is the next time this actor is hired, not only can he/she become a union member, he/she cannot be hired without joining the union (which is what you wanted in the first place). At that time, the actor pays the necessary dues and applications, and becomes a member in good standing of the union, required to pay yearly or quarterly dues thenceforth. Taft-Hartley is the most widely-accepted way for an actor to join SAG. Of course the actor still has to GET the role in order for Taft-Hartley to go into effect, so your auditioning skills are absolutely essential.

Short of this, the AGVA route is as simple as applying for membership and paying the union dues. You will need to establish that you are a variety artist, but in some cases, this could be as simple as demonstrating that you have singing or musical skills that could be employed in a variety act, such as a cabaret, a vaudeville-style show, a circus or a simple variety show. (Other skills, such as juggling, acrobatics, ventriloquism, animal acts, magic, stunts, etc. also fit the bill.)

Good luck!

Actors Equity Association (AEA)
5757 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1
Los Angeles, CA 90036
[phone]
www.actorsequity.org
John Holly, Western Regional Director

American Federation of Television & Radio Artists (AFTRA)
5757 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 900
Los Angeles, CA 90036
[phone]
www.aftra.com
Bill Thomas, LA Executive Director

American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA)
4741 Laurel Canyon Blvd., Suite 208
Valley Village, CA 91607
[phone]
[website unknown]

Screen Actors Guild (SAG)
5757 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036-3600
[phone]
www.sag.org

Answer 2

AFTRA: American Federation of Televison and Radio Artists
AGMA:American Guild of Musical Artists
AGVA: American Guild of Variety Artists

One can join join unions by looking on the website, of each union, for "how to Join," information.

Answer 3

I know you can pretty much buy your way into AFTRA for about $2,000. SAG is a little harder, you need to be cast at least 3 times in a SAG production and at that point you have to join because that's their rules, their dues are somewhere around $2,200 a year.