AGMA members, who have been members for at least one calendar year, can attend Equity auditions without joining Equity. The cost to join Equity would be their then current initiation fee less the $500 initiation fee previously paid to AGMA. AGMA has a standard letter that needs to be presented to Equity upon joining. You can obtain that letter by calling the Membership Department at (212) 265-3687. Current members of Actors’ Equity may join AGMA as an affiliate union. In such a case, only half of the Initiation Fee ($250) and annual Basic Dues ($78) are required ($328). In addition, both AGMA and Equity members in good standing are allowed to attend the other union’s auditions without joining the other union.... Read More -->

By Alan S. Gordon, National Executive Director After more than a decade of jurisdictional conflicts and a hostile relationship, the two principal unions representing live performers across the United States have undertaken a new and mutually symbiotic relationship. Equity’s selection of Mary McColl as its Executive Director has helped immeasurably, as she and I were able to work out an innovative basic jurisdictional understanding, and begin a new focus on mutual cooperation. Previously, jurisdictional disputes were handled by the Associated Actors and Artistes of America (4As), an AFL-CIO created entity that consists of AGMA, Equity, SAG, AFTRA, AGVA and the Guild of Italian American Actors, with Theodore Bikel as its Presi... Read More -->