Application Deadline
October 30, 2026
Institution or Organization
n/a
Salary or Compensation
none
Description and Requirements
CFP: Edited Collection, Actors’ Equity Association
The performing arts has long been one of the most heavily unionized sectors of the American economy. Despite a general decline in unionized labor, unions have long been and remain essential to the organization and operation of work in the performing arts. Labor and business historians have fruitfully pursued the practical and theoretical problems of artists as industrial workers (Shannan Clark, The Making of the American Creative Class; Sam Franklin, The Cult of Creativity; Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello, The New Spirit of Capitalism). Performing arts scholars, with recent exceptions—Christin Essin, Working Backstage; David Bisaha, American Scenic Design and Freelance Professionalism; work on casting by Brian Herrera and Ryan Donovan—have paid relatively little attention to unions. Attention, like union dues, must be paid.
We seek submissions for an edited collection focused on one of the oldest and most important theatrical unions, Actors’ Equity Association (Equity). Drawing on approaches from labor and business history, infrastructure studies, and theater and performance studies, we plan a volume that will both introduce scholars to Equity’s operations and history and provide a foundation for future scholarship. We strongly encourage proposals that will draw on Equity’s archives, housed at New York University’s Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. This vast and astoundingly rich collection offers innumerable opportunities to discover how unionization has shaped the lives of its members and helped set the course for American theater.
Potential topics include:
- Contracts
- Equity Leadership and Structure
- Health and Welfare Programs
- Interactions with Producers’ Organizations (LORT, The Broadway League)
- Involvement with Local and National Politics
- Membership and Dues
- Race, Gender, Ethnicity, Nationality, etc.
- Relationships with Other Unions (IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists’ Guild, SDC, British Equity, AGMA)
- Stage Managers
- Strikes
To propose a chapter, please submit a 250-word abstract and brief bio (ca. 50 words) to Rachel Miller, Derek Miller, Ann Folino White at dmiller(at)fas.harvard.edu by October 30th. We anticipate requesting full chapter drafts by July, 2027. We invite contributions from scholars in any discipline and at all phases of their careers. Questions may be addressed to the same contact.
Application Instructions and Contact
To propose a chapter, please submit a 250-word abstract and brief bio (ca. 50 words) to Rachel Miller, Derek Miller, Ann Folino White at dmiller(at)fas.harvard.edu by October 30th. We anticipate requesting full chapter drafts by July, 2027. We invite contributions from scholars in any discipline and at all phases of their careers. Questions may be addressed to the same contact.