Does the actors strike affect Broadway?

With the actors strike suddenly in full swing, many are wondering how their favorite shows and films will be affected. Announced Thursday, July 13 via press conference, the actors union SAG-AFTRA is taking the step to go on strike and cease working until all of their needs are met by The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTPT), who they’ve been negotiating with.

SAG-AFTRA represents more than 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, hosts, announcers, and stunt performers. It was a difficult decision for its members to make, of course, as many working actors rely on the next project they are working on to eek out a living in the business, but the vote amongst them was unanimous.

The actors strike explained

With the advent of streaming, guidelines on how actors are to be compensated are still vague, and the compensation received from streaming has diminished. Also, the threat of AI gaining traction could directly affect the work of the actor – its untread waters, so to speak, where we have to wait and see if AI could truly take over the job once only achievable by humans. Also, there’s the issue of studios making immense amounts of money themselves off the backs of struggling actors and creatives without fair compensation.

The turmoil created by the studios in devaluing the actor and truly only caring about the bottom line has led the union to where they stand. This was addressed pointedly by SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher when she stated during the press conference that the studios, “make Wall Street and greed their priority, and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run. Shame on them. They are on the wrong side of history.” The picketers plan on standing outside of major studios like Disney, Sony, and Netflix to try and get their message heard.

This strike is occurring at the same time as the Writers Guild of America strike, which has been ongoing since early May over many of the same issues that has led SAG-AFTRA to act. This will be the first time since 1960 where both unions are on strike at the same time. The majority of TV shows and films will cease work immediately, if they haven’t already been shut down by the writers strike.

The disruption throws many projects up in the air as actors join picket lines and demand better working conditions and fair pay. But what of live performance, specifically on Broadway? What effect will the strikes have on the Great White Way?

Does the actors strike affect Broadway and Broadway actors?

The strike only affects the unions 65,000 film and television performers. Therefore, Broadway performers are unaffected by the strike and their shows must go on. According to a statement released by Broadway actors, they stand ‘in solidarity’ with the picketing actors. It’s amazing to see the show of heft by the actors in the SAG-AFTRA union by ceasing to work and picketing on the front lines, and it must be an inspiration to the actors on Broadway (whose union is The Actors’ Equity Association) that if they were to ever feel devalued and unfairly compensated, the news would be heard around the globe as SAG-AFTRA’s has been.

Broadway going on with the show is at least a small comfort to those worried about the future states of their beloved film and television programs. If one is lucky enough to be close to the Great White Way, they can still see renowned actors strutting the stage and providing much needed entertainment. One would hope, though, that both strikes do end quickly and in favor of fairer conditions, and as Broadway continues on, film and television will be stagnating as the stars and little-known actors alike band together to get what they want and deserve.