CAEA STANCE INSULTING TO CANADIAN ARTISTSjoel fishbane
Earlier this month, Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) raised a protest over a non-Union touring production of In the Heights, brought to Toronto by Dancap Productions. Speaking to the Globe and Mail, CAEA executive director Arden Ryshpan made the following remark: “We think that audiences shouldn’t be inadvertently misled into thinking they are seeing a Broadway calibre production – which we would say they are not, if the productions are non-Equity.” Ms. Ryshpan echoed these comments in a subsequent article for CharPo.
The CAEA is trying to stop the media from covering non-Union productions in the hopes of creating a backlash against producers who don’t hire members of the CAEA. These members lose work whenever a non-Union company comes to town and the CAEA hopes that with media support, they can dissuade these companies from performing in Canada. Although I am sympathetic to their dilemma, in framing their argument the CAEA has taken a position that is both misleading to the public and gravely insulting to all Canadian artists.
