Abstract

The Actor and the Depression

When an actor has a job he is an actor, when he is laying off he is nothing. The acting profession has always been a precarious one. Previous to 1919, when the Equity contract now universally used came into existence, the actor faced many more uncertainties than he does now. When he put his name to one of the old-time contracts he practically signed his life away and was utterly at the mercy of irresponsible or dishonest promoters. In New York City last season two-thirds of the legitimate theaters were closed most of the time. Outside New York it was worse, there were no one-night stands at all, and the theaters in the larger cities kept open only a few weeks during the entire year. All this indicates unemployment and hardship, but it would not be accurate to say that this state of affairs is caused entirely by the depression.