My theater company is putting up an original play (a one act)and we have 2 equity actors involved. It is only running for 3 nights in Manhattan.

Do we need to aaply for a showcase since it is such a short run on a very small budget? Do we need to purchase insurance or can we just pay the actors a stipend?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Has any one else been in this similar of a situation?

Thanks!

If there's an Equity actor in it, it needs to be approved by Equity and all requirements must be met.

Yes, you're definitely going to have to contact Equity. Don't panic, since you're doing such a small show, there won't be a lot of paper work, but you will have to have your equity people choose a deputy, and formalize your agreement. And it's OK that you're just doing a stipend, you won't be required to do more than that. Best of luck with your show.

Thanks for all your advice!

So, I will not have to purchase insurance?

Thanks again!

pipedream, i know the showcase producing rules and such. if you want to PM me, i can let you know what you need to do. and yes, you'll need to get a basic insurance policy, but you can get it for fairly cheap (like, $200- $400, which isn't "cheap" but is cheap), and they give you companies they suggest in the packet. you can also download the packet on the AEA site.

but the actors are risking their cards if they do this reading with no AEA "contract" (they still have to sign an agreement that gets sent to AEA before the first performance).