Lindsay Douglass

Custer

RC 1000-125

8 March 2021

Annotated Bibliography

Douglass, Lindsay, and Carolyn Allred. Health Care in the Professional Theatre Industry.

Personal Interview, February 23, 2021.

Interview with Carolyn Allred, the Human Resources Manager at the Children’s Theatre of

Charlotte, regarding healthcare in the professional theatre industry and the impacts of Covid-19.

King, K. (2021, January 26). New York City’s creative class faces health-care crunch.

Retrieved February 09, 2021, from

https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-york-citys-creative-class-faces-health-care-crunch-116116696

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● Funds/Organizations that cover theatre professionals health insurance

○ Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
○ Equity-League Benefit Funds (ELBF)
● Enrollment decreasing
○ AEA
➢ End of 2019: <7,200
➢ Start of 2021: 5,909
○ ELBF
➢ -10% monthly

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 Paulson, M. (2020, October 1). Unemployed stage actors to face new health insurance

hurdle. Retrieved February 02, 2021, from

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/theater/stage-actors-health-insurance.html

From actors to stage managers, the pandemic has been incredibly detrimental to the theatre
industry. The health insurance fund that serves as coverage for thousands of theatre professionals
has seen a huge decrease in contributions from theatre producers, both nonprofit and commercial
since the arrival of the pandemic. The professional theatre industry is bringing in little to no
income due to the nationwide shutdowns. The fund is forced to just cover as many people as they
possibly can while facing the largest financial crisis since the climax of the AIDS epidemic. With
AIDS, the greatest challenge was high expenses while during Covid-19, it’s low revenues.
These professionals qualify for healthcare benefits through work, which is incredibly low
demand currently. The theatre industry is drowning with skyrocketing healthcare costs and the
lack of financial resources. This fund entered the pandemic with reserves of $120 million, which
has dropped now to $91 million. It is estimated by the middle of 2021, it will plummet to under
$20 million.

Purcell, C. (2015, August 11). Career or children? Why theatre parents feel forced to

choose. Retrieved February 16, 2021, from

https://www.playbill.com/article/career-or-children-why-theatre-parents-feel-forced-to-choose-c

om-356866

● Reviews most actors use Actors Equity for coverage

○ Requires 12 weeks of covered employment in any 12 calendar months to qualify
for six months of coverage
○ 20 or more weeks in accumulation period qualifies for 12 months of coverage
● Kait Kerrigan, playwright, purchased health insurance through partnership with writing
partner
○ Plan has deductible of $6,000
○ Her pregnancy required extensive testing billing $7,900
● Issues for the profession theatre industry with health insurance availability/costs,
maternity leave availability (lack thereof), and childcare costs in the US
● Quotes:

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○ "We own our work, which is a great thing. But we aren't in a position when it
comes to health insurance, maternity leave, bigger things like that you're kind of
just dealing. You take the time off that you need to take off, but you also don't
make money when you do that.”
○ “In lieu of official maternity leave, many people combine vacation, sick and
personal days in order to put together a few continuous weeks at home. But many
have been aware that the status quo is in need of adjustment.”