Actors' Equity Association has found it necessary to adopt a Nudity Code to protect its members. The Code stipulates that no nudity is permitted at interviews, or until after the actor has been auditioned. Nudity at auditions is permitted only when an official Equity representative and duly authorized members of the production team are present. No actor is required to appear nude in a production unless he or she has been advised and gives written consent by the time of signing the contract. Actors are not required to pose for nude photographs or to appear nude for any motion picture filming, videotaping, or other forms of visual recording without written consent. No photograph in which an actor appears nude may be used in any way without the written consent of each actor appearing in the photograph, and even then, the request to use the photograph must specify the use to be made of the photo. No actor is required, while nude, to mix with the audience or to leave the stage or performing area, and no member of the audience is permitted to enter the stage, performance area, or backstage while any actor is nude.
While these rules are specifically for members of Actors' Equity Association, it would be wise for all performers to be very clear on the circumstances before agreeing to disrobe at any time.
Perhaps from our standpoint, a more appropriate definition of a "trend" would be a development that has an impact on potential employment for the actor.
While Broadway remains the theatrical capital of the country, there is no question that American theatre has diversified. Jerome Lawrence, noted playwright (Inherit the Wind, Auntie Mame) feels that "a lot of theatre outside New York is better than Broadway. Some of it is sloppy and screwy, but some of it is great. American theatre shouldn't be confined to a few blocks in Manhattan. Plays should be written and performed elsewhere-not before Broadway, but instead of Broadway."
Veteran actor Eli Wallach told a meeting of actors in 1998 that "the theatre has essentially moved Off-Broadway, but there are wonderful productions going on with wonderful actors. There's no difference between that and Broadway." He also told the story of playing Mr. Freeze on an episode of Batman when it was a TV series in 1967. Although a well-known performer at the time, he was paid $350 for a half-hour show. In 1996, Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid $22 million to play Mr. Freeze in Batman, the film.
For the actor, the proliferation of theatres away from the mainstream offers increased opportunities to escape casting stereotypes and to create new roles and innovative theatre.
Colleges and universities also are affiliating with professional theatre groups, giving increased opportunities to students and professional actors.
Not long ago in New York, there was only the Broadway theatre. Then, as production costs mounted and astronomic theatre rentals and limited theatre availabilities drove all but the most successful (and commercial) plays to early closings, the Off-Broadway theatre emerged and offered some of the most interesting and worthwhile plays to audiences for a fraction of the cost of a Broadway ticket. Such stars as Jason Robards, Jr., Frank Langella, Faye Dunaway, Al Pacino, and Dustin Hoffman first achieved recognition in Off-Broadway productions.
But, soon, Off-Broadway became as expensive to produce and see as Broadway had been years before; so now we have Off-Off Broadway. It is in this area that the little theatre groups and workshops are finding audiences. Many Off-Off Broadway productions are not union; many of them don't pay the performers. But these workshops are places to be seen, and since the number of summer theatres-which used to serve as the crucible for developing an actor's talents-has declined, aspiring actors must use every available showcase until their careers get off the ground. Philip Hayes Dean, a former actor who became a successful playwright, feels that workshops are the most important training ground the actor has, saying, "Acting is learned by acting." As long ago as the 1920s, workshops spawned such talents as Henry Fonda, Elia Kazan, and Joshua Logan. In workshops, too, the actor has a chance to work with fledgling directors, writers, designers, and other technicians. Then, if an actor "makes it," he or she has developed a reservoir of friends, to call upon and to recommend to directors and producers.
In addition to the somewhat traditional media discussed above, there are new developing fields opening up for talented actors. Cable TV, commercials, infomercials, voice-overs, dubbing, and even, to a limited extent, the rediscovery of dramatic radio programming, are all of potential significance to actors and the public. With the continued introduction of new technology, who knows what the future will bring for performers as well as for society as a whole? In the field of electronic entertainment, there is the videocassette. Anything that is telecast or originates on film can potentially be collected by private individuals. The performers' unions have been alert to these developments and are aware of the tremendous potential for exploitation of the actor or musician. It is easy to imagine how one performance seen over and over and over again would lead to unemployment for the artists and large profits for the companies duplicating their performances.
The Effects of Emerging Technology
Technology is changing so rapidly it is difficult to keep up with the new developments, and what we talk about now might well be obsolete or gone before this ink is dry.
Unfortunately, opportunities for performers are not keeping pace with the advances in technology. In fact, the new technology is causing problems for performers in terms of unauthorized taping of performances-both audio and video-which, in turn, robs them of employment opportunities.
The performer unions are, naturally, concerned with problems caused by home tape recorders, and although it has been said that imitation is the highest form of flattery, that very imitation often prevents a person from being paid for her or his labor.
Millions of people are making free copies of records on home taping machines. Others are taping valuable TV programs, and still others are copying prerecorded cassette tapes for friends and neighbors. The per-formers are not paid for these tapings.
It has been estimated that the recording industry loses at least $1 billion of sales each year because of the use of home tape recorders and, as video cassette recorders proliferate, a similar impact will be felt in the motion picture and video industries.
Cable Television
Cable television originated in the late 1940s as a means of delivering an acceptable television signal to rural areas that could not receive a clear signal off the air.
So many of the cable television channels currently operating are local access stations, catering to a wide range of civic interests and group discussions, that despite all the hoopla that has attended their emergence, they offer scant opportunity for performers. Present local cable operations are concerned primarily with filling time, and they fill it with virtually anything available. Certainly they don't feature performances by actors, singers, or dancers. The big cable networks, on the other hand, fill much of their time with movies, sports broadcasts, or news.
While the performer unions have negotiated additional payment when newer movies or television programs are sold to cable, the additional income generated by these agreements has not been significant.
As all of the performer unions wrestle with the problems caused by new technology and the protection of "intellectual property," AFTRA, in 1995, established its first contract covering work in Interactive Media, including work in video games and interactive movies. The number of companies and producers using the agreement increases every year.
