Digitally broadcast theater was supposed to give actors, theaters and audiences a makeshift when the pandemic forestalled in-person performances in March.

But two Berkeley Repertory Theatre actors allege that the way the theater recorded and distributed “School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play” violated their rights as union members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union representing more than 51,000 actors and stage managers nationwide. And as their dispute with the theater has persisted, cast members Santoya Fields and Omozé Idehenre now also say their union has failed to adequately represent them.

这ir plight illustrates not only the havoc the pandemic has wrought throughout the theater world but also a long-time vulnerability that actors face.

“我们正在努力制作的观点是：如果联盟和伯克利代表尚未向前说，那么我们就会宣布问责制;这就是我们负责的责任，“那么没有办法确保我们发生的事情不会在未来的另一个演员中完成，”菲尔德说。

为了更深入地了解问题，请阅读：Berkeley Rep actors allege contract violations, union failures, following hastily written streaming agreement

这union’s collective bargaining agreement with the League of Resident Theatres, of which Berkeley Rep is a member, clearly lays out how a theater can use an actor’s image, to ensure that when a theater profits from that image, actors can consent first and get compensated fairly in return.

But in March, Berkeley Rep, American Conservatory Theater and AEA had created an ad hoc broadcast agreement, which covered four shows that were canceled because of the pandemic — “School Girls” and“Culture Clash (Still) in America”at Berkeley Rep, and“Gloria”和“Toni Stone”在法案。这Union后来适应了全国各地的许多其他剧院的协议。

Fields and Idehenre take issue with both the terms of the agreement and Berkeley Rep’s execution of those terms for “School Girls,” the only one of the four shows that was never performed in person and the only one that didn’t have a film on hand before the shelter in place order.

这cast didn’t learn that AEA had signed a new agreement on their behalf until two days after the show had been filmed. Fields and Idehenre claim, among other violations, that they were filmed without 24 hours’ advance notice and at an unscheduled rehearsal instead of at a previously scheduled performance. They say there’s confusion over whether their two weeks’ pay guaranteed by the new agreement was severance or a digital media appearance fee, which should be separate. They also contend that the new agreement improperly reduced the payment their original contract secured, especially since Berkeley Rep was able to make available the same number of tickets online as it would have for an in-person show.

Though it’s the job of AEA to investigate alleged contract violations on its members’ behalf, in this case, Fields and Idehenre say, the union withdrew the grievance it filed without fully communicating with them. They suspect that’s because the union fears the expenses of arbitration.

After months of dispute, on Friday, Aug. 14, Berkeley Rep offered the actors their full original contract’s pay and benefits.

此前，田地和Idehenre还要求罚款，以及对剧院的组织结构的公共道歉和变化。如果演员接受Berkeley Rep的报价，他们就会放弃所有这些要求，以及追求法律行动的权利。

So far, the two have held fast to previous demands for accountability, without saying whether they would accept.

Berkeley Rep董事总监苏珊MEDAK维护公司的业务最好的业务可能会在前所未有的和快速变化的情况下，包括在24小时内发出最大的努力。

“我们为与人交往的交易而感到自豪，”Medak说。“Even in the midst of what was truly an existential crisis, when we had no idea whether we would survive the next month, let alone the next season, we went above and beyond the financial commitment we had made to Actors’ Equity for both our shows.”

She notes that the broadcast agreement gave the theater an option beyond invoking force majeure and sending the actors home with just three days’ pay.

对于“学校女孩”演员，她补充说，伯克利代表“以我们的成本额外3个月举行了三位演员，”她补充道。“这一切都感觉就像是正确的事情。”

AEA的代表拒绝接受对这个故事的采访。

“我们与股票代表的员工和伯克利代表有积极的谈话，以解决这一生产的杰出问题，并确保每个人都适当地赔偿他们的工作，”发言人Lorenz在送到纪事的一份声明中说。

其他“学校女孩”演员成员要么没有回复要求发表评论或拒绝评论。

演员的指控和问题提高了戏剧行业的更广泛问题：联盟和剧院的失败通过寻找在流式传输或广播时进行有道理的付款结构来跟上改变技术;在戏剧世界之间的言论与艺术家重要性之间的言论与其在国际紧急势力艰难的决定中获得优先权的言论之间的旋转。

“如果他们可以创建一个杜这样的合同ring the pandemic,” Fields asks, “who is truly representing our interests?”

“When is the union going to see actors as the powerful creatives we actually are and fully fight for us as we have paid them to do?” Idehenre asks. “When will the theaters and the union stop hiding behind public statements and start doing the work privately to create a more equitable, safe and just culture for the actors they employ and represent?”