Advocacy Newsroom

Hiring Opportunity for Arts Workers: Times Square Vaccination Site

It has come to the Guild's attention that ATC Healthcare is hiring for the positions of Program Usher and Registration Coordinator at the Times Square vaccination site. Furthermore, in an effort to support theatrical workers impacted by COVID-19, ATC has set aside positions for workers from the NYC theatrical community for non-medical staffing positions, offering hourly pay and flexible scheduling as well as access to a personal vaccination appointment....
Advocacy Newsroom

COVID RELIEF UPDATE: President Biden Signs New Covid Relief Bill

A new COVID-19 relief bill has finally arrived. President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan on Thursday, March 11 -- practically a year to the day since theatre officials shut down. This latest stimulus package, which includes $1.9 trillion in COVID-19 aid provides expanded and vital forms of assistance to theatres, artsworkers, and others in the entertainment industry who are suffering as a result of the pandemic. ...
Advocacy Newsroom

New Covid Relief Bill Includes Save Our Stages, Unemployment Assistance for Freelance/Gig Workers, and More

The Dramatists Guild has learned that the new congressional Covid relief bill intends to provide continued financial support for gig workers and freelance workers, including many dramatists who do not qualify for traditional unemployment relief. The COVID Relief Bill is over 5,600 pages long; neither the House, the Senate, nor the theatre community at large has had sufficient time to fully analyze it, and the President is currently threatening not to sign it without further amendments. ...
Advocacy Newsroom

Atlanta Emergency Rental Assistance

Atlanta based dramatists, who are at risk of eviction or homelessness due to COVID-19 related financial instability, may be eligible to receive help via United Way of Greater Atlanta's Emergency Housing Assistance Program. Interested applicants are encouraged to attend one of UWGA's in-person application events at Loudermilk Center on Courtland...
Advocacy Newsroom

Advocacy News: Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act of 2020

Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced the Mixed Earner Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Act of 2020 to help ensure Americans who earn a living through a mix of traditional (W-2) and independent employment income (1099) can fully access the financial relief made available under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program. This legislation has the possibility to bring much needed...
The Dramatist

The Rooms Where It Happens (for some)

As a rural southern playwright, I am often isolated from the most vibrant theatre artists in the country even though I previously lived in New York for over a decade and currently work remotely with a New York based collaborator.
Advocacy Newsroom

UPDATE: COVID-19 Financial Relief

This article was originally published on April 29, 2020 and has been updated with new information on July 6, 2020.If you have read our previous update on this issue, UPDATE: COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits for Dramatists, you will note that, in addition to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program under the CARES Act, dramatists may...
The Dramatist

My Two Performance Hit

The world premiere of my play Conversations About an Empty Suit ran for two nights, opening Friday, March 13, 2020, and closing Saturday, March 14, 2020. A play about professional success and failure, it was the biggest hit of my life.
Advocacy Newsroom

Government Support for Creative Professionals Impacted by COVID-19

Congress has just passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which includes economic support for creative professionals.   Below is a flowchart from the Arts, Entertainment, and Media Industry Coordinating Committee (AEMI) to provide initial guidance on how to access the expanded unemployment insurance benefits. ...