Published to coincide with the centenary of the founding of the Actors' Equity Association in 1913, Weavers of Dreams, Unite! explores the history of actors' unionism in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the onset of the Great Depression. Drawing upon hitherto untapped archival resources in New York and Los Angeles, Sean P. Holmes documents how American stage actors used trade unionism to construct for themselves an occupational identity that foregrounded both their artistry and their respectability. In the process, he paints a vivid picture of life on the theatrical shop floor in an era in which economic, cultural, and technological changes were transforming the nature of acting as work. The engaging study offers important insights into the nature of cultural production in the early twentieth century, the role of class in the construction of cultural hierarchy, and the special problems that unionization posed for workers in the commercial entertainment industry.
| Cover Title page Copyright page Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Weavers of Dreams, Unite! 1. The Great Text in Our Economy Today: The American Theater in an Age of Organization 2. The Sock and Buskin or the Artisan's Biretta: Reconciling Art and Labor in the Actors' Equity Ass 3. All the World's a Stage!: The Actors' Strike of 1919 4. Protecting the High-Minded Actor and the High-Minded Manager in Equal Part: Occupational Unionism 5. For the Dignity and Honor of the Theatrical Profession: Respectability and Unrespectability in th 6. Ain't No Peace in the Family Now: The Actors' Equity Association and the Movies, 1919-1929 Epilogue Notes Index |"The book entertains as much as it educates. . . . a superlative read."—Journal of American Studies
"By tracing the contentious relationship between theatre managers and actors in the early 1900s, examining the performative elements of the actors' strike in 1919, and investigating the failure of the AEA to claim a stake in Hollywood, Holmes plots an engaging historical analysis that offers thorough detail and compelling examples."—Journal of American Culture
"Sean P. Holmes spins a lively, well-researched yarn about how actors decided to take matters into their own hands, giving birth to the union that survives today: Actors' Equity Association (AEA). . . . a clear and smart study."—Labour/Le Travail
|Sean P. Holmes is deputy head of the School of Arts at Brunel University in London. He teaches in the Film and Television Studies program.