Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), the national labor union representing over 51,000 actors and stage managers working in the professional theater, has announced the retirement of business representative Walk Kiskaddon. Kiskaddon will depart the union on June 6.
Kiskaddon joined AEA in August 1998 as a business representative in the developing theater department, and subsequently joined the team working on the AEA production contract in 2000. An AEA business representative oversees the union collective bargaining agreements, such as the aforementioned production contract, which is used for all actors and stage managers who work on a Broadway show.
“It has been an honor to work for Equity for all these years,” Kiskaddon said in a statement. “I’m very fortunate that I’ve been able to build my career serving the theater community. I tell people that I don’t work on Broadway, but I work for Broadway. I do not take for granted that I was able to serve in this unique role in the Broadway community. Very few people have ever held this position over the many decades that Equity has represented the actors and stage managers who work in this special part of American culture.”
“Walt represents the best of Equity, not only working tirelessly to protect our members but maintaining a respectful, healthy relationship with employers,” said AEA executive director Al Vincent Jr. “Since Walt announced his plan to retire, I’ve heard from people across the industry about how much they’ll miss him — not only actors and stage managers, but general managers, too. We wish him a fulfilling retirement, and know we’ll still see him at the theatre — in the audience!”
