NEW YORK – Broadway and off-Broadway theaters in New York City, along with theaters in Los Angeles and Chicago, employ thousands of actors on many stages, but what comes next? Where are the other best places to see live theatre in the United States? Actors' Equity Association, the union representing 51,000 live theatre actors and stage managers across the country, in a new report released today, says Minneapolis-St. Paul ranks an impressive third on the list.

The "2018 Regional Theatre Report” uses never-before released data on the number of professional actors represented by Equity, employed in major cities across the United States, and the number of weeks worked to establish a ranking of the nation’s most vibrant theatre communities.

The market leaders are Central Florida– home to roughly 1,000 Equity members working primarily on Disney productions on a daily basis – Washington, D.C./Baltimore, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Milwaukee/Madison, Kansas City, Denver, Seattle, Houston/Galveston, and Cincinnati/Louisville.To view the full report, click here.

In the Twin Cities, 557 Equity members were employed last year for a total of 6,855 work weeks at more than 60 employers, from the Guthrie to Mixed Blood Theatre to The Ordway and Ten Thousand Things, among others.

"Our data demonstrates that steady, high quality performances are being performed by hundreds of professional actors and stage managers in the Twin Cities and the surrounding area,” said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association. "This report shows Minnesota theatregoers that exciting performances on the live stage by professional actors may not be so far away. I hope when Minnesotans go to the theatre they ‘Ask if it’s Equity’ so they can be guaranteed that the actors and stage managers are working in a theatre that has workplace protections that allow performers to give audiences their best performance, every night."

Some actors and stage managers are not represented by Actors’ Equity. Belonging to the union provides members with fair compensation and workplace protections that permit performers to give their all, at every performance.

ACTORS' EQUITY ASSOCIATION, founded in 1913, is the U.S. labor union that represents more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers. Equity endeavors to advance the careers of its Members by negotiating wages and working conditions and providing a wide range of benefits (health and pension included). Member: AFL-CIO, FIA. #EquityWorks.