Actors' Equity Association Celebrates Seventh Annual National Swing Day

Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, celebrates its seventh annual Swing Day today, Wednesday, January 19, 2022, honoring the hard-working performers who go onstage, sometimes at a moment's notice, for multiple roles.

A swing is a member of the ensemble who learns multiple parts, or tracks, and is on standby to cover for multiple members of the chorus. Depending on the needs of a production, a swing could go on for any number of tracks, including those written for other genders, ages or even more than one track at once. A swing may only learn they are going on moments before a performance begins, or even in the middle of a show. During the pandemic, the availability of understudies, and swings in particular, has at times determined whether or not a show will go on as planned.

Equity will spread awareness across social media about these actors who stay ready in support of the rest of the cast. The union will share content from swings, as well as their supporters. Equity also invites anyone who has worked as a swing to chime in on social media about their experiences using the hashtags #EquityTeamSwing, #SwingsSaveTheDay or #SwingDay2022.

"Our community has always known that swings are crucial to the success of the show" said Jennifer Cody, Actors' Equity Association's second vice president and chair of the Advisory Committee on Chorus Affairs (ACCA). "In 2022, audiences and our employers are learning about the courage and talent that is required to be a swing and just how crucial they are to our industry. As Hugh Jackman recently put it: 'Swings are the bedrock of a show."