Press
When Paying Dues Doesn’t Pay the Rent, How Does the Theater Survive?
by Jesse Green, New York Times, July 6, 2022
“…the Pay Equity Standards, a new program developed by Hiltner, who worked in theater production for 15 years, and her colleagues at the Chicago-based advocacy organization On Our Team.”
Passion Doesn’t Pay The Rent: Why The Arts Must Embrace Pay Equity
by Aron Goldman, Nonprofit Quarterly, July 25, 2023
“A second important initiative is the Pay Equity Standards certification program, which was developed in 2020 by a small organization in Chicago called On Our Team. Originally created to address labor and pay equity issues in costume design and other theatrical design areas, the program has expanded to other sectors and other cities.”
Getting Real About Economic Justice in Theater
On Our Team unveils new Pay Equity Standards
by Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader, January 26, 2022
“Now On Our Team has taken a big next step in the fight for wage equity and safer working conditions by releasing the Pay Equity Standards, providing checklists in three areas—transparency, working conditions, and accountability—for theaters interested in publicly demonstrating their commitment to creating a more equitable workplace.”
On Our Team Launches New System for Establishing and Recognizing Pay Equity in Theater
by Stephi Wild, BroadwayWorld, January 18, 2022
“The Pay Equity Standards were developed to address increasing calls for equity and the current arts and culture sector needs.”
Today In The Culture, January 19, 2022: Pay Equity In Theater
by Ray Pride, NewCity, January 19, 2022
“On Our Team has developed a first-of-its-kind tool to help theater companies establish pay equity within their organization and serve as a public recognition for equitably paid theater, the group announces.”
New Law Could Reduce Pay Inequity On Broadway
by Marc Hershberg, Forbes, January 24, 2022
“‘The first step towards wage and labor equity is wage transparency,” insisted James Madison University theatre professor Elizabeth Wislar, who led a successful social media campaign to convince Playbill and BroadwayWorld to include the wages for all jobs advertised on their websites.”
Show Them The Money
A movement for pay equity and transparency for theater designers scores a victory
By Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader, April 9, 2021
“Talking about who makes what (and where and why) has often been shrouded in secrecy in the arts—even as arts organizations pat themselves on the back for their commitments to equity and justice.”
Overworked, Underpaid, Unheard: Chicago Theatre Freelancers Speak Out
Behind and beyond recent reckonings at the city’s theatres are countless tales of exploitation, harm, and silencing—but it’s not too late for change.
by Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel with interview support by Tanuja Jagernauth, American Theatre Magazine, July 1, 2021
“Artist-led initiatives in Chicago like Not In Our House, the Chicago Inclusion Project, and On Our Team have emerged to fill knowledge gaps on the working conditions of artists and to present community standards that could offer bare minimum commitments toward fostering spaces and processes that are thriveable.”
Support Our Troupes: Workers at Smaller Theatres Win Pay Transparency & Labor Equity
by Derek Ludovici, The Indypendent, April 26, 2021
‘“We are celebrating the changes Playbill and BroadwayWorld have made and the transparency it will lead to,” says Elsa Hiltner, cofounder of On Our Team. “And beyond this campaign, we’re inspired by all the action and activism by theatre workers that is leading to positive systemic change.”’
Looking at the activism that led to pay transparency on Playbill and BroadwayWorld's job postings
by Irene Martinko, OnStage Blog, April 26, 2021
“Thanks to the activism and hard work of the groups On Our Team and Costume Professionals for Wage Equity, Playbill and BroadwayWorld now require that anyone posting a job must include salary in their announcement.”
Pay Transparency In Theatre: The Campaign To Playbill For Equity
by Michelle Sciarrotta, Theatre Art Life, March 24, 2021
“Playbill is the last major theatre industry job site in the United States without a requirement for clear rates of pay. Meanwhile, the need for a more diverse and equitable arts industry has become more urgent and apparent than ever. On Our Team and Costume Professionals for Wage Equity are calling on Playbill to join the ranks in championing the arts by helping to create a more honest and equitable theatre industry.”
Looking Back in Gratitude
In the pandemic, performing artists took care of each other. We should take better care of them.
by Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader, December 31, 2020
“Self-advocacy also continued to figure into the work of people like costume designer Elsa Hiltner, whose crowdsourced spreadsheet on salaries helped provide much-needed transparency on the issue of who gets paid what and where.”
Elsa Hiltner advocates for transparency in theater design salaries
by Sheri Flanders, Chicago Reader, October 27, 2020
“Most frequently, calls for pay equity have centered on the most visible members of the industry—actors, directors, playwrights, and arts administrators—but have often ignored a large group of critical theatermakers working diligently in the shadows: designers and technicians. Enter: Elsa Hiltner.”
Players 50 2022: The Advocates and Changemakers
by NewCity, January 7, 2022
“…Hiltner is vocal about the need for transparency in the theater as shown by her work with On Our Team…”