John P. Connolly Appointed Executive Director of Actors' Equity

Actors' Equity Association has announced the appointment of John P. Connolly as Executive Director, effective March 19, 2007. He joins Equity directly from a six-year stint as National President of the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists AFTRA.

In his new role, Connolly will direct the collective bargaining process for more than 30 national and regional contracts, oversee the union's finances and supervise Equity's large professional staff. He will work closely with the Equity Council, the union's governing body, to implement national policies and build consensus and entertainment industry support on key issues. In addition, Connolly will serve as spokesperson for the 45,000 stage actors and stage managers who belong to the union.

"John has extensive experience as a consensus builder and policy leader in the entertainment business, making him uniquely qualified for the position of Executive Director," Equity President Mark Zimmerman said in a statement. Connolly commented, "The decision to step down as AFTRA's President was difficult and heart-wrenching. The remarkable truth about both Equity and AFTRA is that each union is prepared and poised for a brilliant future. Our elected leaderships and staff are clear-eyed professionals, who are unafraid to face change, and eager to embrace the future of our arts."

Connolly, who joined Equity in 1973, has been a professional actor for 35 years. Among his nearly 200 stage credits are the Broadway production of Big River, New York Shakespeare Festival productions of The Golem and The Iceman Cometh with Al Pacino and a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Walnut Street Theater in his native Philadelphia. Off-Broadway, he played all 23 men in the life of The Only Woman General starring Colleen Dewhurst and played all the men and women in Shirley Knight's life in Colette In Love. He has guest starred in The West Wing, Without a Trace, Crossing Jordan and Star Trek: The Next Generation. Connolly's film work includes leading roles in When the Bough Breaks, Innocent Victims and The Plague.