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EQUITY QUARTERLY SPRING 2012 ARTS FUNDING IMPACTS YOU LOBBYING IN OTTAWA WITH EQUITY EQ MANAGING YOUR CAREER Connecting the dots It all leads to you DOES GOVERNMENT POLICY AFFECT YOUR CAREER? WHY DOES LOBBYING OTTAWA FOR ARTS FUNDING MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO THE WORK YOU DO? AND WHO IS OUT THERE TO HELP YOU MANAGE YOUR CAREER AND FINANCES? THIS ISSUE OF EQ WILL HELP YOU CONNECT THE DOTS AND UNDERSTAND THE CONSTELLATION OF FORCES THAT IMPACT YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCE CAREER. EQUITY QUARTERLY SPRING 2012 EQ VOLUME 6 NUMBER 1 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 6 A special EQ&A 3 NOTES FROM ARDEN R. RYSHPAN with you 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 5 EQ MOVES 8 The impact of arts 17 EQ BACKSTAGE funding 18 FONDLY REMEMBERED 20 EQ CLASSIFIEDS 12 Equity in Ottawa 21 EQ FLASHBACK Equity members can submit letters to the editor via email at [email protected]. The deadline for Coming issue: SUMMER 2012 EQ submissions is Monday, May 14, 2012. EQ reserves the right to edit for length, style and content. Subscriptions are available at an annual rate of $35, including GST. EQ Equity Quarterly (ISSN 1913-2190) is a forum to discuss issues of interest to members concerning their Publications Mail Agreement No. 40038615 spring 2012 – volume 6, Number 1 craft, developments in the industry, Equity’s role in the workplace, and the important position live performance EQ is published four times a year by Canadian Actors’ Equity association. EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lynn McQueen holds in the cultural and social fabric of Canada. It is also used as an advocacy tool to educate others about National Offi ce the industry, promote live performance in Canada, and celebrate the achievements of Equity members. 44 Victoria Street, 12th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 3C4 EDITOR Barb Farwell Tel: 416-867-9165 | Fax: 416-867-9246 | Toll-free: 1-800-387-1856 (members only) Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (Equity) is the voice of professional artists working in live [email protected] | www.caea.com DESIGN & LAYOUT Chris Simeon, performance in English Canada. We represent more than 6,000 performers, directors, choreographers, September Creative Western Offi ce fi ght directors and stage managers working in theatre, opera and dance, and support their creative efforts 736 Granville Street, Suite 510, Vancouver, BC V6Z 1G3 by seeking to improve their working conditions and opportunities by negotiating and administering Tel: 604-682-6173 | 604-682-6174 | Toll free: 1-877-682-6173 (members only) collective agreements, providing benefi t plans, information and support and acting as an advocate. woffi [email protected] COVER AND INSIDE FRONT COVER: Illustrator Cindy Jeftovic connects the dots to show the forces that affect the career of an Equity member ABOVE: (L to R) Betty Waynne Allison, Thomas Macleay and Alain Coulombe in Pacific Opera Victoria’s 2011 production of Mary’s Wedding President’s message It’s election time! Well, not quite yet, but soon. However, we are entering the home stretch on this term of Council, and election planning is in full swing. A major change in our governance structure is in the offing, and we want to share it with you earlier rather than later. So, read on! Historically, Council has been assisted by a slate of elected regional advisories, currently named Council Policy Advisory Groups, or CPAGs. Over the years, the role of the advisories has changed considerably, and the CPAGs themselves have been asking Council to reconsider their structure and goals for a while now. Something else has evolved over time as well, and that is Council’s increased ability to consult directly with the membership on a national basis. The traditional idea that the only way to hear from members is to get them together in a room is long overdue for re-evaluation. Members come together far better around issues of interest than they do around simple geography, and those advisories that were the most successful in the past two terms chose a topic around which to focus their work. Another impetus for change arose during the recent dues referendum, when members clearly indicated to Council that they need us to reappraise the way we do things. We’re listening, and keen to hear what you have to say. At its most recent in-person meeting, Council decided to take a bold step away from “we’ve always done it that way” thinking, and to implement a new member input approach. Beginning in November, we will be moving to a new system of issue-based advisories. These advisories will no longer be elected as a matter of course, but will instead be formed when and where the members tell us one is needed. Council can either create one itself (the Independent Theatre Review Committee is an excellent example), or representative groups can apply to create one on a topic of their choosing (such as for repertory theatre, diversity, small-scale opera, or even for a region). Either way, Council will facilitate and provide resources for advisory work, and the advisories will report directly to Council. We anticipate that the slate of committees will change over time as needs dictate, but the list of advisories will now be determined by what you tell us is necessary, and not by rote adherence to a static structure. Council anticipates that this new approach will be far more effective than the traditional one, and will allow members to come together around important topics of common interest. As part of our election process, we will be asking for proposals for advisories to be created right off the top of the term, but they can also be created at any point during a term upon application by a representative and reasonable number of members at large. More details are available on the Council Connection blog and the EQUITYONLINE (www.caea.com) and in the Spring issue of Council Link, but if you have questions not answered there, we’ll take ’em any time. You can email either Second Vice-President Kerry Ann Doherty ([email protected]) or myself ([email protected]), or contact us through the National Office at 1-800-387-1856 (416-867-9165 in Toronto). Allan Teichman President SPRING 2012 2 EQUITY QUARTERLY Notes from Arden R. Ryshpan There are theories (and philosophies and religions) that suggest that the entire universe is connected, that everyone and everything has a bearing on everyone and everything else, and that all the dots are linked together. This issue of EQ is about showing you how the dots in our little part of the universe connect up. Let’s start with you and your Association. Stripped down to its most basic function, Equity exists to negotiate and administer collective agreements. Everything flows from this “core business” – the member dues paid to support contract negotiation, applica- tion and administration, members’ benefit plans, and all the services members want and need – only exist as a result of our agreements. Without agreements, there is no reason for the Association to exist and by extension no one to provide any services. A significant portion of funding support for live performance comes from one level of government or another. That money is vulnerable to the push and pull of political influence and the changes in the economy. Lobbying efforts by all of us in the sector are essential to ensure that policies are in place that support and encourage arts and culture. In difficult times, when there is increased pressure on government to provide support for all sectors, it is essential that Equity continue to lobby government to ensure continued funding for productions. These productions in turn take place under our agreements, employ our members, and generate member dues, which pay for the resources to offer services to Equity’s membership. Monies from the funding bodies are not the only component of a theatre’s revenue. There is, of course, the revenue generated by tickets purchased by audience members. When the economy is in trouble, audience members become more selective about where they spend their entertainment dol- lar. Corporations, if they have any cash reserves at all, tend to hang on to them and therefore reduce their sponsorships. Donors, both corporate and private, have all reduced their contributions over the last few years, putting additional strain on funders to make up the difference in budgets. If engagers’ budgets contract, there are fewer earning opportunities for members, which in turn decreases the revenue to the Association, making it harder for Equity to deliver services to its members. The challenges facing Equity are not, despite what we might think, exclusive to our own section of the universe. A recent meeting of the English speaking performers’ associations from around the world had every Executive Director wondering what changes they are going to implement in order to meet the ever-increasing demand of members wanting more services. The membership of Equity made a decision in the recent dues referendum not to increase their finan- cial support to the Association. This has had an impact on the services that Equity can provide, which has in turn had a ripple effect on our own ecosystem. The Association’s present challenge is to ensure that “core business” is maintained to the high standard that our membership deserves. Unfortunately, a delay in the development of new and improved services not related to work under a contract is the inevitable result of limited resources. Changes in recent federal and provincial budgets are creating even bigger ripples, as are the economic challenges facing Equity member and ticket buyer alike. Let us hope that nothing else comes along anytime soon to turn all of these ripples into large waves.