EQUITY QUARTERLY SPRING 2015 PERSPECTIVES ON DIVERSITY STAGING THE FUTURE EQ ENDING HARASSMENT NOW The Equity Census THE EQUITYCENSUS STAGING THE FUTURE CULTURE & ETHNICITY | DIVERSE ABILITY | GENDER & SEXUAL IDENTITY Be a part of the biggest and boldest project ever undertaken by Equity – and all you need to do is tell us about yourself. The Equity Census is a ground-breaking demographic survey designed to better understand and serve all Equity members. It will examine the diverse composition of Equity’s The Equity Census opens membership specifically focusing on diversity of culture and ethnicity, diverse ability and Friday, April 24. gender and sexual identity. The survey seeks to identify potential barriers to employment within the Association’s jurisdiction. Data gathered will be a powerful tool in collective bargaining for equitable representation of diversity onstage and in related hiring. The Equity Census Members will be given the option of providing their member number at the conclusion of the closes Friday, May 22. survey so that, for the first time, Equity will be able to analyze how diversity impacts members’ work opportunities and income-earned. The Equity Census is completely confidential A report on the survey and will be conducted by an independent research firm. Its findings will strengthen Equity’s advocacy efforts promoting live performance and inform recommendations for legislative will be published in the change promoting the vibrancy and continued relevance of the performing arts in Canada. Summer EQ. What else do I need to know? + Check and update Regular and Life Your privacy is Eligible members Any member your contact info at members in good important to us. without an email wanting to receive EQUITYONLINE standing, and with All responses address will receive a paper-version (www.caea.com) an email address provided are a paper survey by survey should ASAP. on file, will be completely Friday, May 1. contact Equity emailed a survey confidential and The completed 1-800-387-1856 invitation between will be reviewed paper copy should (416-867-9165) Friday, April 24, and only in aggregate be mailed back to as soon as Tuesday, April 28. format. Equity ASAP. possible. Help Equity turn words into action. Your participation is essential for a successful result. Everyone Counts! EQUITY QUARTERLY SPRING 2015 VOLUME 9 NUMBER 1 (L to R) Jani Lauzon, Keith Barker, Tantoo Cardinal, Jeremy Proulx, Billy Merasty, August Schellenberg, Lorne Cardinal and Monique Mojica in the all-Aboriginal EQ cast of King Lear at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 2012 8 Diversity on 2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Canadian stages 3 NOTES FROM ARDEN R. RYSHPAN 4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 5 EQ MOVES 13 The Equity Census 6 EQ VOICES 20 Keeping 17 EQUITY IN THEATRE workplaces safe 18 FONDLY REMEMBERED Equity members can submit letters to the editor via email at [email protected]. The deadline for Coming issue: SUMMER 2015 EQ submissions is Monday, May 25, 2015. 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 2015 – Volume 9, Number 1 craft, developments in the industry, Equity’s role in the workplace, and the important position live performance Each volume of EQ is published annually 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 almost 6,000 performers, directors, choreographers, fi ght September Creative Western Offi ce 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] ON THE COVER: The Wild Party, based on Joseph Moncure March’s scandalous narrative poem, tells the story of a party to end all parties thrown by a couple of bored Manhattan vaudevillians and attended by guests of every conceivable class and sexual inclination. The musical (book by Michael John LaChiusa, music and lyrics by George C. Wolfe) does not specify culturally diverse casting. A recent production by Acting Up Stage Company in association with Obsidian Theatre cast Cara Ricketts and Daren A. Herbert as the profligate party hosts, deepening the examination of racial tension, sexuality, discrimination and traditional sex and race barriers President’s message It’s spring, or at least that is what the calendar would have me believe. (As I write this, I’m still dodging black ice on cold, dark evenings as I bike home from work.) More importantly, it’s spring and it’s 2015, and that can mean only one thing: Council elections are just six months away. That’s probably not what you thought I was going to write, but it’s true, and Council is in full election-planning mode. Nomination forms will be going out soon, and you will also shortly see communications winding up toward an October vote. Backing up a bit, members will recall that in the last EQ we asked you to weigh in with your thoughts on implementing a system of rotating elections. The idea was that, rather than replacing Council all at once, we would stagger elections over a few years to promote greater continuity and momentum on Council. While those we heard from were largely supportive, at our meeting in February, Council decided to stay the course, and upcoming elections will remain country-wide for three-year terms. Concerns about possible cost increases and confusion for members were among the considerations that went into the decision. However, before we get to elections, we still have a lot to accomplish in the term. We recently completed a national survey on safe and respectful workplaces. In broad summary, I’ll say that the results were by turns illuminating, saddening, maddening and inspiring, and you can find the full report included a little further along in these pages. We’ve also published a comprehensive data breakdown online. The survey is, of course, hardly the last step to be taken on the topic, and our report also details some of the improvements we hope to make. The plan is to have them complete by the end of the year. Next up for a major initiative is a diversity research project, already under way by the time you read this magazine. This massive exploration of member demographics will provide us with the data we need to foster and track ongoing progress in this area. The action coming out of that research work will keep us busy for the rest of the term and well beyond. And, as always, there are numerous, smaller things on the go; for a rundown of those, I refer you to the online version of my report from the recent National Annual General Meeting in Toronto. And now back to elections… Equity is an organization proudly run by and for its members, and Council is the body that takes on that work. If you have an interest in seeing your professional association move with the times; if you have the energy and commitment to tackle complex subjects; and if you are the kind of person who looks beyond me to we, you would make the ideal Councillor. Drop a note to your regional Councillor – contact information is available at EQUITYONLINE – and find out more about running for Council. I’m not going to sugarcoat it – there are times when being responsible for the well-being of a national professional association is extraordinarily challenging. But, if you’re up for a good challenge (and if you work in live performance, you’d better be!), then you have what it takes. Run for Council in 2015, and help Equity help its members! Allan Teichman President SPRING 2015 2 EQUITY QUARTERLY Notes from Arden R. Ryshpan The country we celebrated on its 100th birthday is radically different from the one whose 150th we are on the verge of acknowledging. In the few years after the Centennial, we instituted Canadian content requirements, redressed the imbalance in foreign ownership of many of our natural resources, and struggled to define a “Canadian identity.” Changes to immigration policies and the Employment Equity, Canadian Human Rights and Canadian Multiculturalism Acts have all been a result of public pressure on policy makers to redefine our values and ideals and ensure that they continue to adapt to our changing demographics. As much as we have grown as a country, some things – stubbornly – do not seem to be changing with nearly the same alacrity as others. Two of those things – harassment in the workplace and diversity – are two of the most important issues facing our industry and they are the subjects of this issue of EQ. In the magazine, you will find additional results from our harassment survey. Perhaps as a result of the spate of recent stories in the North American press, or perhaps because people have just had enough, it seems as though the time has come to truly tackle this canker in our midst.