Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Presidents Message:
Putting Solidarity into Action
How to Eat a Sandwich Like a Pro
by James Gangl ... 20
by David Sparrow ... 4
Equity and ACTRA talk of
New Law to Protect Enhanced Relationship by David Sparrow... 23
Child Performers ... 6
Members News ... 24
Welcome New Members ... 11
Your Council and Stunt Committee
Actors in Between by David Gale ... 12 Election Timeline ... 27
Show Up by Clara Pasieka ... 17 Highlights of Council Activity
2014 - 2016 ... 28
ACTRA Toronto Council /
ACTRA Toronto Sta ... 19 Lives Lived ... 30
(L. to R.) David Macniven, Jack Newman, Shereen Airth, Richard Hardacre, Randi Shelson, Stephen Waddell, Clara Pasieka, Grace Lynn Kung, Nicole St. Martin,
eresa Tova, Carole Paikin Miller, Don Lamoreux, MPP Paul Miller, David Sparrow (ACTRA Toronto President), Ferne Downey (ACTRA National President),
Heather Allin, Barbara Larose, Leah Pinsent, Sue Milling, Art Hindle, Angelica Lisk-Hann, Donal Hansman, Karen Woolridge. (photo: Jag Gundu)
PUBLISHER
EDITOR
STAFF EDITOR
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
ADVERTISING SALES
CONTRIBUTORS
Performers
www.actratoronto.com
PUTTING
SOLIDARITY
As you might expect, concern over evolving technologies and
the internet are top of mind. How will we be compensated
David Sparrow when everything is made for digital exploitation? e value our
professional performers bring to a production doesnt change
based on the medium in which the production is exploited.
Video on demand may replace conventional broadcasters but
the content remains the same and performers should be fairly
compensated and their residuals protected. As we said in 2007,
e internet is not for free!
HiStoRic Win
On the cover, some great news: Bill 17 a law to protect child
performers in the province of Ontario received Royal Assent
in May! the new law protects all child performers and
enshrines in law collectively bargained industry best practices.
It is a big deal, and our reputation as organized and tenacious
advocates was recognized by MPPs across all party lines.
INTO ACTION
e coming federal election
on october 19, 2015 will give
every ActRA member an op-
portunity to make to make
their views known on the
cRtc and on other arts
policy at the ballot box.
are expected to make Canadian Content even more scarce on counciL eLectionS
our screens. Case in point: a new pilot project modies the In October, we will be holding elections for your 24 ACTRA
Canadian Content points system drastically, so that the total Toronto Council seats.
points for Canadian key creatives may be as low as 2 out of 10
so long as 75% of the budget is spent in Canada. In theory, one Voting will be held online. Make sure you take time to review
Canadian actor could work on a Canadian-authored lm, shot the candidates. Decide who will best represent our collective
in North Carolina with a U.S. cast, a U.S. director and a U.S. voice on issues large and small. en vote and encourage other
crew and, as long as the post and some of the marketing was eligible members to vote too. To be eligible to vote, you must be
done in Canada, they might qualify for Canadian Media Fund an ACTRA Toronto Full Member in good standing by October
nancing, federal tax credits and count as Canadian programming 9th, 2015.To be eligible to vote, you must be an ACTRA
for a broadcaster. Many of the CRTC decisions do not take Toronto Full Member in good standing by October 9th, 2015.
effect until December 2016 so there is time to make our views
known. ACTRA took part in the CRTC Lets Talk TV Trying to build a performance career in Canada can be daunting.
consultations and will continue to make its objections known Training, networking, marketing, auditioning committed,
at every opportunity. modern actors work full days. Many of the variables that aect
our day-to-day business are outside of an actors control. ats
AND, there is a federal election on October 19, 2015. e coming why im an ActRA member. As actors, our individual
federal election on october 19, 2015 will give every ActRA confidence may wobble occasionally but were all in this
member an opportunity to make to make their views known together and the union makes us strong.
on the cRtc and on other arts policy at the ballot box.
In solidarity,
David Sparrow
President, ACTRA Toronto
New Law to Protect
Child Performers
Aer half a century of ACTRAs ACTRAs history
eorts on behalf of cultures most protecting minors
vulnerable contributors, Ontario Film, stage, TV and commercials have always employed child actors.
Jackie coogan, after whom Californias law to protect minors
has a law. What a remarkable earnings is named, was one of Hollywoods first child stars. He
became a star aer appearing in Charlie Chaplins e Kid (1921) at
historic achievement! the age of seven. Canadas Mary Pickford was
seven when she performed her rst role on
stage in Toronto in 1899.
In Canada, ACTRA has been bargaining to
protect children in the recorded industry since
its early days. Protections for minors can be
found in the 1966/68 edition of ACTRAs
National Commercial Agreement.
Over the years, ACTRAs minors provisions
improved steadily through bargaining the IPA
and the NCA. Substantive gains were made in the mid to late 90s and
are improved with each new round of negotiations.
In the early 2000s, the unions (ACTRA Toronto, DGC (Ontario),
Nabet and IATSE) started a Health and Safety Section 21 Committee with
the participation of the producers association and the Ministry of
Labour. As well as developing general safety guidelines for the
industry, they developed a Child Performers Guideline. e Guideline
covered both live and recorded entertainment. But it was a guideline
only, a best practices recommendation informed by ACTRA and
Equitys agreements, but not a legal requirement.
ACTRA Toronto began talking to MPPs to alert them to the risks
minors face working without rmer legislative protections. In 2005,
ACTRA Toronto presented a brief to Ontarios Standing Committee
on Arts and Culture proposing Status of the Artist legislation. e
brief included strong recommendations to develop legislation to protect
child actors to the same extent that they are protected under ACTRAs
agreements. In 2007, MPP Cheri di Novo, a former child performer,
proposed a bill to protect child actors. In 2013, MPP Paul Miller
presented Bill 71. ese previous attempts at legislation died as most
private members bills do: casualties of the political process. In 2014,
MPP Paul Miller tried again with Bill 17, which became the legislation
we have today.
e Protecting Child Performers Act comes into force on February 5,
2016. e legislation protects child performers in ve essential areas:
grace Lynn Kung and clara Pasieka celebrate the unanimous passage
tutoring, income protection, parental supervision, age-appropriate
of ird Reading of Bill 17. (photo: Jag Gundu)
work hours and health and safety. Between now and February, agreed
amendments and rules and regulations will be written.
After half a century of ACTRAs efforts on behalf of cultures
most vulnerable contributors, Ontario has a law. What a remarkable
historic achievement!
INTERVIEW WITH
THERESA TOVA
ACTRAs Childrens Advocate
Karen Woolridge: Youve been defending child performers since eresa Tova
when, eresa?
eresa tova: My own kids since 1992 and for the union since 1993
or 1994.
K: How did you become aware of the risks child actors face?
t: By the time my son was seven and my daughter ve they both had
agents and were working in the biz. In the rst year, I ran into so many
problems. e producers I was working with as a parent didnt know
I was an actor and that I knew the rules. Anyway, I had three
grievances in the rst year.
We had so many horrible situations. But the one that sticks out most
for me - there was a four-year-old child whod been on a set for two or
three days and had bonded with the woman playing her mother. But
she hadnt met the male actor yet. is is what Production decided to
do to get their shot: they had the male actor come out, didnt introduce
him, or prepare the child for what he was about to do. e actor was
instructed to come up to the child, with camera rolling, place a gun in
the childs hand and force her to shoot the woman playing her Mom.
Squibs, blood, everything. Totally freaked the child out to the point
where an IATSE crew member pulled the plug on the generator and
called ACTRA.
Soon aer, I was asked to sit on the IPA bargaining team for the 95- K: Fortunately the baby was found.
96 agreement. At the time, our minors section was nowhere near t: Yes. So Tabby took the next step and said, Parents of non-union
what it should have been. Tutoring was not what it needed to be, nor performers need help too. So we made presentations in libraries for
age-appropriate work hours and breaks, nor healthy food. I brought the general public and said, is is what you should ask for. So bless
parents into the union for the rst time to hear their concerns. We Tabby for bringing that to the table.
created a list of 21 proposals for minors alone. My biggest help was
Sarah Polley. We sent her our 21 proposals, asked for her opinion It really does take a village (to raise a child). I remember nathalie
gauthier, an agent, whod been a child actor from Montreal. She
and asked whether, if she had experienced any of these things, would
she write us back with support for our proposals? Well, bless her soul! called us about parents using their childs money to pay the mortgage
and it was because of her that we got the Minors Trust started, using
Each time the producers said, You dont have any evidence, I swear,
the California model.
I had a le of back-up documentation from Sarah with dates, many of
them from that very year. We got 17 of those 21 proposals passed Im very proud of all our collaborations: with agents, our incredible
and the remainder in subsequent negotiations. I remember going sta, our Presidents and Councils, educators, police, our elected
down to the hotel lobby, the morning aer we got agreement on the champions: MPPs Cheri di Novo, Peter Tabuns, and Paul Miller.
17 provisions, and going up to some of the producers and saying, Im
a little in shock that we got what we got from you guys. ank you.
And one of them said, We all have kids. It was the right thing to do
and the right time to x it. But when you talk about ACTRAs agreements,
the best thing we ever achieved was the language in the preamble to
the minors section.
K: There was a news story that got Tabby Johnson fired up about
protecting non-union child performers.
t: It was a non-union casting call for babies for an unspecied lm.
An unsuspecting parent took their infant and handed him o to
somebody theyd never met who said, Ill just take the baby in the Tabby Johnson elds questions
room and audition him. And the parent waited and waited and at an ACTRA Toronto information
waited and the person had stolen the baby and le through a back session for parents.
door.
Child Performers
Shirley Douglas, Shannon Kook-Chun, Amariah Faulkner, and Elizabeth Van Wyck spoke at a Queens Park press conference
in 2013 pressing for legislative protections for child performers.
K: How has ACTRA changed the way it monitors child safety? Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT) and the CMPA) came
t: Our Stewards read the script and flag scenes which could be of onside as well was the icing on the cake.
concern and address it with Production before the shoot. We work
with our Stunt Coordinators when there are athletic requirements. K: Whats next?
For example, a parent will say, Sure my child plays baseball. But they t: Were taking a new look at our Minors Trust. Should children have
more than 25 per cent of their income le when they turn 18? Also,
dont realize their child will be sliding into home plate at ve dierent
were helping other countries which dont have a performers union
camera angles for 10 takes each for eight hours straight.
to learn from our standards. And always, always - education. Because
K: Tell me about getting Bill 17 passed into law. I hear Canadian children grow up and soon theres a whole new crop of cutie-patooties.
Media Production Associations (CMPA) Chief Negotiator
Reynolds Mastin joked about getting Tovad at a Christmas party. While the act will require monitoring to make sure that it does what
What was that about? its supposed to do, it will become law and be implemented on Febru-
ary 5th, 2016. We need to make sure the law is interpreted in the way
t: Lets just say I dont give up easily. e passage of Bill 17 was
it was intended. We will be working hand-in-hand with our industry
ground-breaking, and there are a lot of people to thank. Ive visited
partners. e Act to Protect Child Performers, as its now called,
parliament and the legislature many times in my leadership role at
ACTRA. Id never seen anything like this. To see all three parties come has to work in concert with education law, health and safety law,
together. When Shirley douglas spoke to Committee about Bill 17, labour law, and labour law.
all the MPPs were awed. Her experience on Wind at My Back, Not everything in the law is going to make everyone happy. But every-
which employed a number of children well, she told them about thing in the law is to there to protect the child. We want lming to
children being tutored in the paint shed where the crew were wearing happen as much as anyone.
protective masks but the kids were not. She was very persuasive. And
the wonderful clara Pasieka, YEAAs Co-Chair, talking about I was interviewed for a legal magazine and the interviewer said she
her experiences as a young teen actor asked to do sexual content she knew unions worked hard to get people to become union members,
had not even experienced yet. How angry she was at her mother for but questioned why ACTRA would work so hard for non-union peo-
not letting her do it and how thankful she is now that her mother put ple. And I said, but dont you know thats what good unions do? We
her foot down, knowing she wasnt old enough. To have those two ght for the protection of ALL workers.
voices at Committee. ey heard us loud and clear.
K: We raise the oor.
e law covers stage work as well. Im very proud that Equity worked t: is is what we do. It is the best of what we are.
side-by-side with us and really made some important conceptual
changes. And the fact that both producer organizations (Professional
New Law to Protect
Child Performers
Agents:
A good agent can really help protect you, provide a buffer between your child and exploitation. Get an agent who
has signed on to the Entertainment Industry Coalitions (EIC) Code of Conduct. Check out ACTRA Torontos agent
dire c tor y for EIC and TAMAC agents, t hen ask around. L in k to ACTRA Torontos agent dire c tor y :
w w w.ac t ratoronto.com/performers/agents-directory/.
Balance:
I want parents to remember that their kids childhood is more important than the business or the money. We
have kids starring in big TV shows up here and then running o to do pilots in L.A. when theyre eight years
old. How do you nd balance in a life like that?
checking in:
Sarah Polley, at one of our Members Conferences, asked the kids if they
wanted to be there and encouraged parents to check in with their kids on
a regular basis. Interests can change at this age. Kids shouldnt be there if
they don't want to be.
to view all the Ask tabby and tova videos go to ActRA torontos
youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/ActRAtoronto
WELCOME
New Members Unlike most conventional banks,
Creative Arts truly understands my
work, finances and future goals as
ACTORS IN
by david gale
Above:
Krystal Hope nausbaum plays Amanda on Between.
A veteran of multiple television series including Skins and Finding Carter, Jesse Carere plays Adam,
the smartest kid in high school. With so many young actors involved, I asked Carere about profes-
sionalism on set.
Jc: I think whats interesting about actors, even young kids theres something about them that is
almost old [Its] the fact that they're working in such a professional environment and in such a big
production Even the little kids they come in and theyre really sweet and they do their [acting]
thing and theyre really good and its like theyre mini adults.
dg: What is it like to be on a Canadian show broadcast globally week-to-week on Netix?
Jc: It feels big, like we were making a show for everyone in the world. We were told o the bat
that it would come out everywhere that Netix exists We had to separate that while were mak-
ing it though so that we didnt get wrapped up in that or feel the pressure.
dg: Where were you in your career when you landed this part?
Jc: I hadn't worked for two years and then the past years been pretty nice to me so I'm
just grateful.
FALL 2015 13
dg: What did you do during the time you weren't working steadily?
Jc: I was in Los Angeles going into audition rooms a lot and trying
to make impressions. I made a lot of friends my home is split
between here in L.A But thats what everyone tells you, that its not
easy. You have to put your work in. So I understand that. I just have
to gure out how to pay the bills now.
dg: Was playing Young Aminatas extreme emotions hard for you?
SPd: I found it very dicult. I had to break down too. At the end
I realized that they wouldn't have chosen me for the role if they didnt
think I was right for the role.
SPd: I had to get into the character and feeling how my character felt,
because my father dies. And its just hard for Gord and Francis. ey
also have their grandfather who died (e other actors) did help
me a lot and cheered me up if I didnt feel the mood Everyone on
set was great.
SPd: She helps around the orphanage and when shes not (there) shes
either with her brother or on the farm. So she does have a really big
job in the storyline. Which I nd really cool because I just love the
farm.
Kyle Mac plays Ronnie, one of Betweens most extreme and misun-
derstood youths. A nalist on CBCs reality show Triple Sensation in
2007, Mac has since made a career in lm and TV playing brooding
bad boys with heart. I asked Mac about landing this role on Between.
KM: Before this one I didnt work for six months or more. is part
was kind of a total uke. I had actually prepared something totally
dierent from what Ronnie is in the show. I had sunglasses and I was
doing this super cool, drug-dealing, quick-talking, super slick dude.
And Michael McGowan said, You can throw out those sunglasses
and pretty much everything youre doing and just approach it
again Michael gave me a little more backstory and I did it one more
time, and I got the part. I never had a callback.
Mac is possibly the only actor whos been a series regular on two
Netflix series: Hemlock Grove and Between, both shot in southern
Ontario. I asked him what eect being on these shows has had on his
social media life.
KM: I joined Twitter and Instagram for the show. For the rst time
in my career I get a bunch of messages from fans and weird fan art
pictures. But the fan interaction, how closely you can interact so
quickly, I think is fascinating. And its also rewarding to respond to
somebody. Were dealing with some teens, so the reactions are so
ecstatic. When Ive used Twitter and tweeted Michael J. Fox and he
responds to me, its amazing!
KHn: A lot of people out there just dont know what people with
Down Syndrome are like. And they discriminate [against] them. And
its actually unfair because the people that dont have disabilities are
playing disabilities roles Its hard for me so I ght that every single
day, because theres not a lot of roles for people with my disability.
dg: Does your agent ever send you out for roles not calling for people
with disabilities?
KHn: Yes. Recently my agent said that they are doing a 15th season
of Degrassi and theyre looking for a role for someone who has short
hair. And I have short hair. And I auditioned but its not supposed to
be someone who has a disability. I never got the role.
Season 2 ofBetweenis in the works but the future of Pretty Lake residents
remains a mystery. One thing is certain, if these four young actors
are any example of our next generation of actors, ACTRA Toronto
can look forward to a bright, diverse and inclusive future.
neW AcRonyMS
What is SVOD and AVOD?
These are revenue models for online video content.
First there was TVOD (transactional video on demand). The consumer pays
a transaction fee and iTunes, for example, rents it to you or delivers it to you to
own, known respectively as Download to Rent (DTR) or Download to Own (DTO) or
Electronic Sell Through (EST).
As we move into bargaining the IPA, you might hear about SVOD and AVOD.
What are they?
SVOD is subscriber based video on demand. The consumer pays a flat monthly fee
for unlimited access to, for example, Netflix programming.
AVOD is advertising supported video on demand. An example is YouTube.
The consumer watches video content for free but the content contains advertising.
A portion of the ad revenue is paid to the content provider.
The New Media Sub-Committee and the Bargaining Committee are looking at fair
models to pay Use Fees to performers on SVOD and AVOD distributed content.
ACTRA Toronto Council
Whos Who Shereen Airth sairth@council.actratoronto.com
farah Merani fmerani@council.actratoronto.com
Maria del Mar mdelmar@council.actratoronto.com
catherine disher cdisher@council.actratoronto.com
PReSident Richard Hardacre rhardacre@actra.ca
david Sparrow dsparrow@actratoronto.com taborah Johnson tjohnson@council.actratoronto.com
PASt PReSident Joel Keller jkeller@council.actratoronto.com
Heather Allin hallin@actratoronto.com Angelica Lisk-Hann alisk@council.actratoronto.com
vice-PReSident, MeMBeR-At-LARge Jani Lauzon jlauzon@actratoronto.com
Wendy crewson wcrewson@actratoronto.com colin Mochrie cmochrie@council.actratoronto.com
vice-PReSident, coMMunicAtionS John nelles jnelles@council.actratoronto.com
david gale dgale@actratoronto.com Jack newman jnewman@council.actratoronto.com
vice-PReSident, eXteRnAL AffAiRS clara Pasieka cpasieka@council.actratoronto.com
Art Hindle ahindle@actratoronto.com eric Peterson epeterson@council.actratoronto.com
vice-PReSident, MeMBeR SeRviceS Leah Pinsent lpinsent@council.actratoronto.com
Jani Lauzon jlauzon@actratoronto.com nicole St. Martin nstmartin@council.actratoronto.com
tReASuReR
david Macniven dmacniven@actratoronto.com MeMBeR AdvocAteS And oMBudSPeRSon:
vice-PReSident, inteRnAL AffAiRS taborah Johnson, Child Advocate tjohnson@actratoronto.com
eresa tova ttova@actratoronto.com Jani Lauzon, Diversity Advocate jlauzon@actratoronto.com, ext. 6618
Shawn Lawrence, Ombudsperson slawrence@actratoronto.com, ext. 6604
Last year I got paid $6,000 to
By James gangl eat a turkey breakfast sand-
wich. I also sold car insurance,
How to Eat
beer, breakfast cereal, real
estate advice, nancial services
and hardware. If it sounds like
Im bragging, I am;
like a Pro
My rst career was in marketing. I worked as a brand manager beach, ogling girls, dancing at a house party and nally one of
for Hershey Canada, Unilever and Heinz so when I started the dudes says, Godzillas actually pretty cool. His pal
auditioning for commercials I came at it from a marketing responds, Except when hes hungry. Cut to Godzilla on a
angle, thinking like The Client. The Client is the marketing rampage, crushing cars and liquefying buildings with his laser
department of Coca-Cola or McCain or BMO. eyre the breath. e tagline appears: Youre not you when youre hungry.
ones who appear at your callback and sit quietly in the room Snickers isnt selling a snack, theyre promising a better you
staring at their laptops. ey are the money. ey pay for the through hunger relief.
commercial and for them its all about messaging or what the
Protinis has a spot featuring Olympic medalist Hayley
commercial communicates to the consumer. A commercial
Wickenheiser rushing to pack lunches, hitting the ice and
actors job is to decode that message and translate it into a
working at a computer late at night. Protinis are touted as e
performance. Breaking down a script as both a marketer and
Ocial Snack of Everything but Protinis is not selling us a
an actor can give you a signicant edge. Heres how I do it:
snack either. Protinis is promising us time savings.
Sell the promise not the product When breaking down a commercial script, articulate the
Many products solve the same problem and therefore
promise not the product. This will highlight the brands
marketing is what dierentiates them. Take two snacks, Snickers
positioning and inform your performance. At your next
(a candy bar) and Protinis (single serve chicken strips). Both
audition for Voss Artesian Water dont chug the bottle; Voss
Snickers and Protinis solve the hunger problem but make very
promises class. In contrast, at your Gatorade audition
dierent promises.
chugging the bottle might underscore the promise of rapid
In a recent Snickers campaign, a bunch of dudes are doing rehydration. When acting in a commercial, sell the promise not
dude things with their pal Godzilla. eyre hanging at the the product.
Play the Promise not the Product
Social Ascendance:
People in the know drink this whisky.
entitlement:
You work hard so you deserve this vacation. Spokesperson, man-on-the-street, and walk-and-
talks deserve their own paragraph because the
Morality: actor becomes the brand.
Because you love your cat youre going to feed her the very best ese are the spots where at some point the actor stares directly
cat food. down the barrel of the camera and tells you why they love their
Once the tactic is identied, the actors job is to turn the screws. razor, or car, or reverse home mortgage. ink of the Canadian
In the Snickers example, marketers use fear, implying that you Tire guy or the Roll Up e Rim guy. e key to nailing tone
become a monster when youre hungry. We therefore see all here is to imagine who you are talking to and why you are talking
the actors laugh at Godzillas jokes when he is satiated and fear to them. In the case of a razor blade, youre probably just
for their lives when hes hungry. Conversely, Protinis appeals talking to your buddy. Its no big deal, you just like the razor.
to Moms sense of morality: a good woman does it all, kids and If youre selling life insurance, youre probably talking to your
career. e actress job here is to illustrate how Protinis helps spouse and its because youre concerned about the future. e
her excel in all areas of her life despite the demands of her day. actor must be trustworthy and, unless instructed otherwise,
your job is to inform your audience, not to hard sell
Marketing uses tactics to manipulate us into buying product. them. We circle back to the same acting imperative: Be
As actors, we turn up the volume on those tactics through Real (while looking directly down the barrel of a camera).
performance. But how loud should the volume be? Articulating
the Promise and identifying the Tactic nally leads us to the
true acting challenge, namely, nailing the tone.
Screen grabs from James gangls award-winning cheerios commercial, How to Dad.
http://bit.ly/1gr237R
Putting it all together: How i ate a sandwich e tactic was entitlement. Im good at what I do so I deserve
professionally a great breakfast. Translated into performance, this was all
In an hour and twenty minutes I got paid $6,000 to eat a about what I was eating. With each take I tried to taste
sandwich professionally. Looking at the script through the something dierent. Was that a bit of tangy cheese? Mmmm,
clients eyes and translating the marketing message into a real that turkey sausage patty is super savoury! Wow, that English
performance helped me nail that role. Heres a summary of how mun is so god this is good!
I did it using the pointers suggested above. Finally, the tone was a simple slice of life. The spot featured
different workers from all walks of life enjoying the same
e Client wasnt selling a Turkey Breakfast Sandwich, they breakfast. Hence, I avoided hamming up how much I enjoyed
were promising a great way to start the workday. Picture the the turkey. I just enjoyed it. When some our from the English
sun rising and me in a crisp business suit taking the second mun got on my lip, I brushed it o. I was real.
bite of a turkey breakfast sandwich. Putting the promise into
performance, I enjoyed the sandwich while looking crisp and By understanding the Clients promise, tactic and tone I ate that
alert, ready to tackle a day at the office right after a delicious sandwich like a pro.
breakfast.
And now you can too!
Equity and ACTRA
talk of enhanced
relationship
Two unions represent the interests of
professional performers in English-speaking
Canada: ACTRA covers work in recorded media and Equity
covers live performance. However, the lines between those mediums
are blurring in our fast-evolving digital universe. Many producers of live
performance are looking to expand their audiences by streaming or recording their
productions. ACTRA Toronto has been working closely with Equity in those cases, but
as the media landscape continues to change, questions on how best to encourage the creativity
of producers and performers while protecting our Intellectual Property has folks talking.
Working together isnt new. Many professional performers are members of both unions, and weve been
working together to see important legislation like the new Protecting Child Performers Act passed here in
Ontario. Last December, we were able to revisit and update our longstanding Reciprocal Agreement (RA),
rolling out the modernized and streamlined ACTRA/Equity RA to our respective memberships in January.
And we continue to lobby governments together to improve conditions for artists in Canada.
Now were discussing the possibility of a closer, more-enhanced relationship, examining how our two unions can
strengthen the political power of Canadian artists in live and recorded media while at the same time helping both
organizations to better thrive in the 21st century. These joint committee discussions are still in their very
beginning stages. Only time will tell what form a new relationship will take, however, a stronger strategic alliance,
the sharing of expertise, resources, benets, space and sta are all on the table for discussion.
We are denitely two unique and successful organizations, similar in some ways and quite dierent in others. ere is
a lot to discuss and research. At this time, no decisions or commitments have been made. In the end, the guiding
principle will be to ensure real benet for the members of both organizations and for the arts in Canada.
Well keep you abreast of our discussions as we go along. Decisions leading to an enhanced
relationship will only be undertaken through consultation with our respective memberships and
with elected National and Branch Councils. Any major change to the governance of either
organization would be put to a referendum of our respective memberships.
Until then, if youve got any questions or helpful information, send it along to
jointcommittee@actra.ca.
David Sparrow
President, ActRA toronto
Member News
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New membership card
a big hit
ACTRA Toronto is feeling the love for its new
hard-plastic membership card. e card is a rst step
toward a smartcard able to connect with the membership
database. ACTRA Toronto also has a long-range
dream to make the membership card capable of
functioning as a paperless Background voucher.
We dream big.
david Sparrow catherine disher grace Lynn Kung Shawn doyle Sarah gadon Rick Howland
Member News
ACTRA Awards Submissions
e ACTRA Awards in Toronto will be held on Friday, February 19, 2016
at the Carlu. Submissions are open now but will close on November 1, 2015.
Go online to submit at:
www.actratoronto.com/performers/community/the-actra-awards-in-toronto/actra-awards-submission/
Your Council and Stunt Committee Election Timeline
October 21
ballots distributed
October 2
candidates
statements due
November 20
ballots returned
September 25
nominations close
December 1
newly elected Councillors
join Council with voice
but no vote for
2 meetings
January 5, 2016
Election of Treasurer and Vice-
Presidents. Election of 12 National
Councillors and 6 National
alternates.
HIGHLIGHTS
OF COUNCIL ACTIVITY 2014 - 2016
BACKGROUND DIVERSITY
Apprentice Caucus re-invigorated
COMMITTEE
Full Member Background Committee formed CastingDiversity.ca talent database goes National
AABP Caucus continues strong Diversity Casting Go-See
CastingBackground.ca Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival
Deaf Film & Arts Festival
CFC Actors Conservatory makes diversity commitment
BARGAINING
Stratford Agreement
Soulpepper Agreement
NCA deal full day rates restored for online
commercials!
TiP rates increased
Farah Merani
David Gale
EDITORIAL STUNT
COMMITTEE COMMITTEE
Performers on Set quarterly CastingStunts.ca
newsletter taken to sets and available Concussion education and baseline testing
online New ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award
Performers magazines twice yearly Stunt Committee promotional clip reel
Angelica Lisk-Hann
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Clean audits
Balanced budget
TORONTO ACTRA
WOMENS
COMMITTEE
MEMBER SERVICE TAWC Youth Retreat
Aer-hours hotline TAWC panel on harassment
Help with Worker Health and Safety Awareness Nell Shipman Awards
AFBS Financial literacy workshop BravoFact commits to 50% gender equity
New hard-plastic membership card Toolkit 2.0 mentorship produces Girl Couch
CastingACTRA.ca
VOICE
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE
Torontolmworkers.com video and website promoted to L.A.
CastingVoice.ca
Industry Relations hires
New voice booth in the
ACTRA Advantage Research Project
Gordon Pinsent Studio
Northern Ontario satellite oce
Mayoral candidate industry roundtable Audiobooks research
Zaib Shaikh appointed City of Toronto Film Commissioner Catherine Disher
New reciprocal agreement with Equity
YOUNG EMERGING
Changing Workplaces Review
ACTORS ASSEMBLY
PARADES COMMITTEE (YEAA)
Pride Parades YEAA sells out ReelWorld
Labour Day Parades Mega TiFF party trends city-wide
Clara Pasieka
Colin Mochrie at World Pride
FALL 2015 29
Daniel John Paul Conley Jonathan Crombie
1946 - 2015 1966 - 2015
There will be a memorial celebration of Dan's life in Toronto
in September. In lieu of owers, a donation to the ACTRA's Fund of movies and outings, n o m atte r h ow c are f ul ly pl an n e d,
Canada would be appreciated. were impulsive, spur-of-the-moment things.
Even so, when invited, Jonathan would reply, Ill be there, or what-
Robin Leigh ever. Or whatever was his get-out-of-jail free card and he played it
constantly. He was on his own trip, thats for sure. He thought deeply,
and liked to ask the big questions. He didnt like owning things, and
was proud of the fact that he could move apartments by calling a cab.
He was a very private man and, yes, eccentric, but loyal, generous and
kind-hearted. He did not live life so much as wrestle it into
submission, but he never burdened anyone with his problems. More
than anything he was fun, and it is this extraordinary ability of his to
twist life and work and the world in general into something supremely
enjoyable that makes his sudden death at age 48 so hard to accept.
A big thank you from all of us, Jonny. Well see you again soon, or
whatever.
away on April 16th. He was shattered. She was 63 years old. ey had
We lost Alberta on March 21, 2015. I miss you, my friend. Your star
been together for 37 years. With him, Susan found the love and trust
shines bright on all of us.
that were so important to her.
Actor Derek McGrath, who had known Susan even before I had, said Heather Allin
I was in love with her then." I thought for a second and replied, "So Past President, ACTRA Toronto
was I."
Ann Evans