.c1.New Spaces in the Works;;
Brian Spitler, Business Representative for Actor's Equity in the Southeastern US, will
speak to a joint meeting of MTA and the First Friday of the Month Club for Working Actors
( see article "Next Meeting" for details). Mr. Spitler will discuss the state of
the indpendent artist in a right to work state versus union membership requirements. Other
issues under discussion will be "scabbing" by union members, recent National
Labor Relations Board rulings on auditions,reciprocity with SAG and AFTRA, and recent
changes in Equity rules. First Friday is a networking organization that meets, as its name
implies, on the first Friday of each month to discuss issues of concern to actors in our
area. This will be the second time in recent years that MTA has held a joint meeting with
First Friday. The first was in the Spring of 1993. MTA and First Friday members will
remember the great success of that first meeting. The joint meeting of actors and
producing organizations is a big step toward increasing communication throughout the
Metrolina theatre community. Please take a few minutes before the meeting to prepare
questions for Mr. Spitler and for the general discussion to follow his remarks. With a
7:30pm curtain for the Children's Theatre production of Oliver, it will be important to
start on time.
MTA will meet on October 2, 1998 at 5:30pm. Our host will be The Children's Theatre of
Charlotte at Spirit Square. Please RSVP by September 23 by calling 333-8983 before 5:00pm.
The show for this meeting will be Oliver. The regional spotlight will be on the Piedmont
Players .
Candace Sorensen was elected Chair of MTA for 98-99. Keith Martin is the new Vice-Chair.
Rounding out the slate of officers are Joanna Smith as Treasurer and Doug Robinson as
Secretary. The Chair has chosen Tom Hollis and Ginger Heath to serve as At Large members
of the Executive Committee.
The MTA theatre family lost two of its oldest and most distinguished members over the
summer with the deaths of William Ivey Long, Sr. and his wife Mary. Their contributions to
theatre in the Metrolina region, their state and the nation will be truly missed.
Theatre Charlotte has entered their production of Death of a Salesman in this year's AACT/Fest at NCTC in Lenoir. So come out and cheer them on to the regionals.
Dear MTA Members: Welcome to a new year and me, your president, leader, planner, organizer, whatever! Our goal- to make MTA as useful and as positive as a local organization can be. It needs to be a forum for networking, a forum that provides information about the theatre community on the local, state, and national level. Most of all, it needs to be an organization that serves you - the theatre professional, the theatre educator, even the plain old theatre lover!
One way to accomplish all of the above, your input. Call us, come to meetings, speak up, have a voice. I truly look forward to your participation.
Sincerely,
Candace
Congratulations to Daina Geisler on being 50 years young last month. Or is it? You tell
us Daina!
Mike Stair has moved to Charleston. His new address is
8751 Yearling Drive #6H
N. Charleston, SC 29406
843-863-9306
Good Luck Mike!
A big "Thank You" to CPCC Summer Theatre, the panel members, and the Union County Players for all their efforts at the June meeting.
Keep your fingers crossed for Peggy Boring at Northwest School of the Arts. Her case comes up for review by the US Supreme Court on the first Monday of October. Good Luck Peggy!
MTA membership renewals are in the mail. Joanna Smith is eagerly awaiting your checks. You didn't get one? Contact Joanna and she'll get it to you ASAP.
Not only is Candace Sorensen the new Chair of MTA, but she has also been elected to the
board of NCTC for the coming year. Way to go Candace!
MTA now has members serving on the NC Arts Council Theatre Panel board(C Jane
Johnson-Key Players),an NCAC Theatre Panel Guest Panelist (Bruce LaRowe, Children's
Theatre), the SCTC board(Susan Smith-Rock Hill Community Theatre) , the NCTC board ( see
above), and the SETC board (Ginger Heath). Help them represent us on these boards!
The American Association of Community Theatre has a bulletin board on their web site
(www.aact.org) to help members find props. The bulletin board is divided into topics so
you can go directly to your area of interest. Check it out.
NC has a new member of the Theatre community. The NC Theatre Arts Educators (NCTAE)
will hold a meeting September 11 -13 to address the needs of theatre educators acoss the
state. Contact Sue Scarborough
1213 Mitchel St.
Raleigh, NC 27617
919-781-2570(home)
919-856-7913(work) for more info.
The MTA Callboard is looking for a few good (or willing) contibutors in the major areas
of our membership- Professional theatres, Theatre Educators, Community theatre,and
individual artists to contribute columns of interest to the members of those areas. The
Callboard is bimonthly so we don't think this will be too onerous a task. We just want to
make your Callboard as useful as we can. So if you're interested in representing your
area, let Tom Hollis know. Or if you'd like to volunteer someone in your area, speak out.
NCTC's annual fall gathering will be held November 5 - 8th at the J.E. Broyhill Civic
Center in Lenoir. If you haven't received your conference packet yet, contact them at
their new address(see article below). Deadline for early registration is October 2, 1998.
The NCTC Board has adopted Goal 2001 to be presented to the membership at the November
1998 gathering in Lenoir. Goal 2001 is based on these facts: ¥Personal experience is the
most impactful way for a person to understand the value of the arts. ¥Increased personal
experiences will improve and enhance the environment of theatre in North Carolina. ¥Every
theatre practitioner can contribute toward accomplishing this goal. For more information
on NCTC's plan, see the meeting registration packet and attend the meeting in Lenoir.
Effective July 1, NCTC changed its address to P.O. Box 1656 Raleigh, NC 27602-1656
919-832-9171 nctc@interpath.com
Don't see your season above? Then send in your season schedules to Keith Martin and Tom
Hollis as soon as possible. Keith will enter them in the Conflict Resolution database and
Tom will include them in the Callboard and see that they are posted on the web.
Remember you must send it in twice. Sending it only to Keith or Tom will not get the
information to the other.
Actor's Equity Assoc.
ww.actorsequity.orgRock Hill Community Theatre
www.geocities.com/Broadway/Balcony/7595
Greensboro Playwright's Forum
www.ci.greensboro.nc.us/leisure/drama/
Barbizon www.barbizon.com
Plans are underway to revive the MTA school play festival for sometime in November. Keep an eye out for more information in future Callboards or contact Joanna Smith if you'd like to help.
