[e-drive][EQUIFLASH: BOYCOTT URGED OF NON-UNION TOURS]

[Kevin Patrick Robbins]

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 EQUIFLASH: BOYCOTT URGED OF NON-UNION TOURS
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MEMBERS URGENTLY NEEDED FOR INFORMATION PICKETS 

"Save your summer nights. Slide on by Grease and give Saigon a MISS!"

Canadian Actors' Equity Association today announced the launch of a
Canada-wide initiative to boycott non-union bus-and-truck tours of Miss
Saigon and Grease, playing in theatres across the country this summer.

Informational pickets will be set up at the July 8 opening of Miss
Saigon in Vancouver and at the July 15 opening of Grease in Toronto.

Acting at the request of our colleagues in the U.S., and with the
support of our national executive committee, Equity urges its members to
boycott these productions in their home cities and to support an
education outreach campaign to inform the public about where their
ticket dollars are going.

Fees paid to performers in these productions severely undercut the
minimum fees required in similar Canadian professional productions.
Working conditions are unregulated and insurance protection for the
performers is minimal. All performers, whether members of CAEA or not,
are deserving of a decent fee and a supportive work environment.

Canadian producers who provide us with exciting artistic opportunities
and a fair compensation package should not be undercut by low-paying,
high-profit rogue companies sapping box office dollars from our
communities.

With tickets priced within a few dollars of the highest ticket price for
Mamma Mia or Lion King, audiences are unaware that performers are being
paid half of what Equity contracts require. Fees in these productions
not only undercut our domestic commercial producers but many of our
not-for-profit theatres as well.

Planning is underway for an informational picket at the Queen Elizabeth
Theatre in Vancouver for the opening night of Miss Saigon on July 8, and
for a similar event in Toronto on July 15 at the Hummingbird Centre
opening of Grease. Members are encouraged to come down to the theatres
one hour before curtain to help pass out flyers.

Miss Saigon runs in Vancouver for one week, before heading out on a
cross-Canada summer tour on the following tentative itinerary:

July 15-20: Edmonton
July 22-27: Calgary
July 29 - Aug. 3: Regina
Aug.  5-10: Winnipeg
Aug. 12-24: Ottawa
Aug. 26-31: Montreal

Grease is in Toronto for five days only, July 15-20, before sliding back
across the border.

Members are urged to organize local events to bring public attention to
the boycott. A press release is being issued with this announcement and
is available for local press in your region.

For further information, contact Kevin Patrick Robbins in the CAEA
National Office or Ian Ross McDonald in the CAEA Western office.

Kevin Patrick Robbins
416-867-9165
kprobbins at caea.com

Ian Ross McDonald
604-682-6173
ian at caea.com