[e-drive][EQUIFLASH: MAY NEWSLETTER]

[Kevin Patrick Robbins]

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 EQUIFLASH: MAY NEWSLETTER
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The May 2003 edition of the Equity News is now available online at the
association Web site: http://www.caea.com/news/

To view the newsletter, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0,
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 APRIL ISSUES
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1) CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY BREAKS GROUND ON FOUR SEASONS CENTRE

Hundreds of opera lovers, singers and workers were on hand April 11 for
the ceremonial groundbreaking of the new Four Seasons Centre for the
Performing Arts in downtown Toronto, of which the Canadian Opera Company
will be the main tenant.

During the ceremony, COC general director Richard Bradshaw announced the
support of R. Fraser Elliott by way of a $10-million gift. The
auditorium will be named the R. Fraser Elliott Hall in recognition of
his support.

With Elliott's $10-million gift, the capital campaign has reached almost
half of its $150-million goal. Already announced are gifts that include
the province of Ontario's donation of land, worth $31 million, $25
million from the Government of Canada and $20 million from the Four
Seasons for the naming rights.


2) CANADIAN DIRECTOR FINDS NEW PERSPECTIVES ABROAD

Michael Devine is an Equity director currently directing "The Orphan
Muses" in Romania. He is reporting on his experiences there.


I am writing from Sibiu, Romania, a beautiful medieval city also known
to its minority German population as Herrmanstadt. Sibiu is home to a
major international theatre festival - 200 different shows this year -
and a large state theatre, the Radu Stanca.

Radu Stanca is where I'm directing the Romanian premiere of Michel-Marc
Bouchard's "The Orphan Muses," in German. How an anglophone Canadian
ended up directing a franco-Canadian play translated into German and
produced in Romania is a long, fascinating story, full of passion,
deceit, comic opera and good fortune.

Let's talk about actors and directors in Romania, and the observations
of someone who, while having trained and worked internationally, has his
home in the Canadian way of doing theatre business.



3) AGMA RESCINDS AGREEMENT

The American Guild of Music Artists has unilaterally decided to
terminate the reciprocal agreement that currently exists between it and
Canadian Actors' Equity Association.

As of July 1, the reciprocal agreement between AGMA and CAEA will cease
to exist, with the last effective date being June 30. This leads to a
number of concerns with regard to foreign artists, particulalry those in
the opera sector, performing in Canada under contracts that commence
after June 30.

The guild's sole consideration in the termination of the agreement was
that it did not feel it was of any benefit to AGMA members. In response
to the decision, Equity sent a team of delegates to New York City in
attempt to salvage the agreement. The team consisted of Equity president
Victor A. Young, secretary Liza Balkan, executive director Susan Wallace
and business rep manager Ken Burns.


4) ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

* Merritt Award winners announced
* Curtain speaches benefit Actors' Fund
* Elections Information: Nomination by Petition form
* Canadian Actors' Equity Assoc. Professional Development Fund
* In Memoriam: Eleanor Yeoman
* Concessions


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