We, the undersigned nominees for CAEA Ontario Council, will prioritize the following 3 issues if elected: 1) A NEW

INDIE AGREEMENT The creation of a new small-scale indie theatre agreement that reflects the will of the membership, the feedback from artists who create their own work, and the realities of producing small-scale theatre in Canada today. 2) COMMUNICATION BETWEEN STAFF, COUNCIL & THE MEMBERSHIP The Association must examine the ways in which it communicates with its membership. There is a wide gulf between how Staff and Council have viewed CAEA and how the Membership views it. This was made evident by the failed dues referendum and the passionate debate over the changes to the CTA. Member apathy or worse, member antipathy, is a serious issue to the long-term health of CAEA, and we believe that the next Council should be looking at how to address the dissatisfaction that significant portions of the membership have expressed with this Association. The first step in doing this must be to extend ratification of major changes in the CTA to the entire membership. 3) WHAT IS THE VISION FOR EQUITYS FUTUREWHAT IS EQUITY FOR? Why does CAEA exist, and what is its purpose? The conventional answers are: to protect its membership from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous producers, to ensure good working conditions the payment of minimum fees, and to provide insurance in case of on-the-job injury all of these are vital and important. And yet - the very first clause of CAEAs constitution demands that the Association: support the general welfare and advancement of the performing arts not limited to but focusing more particularly on the theatrical performing arts and those engaged in theatrical production. We believe that CAEA as it currently exists has all drifted far away from this idea. CAEA ought to be an organization that supports not only the individual artist but also the *creation of art*, and is equally responsible for both the protection of its members and the encouragement of their artistic endeavours. The Associations long-standing and well-documented inability to collaborate with artists developing new ways of creating work, its hostility to the idea of member-driven, member-produced work, the consistent chorus of member apathy, and the current financial crisis it finds itself in all these things clearly indicate an Association whose primary focus has not been the welfare and interest of the theatrical performing arts whose advancement Equity is mandated to support. TO CONCLUDE: If elected, the above three issues will be our main priority during our term on Council. We believe in the importance of Equity to the Canadian Theatre Industry, and do not want to see it fade into irrelevance due to actions that induce both member apathy and antipathy. We want an Equity that is relevant, efficient, attuned to the needs of its members, and adaptable to the realities of creating theatre in Canada today. We want an Equity that represents the voice of the artist. Aaron Willis Brenley Charkow Mark Brownell Hume Baugh Vinetta Strombergs Kate Fenton