TheMagazinefromACTRAToronto€¦ · AwardofExcellence Diversity SharingtheSpotlight byAndrewMoodie The9thAnnual ACTRAAwardsinToronto TheNominees Pointing totheMoon ChristianPotenza

The Magazine fromACTRAToronto

Spring • Volume 20 • Issue 1

FionaReid2011ACTRATorontoAward of Excellence

DiversitySharing the SpotlightbyAndrewMoodie

The 9th AnnualACTRAAwards in TorontoTheNominees

Pointingto the MoonChristian Potenzaon producing a TIP film

Display until June 2011 $4.60

2 ACTRA TORONTO PERFORMERS

PerformersThe magazine fromACTRATorontoVolume 20 Issue 1 * Spring 2011PUBLISHERDavidGale [email protected]

EDITORChris Owens [email protected]

STAFFWRITERKarenWoolridge [email protected]

EDITORIALCOMMITTEEHeatherAllin, KarenWoolridge, David Gale,ArtHindle,Chris Owens, BrianTopp.

DESIGN and LAYOUTErickQuerci [email protected]

ADVERTISINGSALESKarenCowitz [email protected] 416-461-4627

CONTRIBUTORSHeatherAllinBrianToppChris OwensJohn deKleinKarenWoolridgeMaryAshtonClare JohnstonChristian PotenzaAndrewMoodieBeverley CooperMarni JacksonHrantAlianakBarbara BuddJohn Shaw

PLEASEADDRESSEDITORIALCORRESPONDENCETO:Performersmagazinec/o ACTRAToronto625 Church Street, Suite 200Toronto, ONM4Y 2G1Fax: (416) [email protected]

JOINTHETEAMIf you’re an ACTRAToronto Member and want to write an articleor contribute original artwork or photos, we’d love to hear fromyou. Send an email to [email protected].

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THENEXTCOPYDEADLINE ISApril 24, 2011The magazine invites members to submit notices of births, mar-riages, obituaries and letters to the editor. Article submissions mustbe sent via email to [email protected] reserve the rightto edit or omit any material for length, style, content or possiblelegal ramifications.

Performersmagazine is published three times a year by ACTRAToronto. The views expressed in unsolicited and solicited articlesare not necessarily the views of ACTRAToronto, its council or thiscommittee.

Publications Mail Agreement number 40069134ISSN 1911-4974

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(COVER PHOTO)Wardrobe Stylist:Kirsten Reader, Judy Inc.Make-up andHair:Stacey Martin

Contents

Photo clothing credits:Top and Skirt, PPiinnkk TTaarrttaannVintage Necklace, The Cat's Meow Scarf, photographer’s own

Photo: www.mckennaphoto.com

President’s message 3 9th Annual ACTRA Award in Toronto Nominees • by Chris Owens 4Fabulous Fiona Reid: 2011 Award of Excellence recipient • by Mary Ashton 8Pointing to the Moon • by Christian Potenza 14Sharing the Spotlight • by Andrew Moodie 16NCA Bargaining • by Brian Topp 20Members News 21ACTRA Toronto Who’s Who 25Ask a Steward • by Clare Johnston / New Members 26Lights, Camera…Chatter • by John de Klein 27Lives Lived 28

Fiona Reid Photo: www.mckennaphoto.com

We’ve accomplished a great deal in thetwo years I’ve been your President. Anew IPA negotiated in record timeprovided us a modest pay increase andpeace in the industry. So we put thatpeace to good use. We launched the IWork ACTRA campaign, raising mem-bers’ awareness about the importanceof keeping the promises we make witheach other. We looked at our member-ship rules asking: if we want all careerminded performers inside “the housewe built for ourselves”, do our rulesprevent a healthy, growing union?82.1% of you voted to reduce initiationcredits from six to three, removing asignificant barrier for folks who belongin our union.

I am honoured to have been electedPresident for a second term by counciland I look forward to the work aheadwhere there is much we can and willaddress. Below are six key priorities Iwant to talk about.

Bargaining: This spring we bargain the NCA.Commercials for internet and the SOCcategory will likely be key issues. Stand-ing together in solidarity will prove in-valuable to negotiating a fair contract.We invite your input.

Inclusion: In 2010, we assisted NBC with twoopen calls specifically for diverse per-formers. They were astonished at thetalent we have here. Being one of themost diverse film centres in the worldputs us in the minds of filmmakers.Casting calls explicitly are asking for“any ethnicity”. Our shows are becom-ing diversified. But there is more to dountil our big and small screens reflectthe world we see.

Membership Rules: We need to steward the new member-ship rules, making sure they fit the

goals of your union. A healthy union isone that grows and includes those whoare dedicated to developing a per-former’s career.

I Work ACTRA: In 1943, a band of performers organ-ized for fair pay, proper working condi-tions and an organization they couldcall their own. Sixty-seven years later,the promises we have with each otherremain: promises to defend our pay,benefits, retirement, to always work onan ACTRA contract and to uphold thevalues of our union. These promisesguarantee support when things gowrong and a union that fights for a fu-ture for our industry.

Canadian Drama Campaign: In 1999, the disastrous CRTC rulingrelaxed regulations on broadcasterscausing the domestic industry to col-lapse from 13 to 3 hour-long dramaticseries. It’s taken us 11 years and lots ofletters and trips to Ottawa, wheremany of you performed key roles, to re-turn to producing at near 1999 levels.This is a battle we can never stopfighting. A future with Canadian sto-ries on big and small screens, withCanadian performers, nay stars,means work for us. It also holds themirror up to Canadians and invitesthe world to know us too.

Public Policy: This spring a Federal election is likely;a provincial election will happen thisfall. We need to ensure all parties havefilm friendly policies and support thegrowth of media excellence. We’ll con-tinue to speak at the CRTC on allthings related to broadcasting and cre-ative content. We’ll continue the fightonly Toronto can fight – that theCanadian Media Fund plays fair withToronto rather than incentivizing workto leave our province. Our Provincial

government has been very supportivewith tax credits, helping to bring backforeign production but Status of theArtist issues are still unrequited. Andwe have new files that need work. Wehave a new Toronto Mayor. We need towork closely with his office to ensurethey understand and promote our in-dustry in this town.

There is much to do in the comingmonths and years. I hope you’re upfor the challenge. I know I am. I inviteyou to participate and help make ourcultural and economic contributionunderstood.

In solidarity,

Heather AllinPresident, ACTRA Toronto

Spring 2011 3

Lookingahead

Photo by: Jag Gundu

President’s message


WORKACTRA

Diamond Sponsor: Gold Sponsors:

Nominees9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2011

We are pleased to announce thenominees for this year’s awards.

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – VoiceLondon Angelis in You Are Here (feature film)Sean Cullen in Jimmy Two-Shoes (animated TV series)Cory Doran in Jimmy Two-Shoes (animated TV series)Billy MacLellan in Afghanada (radio series)Maurice Dean Wint in Beasts of the Bible (documentary)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Male Maury Chaykin in Less Than Kind (TV series)Mark McKinney in Death Comes to Town (TV series)Noah Reid in Score: A Hockey Musical (feature film)Nicholas Rose in New Year (feature film)Chuck Shamata in Break a Leg (short film)

ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance – Female Sarah Manninen in Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story (mini series)Zoie Palmer in The Untitled Work of Paul Shepard (feature film)Molly Parker in Trigger (feature film)Liisa Repo-Martell in Flashpoint (TV series)Tracy Wright in Trigger (feature film)

ACTRA Toronto Gratefully Acknowledges the Sponsors of 9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto Sponsors

4 ACTR A TORONTO PERFORMERS

By Chris Owens

Spring 2011 5

Maurice Dean Wint

Nominees9th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto 2011

Outstanding Performance – Voice

LONDON ANGELISYou Are Here

SEAN CULLENJimmy Two-Shoes

CORY DORANJimmy Two-Shoes

BILLY MacLELLANAfghanada

MAURICE DEAN WINT

Beasts of the Bible

Youngest performer nominated this year; television appearancesinclude: The Rick Mercer Report, Murdoch Mysteries, Howie Do It;film appearances include: Flash of Genius, Sundays at Tiffany's.

“My mother handed me the phone...I was so excited to be nomi-nated, what an honour! And with that kind of news, there wasno way she could turn down my request for homemade chocolatechip waffles that morning.”

Founding member of musical comedy group, Corky and the JuicePigs; Gemini Awards for Best Performance or Host in a VarietyProgram, Just For Laughs, 17th Annual Gemini Awards, What WereThey Thinking; author of novel trilogy for young adults; finalist ofNBC's Last Comic Standing; Canadian Comedy Award, Phil TheAlien; feature films include:The Love Guru, Saint Ralph, Where theTruth Lies.

“The best thing about working on J2S is the incredible freedomof the storylines and the range of challenges for a vocal performer.When I got the news of my nomination I was shocked, delighted,angry, grateful, dazed, itchy and damp. I dried myself and wept.”

Series regular (voice) on Stoked; guest appearance on Degrassi: TheNext Generation.

“What I love most about working on Jimmy are the people.MarkEvestaff and Merle Anne Ridley are the faces we actors workwith every recording session. They're great. They allow us somuch freedom to play, to create alternate lines and jokes. It's areal treat coming to work. My fellow cast mates raise the bar veryhigh on the performance side so I'm always trying to raise mygame to match.”

Born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; Nominated for a Gemini for BestPerformance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series, Re-Genesis; played 'Laertes' on Slings and Arrows; writer/director of doc-umentary, Between the Mountain and the Shore; Guest appearances on:Murdoch Mysteries, The Border,Flashpoint, Rookie Blue.

“I flew into Scotland this week and on the paperwork when Icrossed the border, I had to fill in the 'profession' line. I got towrite 'actor' on that blank and, for me, that is as cool as it gets. Ilove what I do and at the end of the day, the worst day acting isbetter than the best day in a coal mine. I got no complaints.”

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama, York University; Gemini nomi-nation Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing DramaticRole, Blue Murder; other television appearances include: PSI Fac-tor, Traders, ReGenesis, The Border, Haven; film credits include:Cube, Curtis's Charm, Rude, Hedwig and the Angry Inch; extensivevoice work incudes: Razzberry Jazzberry Jam, narration for TheDiscovery Channel, CBC, Vision TV; Dora Award, Courageous.

“Not only was I blessed with forty pages of incredibly delicioustext to consume but I was also spoiled with a wealth of stunninglive action and computer animated footage from which to work.I find narration as a performance format engaging to begin with.I love watching documentary films as much as I love voicingthem.”

Cory Doran

Billy MacLellan

Sean Cullen

London Angelis


Bronze Sponsors:

Late Canadian-American character actor born in Brooklyn, NY; GenieAward for Best Actor in a Leading Role,Whale Music; Genie nominations,Cold Comfort and Iron Eagle II; Gemini awards,At the Hotel andNikita; Cana-dian Comedy Award, Less Than Kind; film appearances include: Dances WithWolves, The Adjuster, The Sweet Hereafter, Adoration, Blindness, Barney's Ver-sion; extensive television appearances include: A Nero Wolfe Mystery, SeeingThings, Entourage, Boston Legal.

“Doing Less Than Kindwas such a positive, wonderful experience for Maury.He just couldn't wait to get there and couldn't wait to work. It made himforget when he wasn't feeling great health-wise to have this amazing, amaz-ing support system of people he loved.” — Susannah Hoffmann

Founding member of sketch comedy troupe, Kids in the Hall; appeared onSaturday Night Live 1995-97; co-created, wrote and starred in Slings and Ar-rows; television appearances include: Twitch City, Robson Arms, Corner Gas,Hatching, Matching, & Dispatching, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; film appear-ances include: Brain Candy, A Night at the Roxbury, New Waterford Girl, TheSaddest Music in the World; executive producer, writer and show-runner, LessThan Kind.

“What I enjoyed most on DCTT was the chance to play a bunch of differ-ent roles – real people, Death, and a ladyperson. It was fun. And it hadbeen a while.”

Graduate of the National Theatre School; began doing voice work at age 10;'Tommy Settergren' in Pippi Longstocking, 'Franklin the turtle' in Franklin,'Gunther Breech' in Jane and the Dragon. Series regular on Strange Days atBlake Holsey High. Guest appearances on Naturally, Sadie and Degrassi: TheNext Generation.

“We had a blast making this movie andMike McGowan has this greatsense of humour that really set the tone. He was facilitating jam sessionsbetween takes and we played hockey at lunch with the cast and crew whenwere shooting at the arena. It was nuts! A great working environment.”

Born in Grande Prairie, Alberta; series regular on Instant Star; guest ap-pearance on Rookie Blue; sings and plays guitar in the band, Sweet Thing;singer/songwriter of country/folk album, Oxbow Lake.

“New Yearwas a really comfortable, easy going set with lots of familiar faces.Julian Dezotti, who co-wrote and stars in the film, is an old friend of minefrom U of T. I'm so grateful to him and to Phil Borg (co-writer, director)for giving me this role. Ultimately, it was just a bunch of friends making amovie in the basement of their parent's house in Burlington. Isn't that howJaws was made?”

Career spans over four decades in film, television, theatre and voice; Genienomination for Don Shebib's Between Friends; other films include: OneWeek, Cinderella Man, Joshua Then and Now, The Sentinel; Gemini nomina-tion, The Running Man; series regular, Kojak; founding member of ActorsRepertory Company.

“The best thing about working on Break A Leg was collaborating with myson, Jesse, again. It’s our second short film together. We work in a way thatI think most actors would like to work all the time – as equal voices in thecreative process from inception.”

MAURY CHAYKINLess Than Kind

MARK McKINNEYDeath Comes to Town

NOAH REID Score: A Hockey Musical

NICHOLAS ROSENew Year

CHUCK SHAMATABreak A Leg

Outstanding Performance – Male

Silver Sponsors:

Maury Chaykin

Mark McKinney

Noah Reid

Nicholas Rose

Chuck Shamata

Spring 2011 7

Supporters: EP Canada Film Services, The Characters Talent Agency Ltd, Ricochet Water, Unionville Insurance Brokers

Friends: AMI Artist Management, Ambition Talent, Creative Drive Artists, Darius Films, Fountainhead Talent, Gary Goddard Agency, LeFeaver Talent Management ltd., New Leaf Flowers & Gifts, Noble Caplan Abrams, Oscars Abrams Zimel & associates, Premier Artists’ Management, Thistle Printing

SARAH MANNINENKeep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story

ZOIE PALMERThe Untitled Work of Paul Shepard

MOLLY PARKERTrigger

LIISA REPO-MARTELLFlashpoint

TRACY WRIGHTTrigger

Outstanding Performance – Female

Sarah Manninen

Zoie Palmer

Molly Parker

Liisa Repo-Martell

Graduate of George Brown Theatre School; Gemini nomination as Best LeadingActress in the BBC/Alliance production AKA Albert Walker; series regular onGeorge F. Walkers' The Line, MTV's Live Through This, UPN's Platinum; recurringcharacter on Showcase's Naked Josh; guest appearances include: The Republic ofDoyle, This is Wonderland, The Eleventh Hour.

“My experience working on Keep Your Head Up, Kid was remarkable. The Cherryfamily, specifically Tim and Cindy, graciously answered every question I had abouttheir mother. I appreciated the opportunity to play a character over many years,thinking about how one's body feels or moves differently over time. I loved everysecond of playing Rose.”

BFA from York University; series regular on Instant Star, Search and Rescue, LostGirl; played Patti Reagan in the critically acclaimed MOW, The Reagans; AwardedBest Actor at the Baja California Film Festival forTerminal Venus; supporting rolein M. Shyamalan’s thriller, Devil.

“On set there was this great atmosphere that allowed for a lot of play and dis-covery and risk taking, which for me means so much as an actor. Feeling free todiscover and rehearse and find moments is a gift...I would like to do more com-edy, comedy and, occasionally, comedy.”

Genie Awards for Kissed and Last Wedding; Genie nominations: Who Loves the Sun,Marion Bridge, The War Bride, Men With Brooms; Gemini nomination, Paris or Some-where; series regular on Twitch City, Deadwood, Swingtown, Shattered; other featurefilms include: The Road, Looking For Leonard, Rare Birds, Suspicious River.

“I don’t know how this movie got made. I mean that. I have worked on dozensof independent films, produced some, been married to a filmmaker, just seen itenough times to know that you don’t make a movie without any prep, or anymoney, or a script that is totally ready, and do it starting next weekend. It is notpossible. But it happened, and it felt, the whole time, like a miracle. It is, withouta doubt, one of the most profound experiences that I have ever had as an actor.”

Gemini Award for Nights Below Station Street; Gemini nominations for This Is Won-derland and Spoken Art; guest television appearances include: Puppets Who Kill, Re-Genesis, The Listener, Republic of Doyle; film appearances include: Unforgiven, TheEnglish Patient, Lars and the Real Girl; Indie Dora nomination: Eternal Hydra.

“On one level, of course, it's a police procedural but they have created such a hu-mane, complex, dare I say, Canadian universe, where compromise, diplomacy andconsensus building is king – and where people's madness and terrible actsare always explored in the context of their pain...It was also pretty cool to runaround the empty ROM with a gun in the middle of the night.”

Founding member of Toronto's Augusta Company; television appearances include:The Kids in the Hall, Dice, Twitch City, Slings & Arrows; films include: Highway 61,When Night is Falling, Last Night, Picture Claire, Me and You and Everyone We Know,Monkey Warfare, Childstar, Blindness, This Movie is Broken, You Are Here; frequentlycollaborated with husband, Don McKellar, as well as with Daniel MacIvor,Daniel Brooks, and Bruce McDonald.

“Just watching her work on these last things, especially Trigger, was an inspira-tion. She always really believed in her art – it was the most important thing to herin the end. To see how everyone rallied together and dropped what they weredoing and came to help was very moving.” - Don McKellar

Tracy Wright


2011 Award of Excellence

FabulousFiona

Interview with Fiona Reid by Mary Ashton

Spring 2011 9

“What’s on the outside is more like the appetizer; the soul is the main course of who the person is. If you ain’t got that, you ain’t got nothin’.”

FabulousFiona


MA: Fi! I’m honoured and giddy that I get to interview youfor your Award of Excellence. Congratulations! If it’s nottoo much trouble, I’m hoping you’ll shed a tear for me likein a Barbara Walters special. How does it feel to be hon-oured by your fellow ACTRA colleagues?

FR: Well, I play into Canadian stereotypes here, but my firstreaction, when Heather Allin telephoned me, was absoluteastonishment and humility. Then I thought, “Oh, you mustmean the other Fiona Reid.” And then I eventually workedmy way through to genuinely feeling honoured to have beenrecognized by my peers.

MA: Where did you train?

FR: I got my B.A. from McGill and in the summers I wentto the Banff School of Fine Arts. I knew when I graduated Iwasn’t ready for prime time. I had been accepted at a smalltheatre school in the U.K. but then I began getting work –summer stock theatre, a school tour in Saskatchewan - andnever showed up. I knew I needed more training, and tookclasses whenever I could in movement, acting, and voice.

MA: How did you get your first job?

FR: It was way easier than it is now. I have huge respect fortoday’s young actor, surviving in an environment that’s be-come so lean and mean. I auditioned, plain and simple. Myfirst job was as an apprentice at the Muskoka SummerTheatre. Sean McCann was one of the leading lights thereand I was very much in awe of him-still am. In true clichéfashion, the lead actor broke her arm and I went on for her.Two weeks summer stock.

MA: You have a strong comedy background, right? Whatled you down that path?

FR: It just kind of happened, without any effort on my part.It came as a surprise to me that the more seriously I tookmyself the funnier it seemed to be for everyone else. I re-placed Jayne Eastwood at Second City but later opted todo a play at Tarragon instead. I was always pursuing ‘seriousdrama’. I find that sort of laughable now - how intent I wasat proving myself as a dramatic actor.

MA: Didn’t you say that John Candy teased you about yourpassion for serious theatre?

FR: We worked together on a show called Coming up Rosie. Iplayed Mona Zwicker, a telephone operator who wore whitego-go boots. He would say, “Hey Fi, wanna do a littleChekov?” But he had a bit of that going on too. He spoke tome once of wanting to do King Lear. He called me Miss LaTouche: “Oh, Miss La Touche, are we a little cranky? Didn’twe get our nap today?” He was such a beautiful guy.


Photo clothing and accessories credit:Aubergine vintage Herve Leger gown, Vintage earrings and smaller bracelet, The Cat's Meow (www.thecatsmeowcouture.com)Large Bracelet, Carla Wax (www.carlawax.com)Shoes, Valentino, Davids


Spring 2011 11

I was always pursuing ‘serious drama’. I find that sort of laughable now - how intent I was at proving myself as a dramatic actor.“ “

MA: Do you have a preference for comedy over drama?

FR: I think in the heart of most comedians lurks the actorwho wants to be taken seriously. I’d trust a comedian withthe serious stuff much more than the other way round.Comedic actors get tragedy big time. It is the underbelly ofwhat they do. When my dad had his stroke, I learned thatlaughter and tears come from the same part of the brain.That made a lot of sense to me. We laugh so that we don’t cry.Or, in the midst of a tearful outbreak we find ourselves laugh-ing. It’s false to separate the two, really.

MA: I feel like you’re one of the most in-work actors inCanada. How do you choose your roles?

FR: Well, sometimes there is no choosing! It’s more like, ‘Ohthank god I have a job and a paycheque.’ I have had to learnhow to weather the fallow periods and not feel sorry for my-self. In my 30s I used to go to bed for days at a time whenwork was scarce. Having mummy wallowing in self pity asshe boiled the pasta water wasn’t much fun for my kids, so Ithink I’ve improved with the years on that front. I can’t re-sist a challenge. On those rare occasions when I have achoice, it’s always about the play for me.

MA: How do you prepare for a role? Is your preparationmuch different for TV and film than for theatre?

FR: Very generally speaking, I go through the script and ask‘why’ a lot. The types of roles I tend to land on TV and filmare different from what I do onstage. TV and film cast more‘to type’. That’s just the way it is. And as one ages (uggh, don’tget me started), the roles for women become more periph-eral. Since I take everything from the page, there can besome unanswered questions when researching a TV or filmrole. It takes a boldness of character to fill in those blankswhich aren’t in the script. I’m not hard-wired to be that con-fident about making arbitrary choices. Nevertheless, you’reexpected to show up and strut your stuff, usually withminimal time for discussion. I prefer collaboration wherepossible. I love the rehearsal process, being challenged by adirector and feeling I’m in synch with his or her wishes aswell as those of my fellow actors.

MA: What has been your favourite role so far?

FR: I tend to fall in love with the character I’m playing atany given time. But certainly, Mrs. Lovett, in Sweeney Todd,Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf?, and Amanda in TheGlass Menagerie were roles I adored playing.

MA: Who are your idols?

FR: Jennifer Phipps is an actor I’ve admired since I was auniversity student. I first saw her in The Entertainer withGerard Parkes at the Centaur Theatre in Montreal. Shewas so alive and incandescent. And to this day, she is a per-former who changes one’s notion of time whenever she’s onstage. She transforms the air she inhabits. She’s our JudiDench. Martha Henry. Shirley Douglas... . And thenthere’s Meryl. To see her become so many completely

photo: Tim Leyes

As Deirdre in P.R. (Sullivan Films)With Bruce Gray inMy Big Fat Greek Wedding


The Time Traveller’s Wife (New Line Cinema)

With Terry Bradshaw in Relative Chaos

Fiona Reid invested to the Order of Canada bythen Governor General Michaelle Jean

King of Kensington (CBC)

different personas so seamlessly is an experience in alchemy.Such versatility. That’s always been the name of the game forme. And she seems to find real joy in every role she plays,and that draws us to the character instantly. There is hugecharm, intelligence and ease in her craft. And, finally, MaggieSmith, for her mastery of the word. She makes the Englishlanguage delicious. Her sense of irony gives any sentence itsrequisite due of pain and comedy.

MA: You have been an ACTRA advocate for performers ona number of issues. Which issues are you most passion-ate about?

FR: I can’t really point to one issue being more importantthan another.

My father taught me to believe in government and the po-litical process. To meet politicians who know their brief andunderstand where the arts fit into society is inspirational.Unfortunately, there are also those whose ignorance aboutwhat we do is fairly jaw-dropping. I remember one such MPwhose notions of ‘arts appreciation’ seemed to be listening tosatellite radio in his car (”wow, all those stations”).

Canadian ownership of our airwaves is essential if we want toretain any sense of our culture and who we are. The creativeoutput of any country is how others see us and define us.And a country’s treatment of its artists is a good bell-weatherof its health as a nation. Copyright is what gives the artiststatus, in terms of owning his or her work. Rapidly changingtechnology makes that a hot issue. There’s always been a rev-enue stream that worked and it meant that artists were re-munerated; the sums may have been really modest, but itworked. Now, with the proliferation of web driven content,that’s all up for grabs. And we know that the broadcasters,ISPs and advertisers do just fine, no matter what. I get sofrustrated when we have to justify ourselves in economic

terms, because it always begs the question, ‘if you’re so good,how come you’re not rich?’ I think the culture of celebrityhas done such damage to artists. There’s the perception thatwe’re absurdly well paid and do nothing but sit in our direc-tor’s chairs, bitching over our lattes. When the reality is moreoften than not, an actor struggles to get by, just to make aliving.

Governments need to understand that the idea of support-ing risk and diversity in the arts and nurturing young artistsis vital. Diversity is part of what makes Canada such an in-teresting place to live. And yes, it is a really good investment.

MA: If you had any advice for thirsty, curious actors outthere, what would it be?

FR: When I was younger I’d work so hard to remove any per-sonal idiosyncrasies that might give a lie to a certain charac-ter. I relaxed that over time because I realized some werepeeking through anyway. Something told me to take some ofthe pressure off myself - perhaps that wasn’t the most im-portant aspect of a performance. Being true to a character ismore about finding her soul. What’s on the outside is morelike the appetizer; the soul is the main course of who the per-son is. If you ain’t got that, you ain’t got nothin’.

As someone who has always taken herself way too seriously,I can confidently advise young actors: DON’T. Be curiousabout others. Help someone. That’s ALL that matters, really.

Mary Ashton is one of the stars onDan for Mayor, a CTV sitcom goinginto its second season. She proudlycalls Toronto her home and ACTRAher union.

Spring 2011 13

“Canadian ownership of our airwaves is essential if we want to retainany sense of our culture and who we are. ”

Fiona argues for better Status of the Artist legislation.Photo: Jag Gundu

Fiona speaks at Queen’s Park press conference with (from left) Colin Mochrie, Sonja Smits and Karl Pruner (2006).Photo: Jag Gundu

ACTRA members know what it's like to step onto a featurefilm set filled with massive HMI's, unlimited dolly track, andtraditional 35mm Arriflex cameras. So when veteran heavy-weight actors like Jayne Eastwood and Art Hindlewalked onto the set of Moon Point for the first time, we werea little apprehensive in revealing our production camera ofchoice: the tiny Canon 7D. Armed with only a tiny DSLR,some sound recording gear, a few unique locations and amodest-sized crew, our production team was able to take anambitious 95-page script and turn it into something magical.

“It was like the perfect storm of filmmaking,” says Hindle re-flecting on Moon Point, currently in post-production. “Every-thing came together — a perfect script, perfect cast, andperfect crew who were all unfailingly sacrificial to the finalproduct. I was truly excited and appreciative of Christian’sorganizing efforts. He is an example of how organizing isevery member's responsibility and how much better a prod-uct you can get when you insist that something goes union.”

That product, from the mind of director Sean Cisterna,concerns a lethargic young man named Darryl (NickMcKinlay) who decides to seek out his childhood crush,Sarah (Kristen Gutoskie). With only an electric scooter,operated by his disabled friend Femur (Kyle Mac), and a gar-den wagon attached to its rear, the unlikely duo embark ona coming-of-age journey that sees them face countless trialsand tribulations. Along the way, the boys picks up Kristen(played by the über-talented Paula Brancati), and en-counter a variety of bizarre characters along the open road.

Fantastic concept, right? And to think, 3 weeks before pro-duction, this project was scheduled to go the dreaded non-union route.

It all started with a Facebook message. “Hey Christian, I’mmaking a movie in a few weeks and would love to pick yourbrain on a few things.” Cisterna met me for coffee shortlythereafter, asking if I knew any talented up-and-comers inthe non-union world. “Why do you want to go non-union?”

I asked. Sean wondered if he could manage union paperworkand rules. As an ACTRA member, I thought, ‘no better timeto try my hand at this producing thing’. I suggested — well,maybe tempted is a better word — him with a list of namesof actor colleagues that I was sure I could pull a favour from.And from that point on, there was no turning back. It was atthat moment, I took off my ‘actor’ hat and donned one thatread ‘producer’.

We went into the ACTRA Toronto offices to meet withToronto Indie Production coordinator Tasso Lakas, andeven he was skeptical about our ability to pull this off. Aftersharing our production strategy, our resources and our fi-nancing scenario, Tasso bought into what we were selling andgave us his stamp of approval to go forward with whateverACTRA talent we could access. Let me remind you, at thispoint we’re only 14 days from day one of principal photog-raphy and, at this point, we have zero cast and 30 speakingroles to fill. This, my friends, is what even the wackiest drag-ons den participants would call a hope and a prayer.

We’re now only a week away from our first day of principalphotography and we’ve finally got some names on paper. ArtHindle, yes, Jayne Eastwood, yes, Linda Kash, yes,Boyd Banks, yes – these great names were all falling intoplace. People were rallying around this project and all wantedto come in and do their part, even if it was just one line. Thatis where the magic of this project really grew. People wereallowed to come in and just act. They had free range to in-terpret as they wished and they killed it every time! We hadsingle lines grow to 5 minute monologues, 2 pages shrink toblank stares. People were bringing their all and putting theirmark on this film.

Actors have it easy. I can say this now that I’ve been on bothsides of the filmmaking line. Actors have to memorize lines,deliver performances to the best of their abilities and askquestions of their director. Producers, on the other hand,have to field questions from actors all the way down thechain to the eager production assistants, while ensuring that


Pointing to the MoonACTRA member Christian Potenza produces a TIP film

the production stays on budget and on schedule... and dealwith the multitude of tiny issues that come up every day. Likeacting, it involves some quick thinking on your feet… how-ever, there are no second takes when you’re producing.

But while producing a film is difficult work, it is manageable.I ain’t joshin’ you. I, Christian Potenza, just produced a realfeature film! As ACTRA members, we have the benefit of abeing a part of a tight-knit, supportive community. If youwant to make a film of your own, you need nothing but a littlebit of equity investment and the resources immediatelysurrounding you.

Moon Point utilized a small but determined crew, and shoot-ing on DSLRs allowed us to set up quickly and have time tofocus on actors’ performances. Comedian Jessica Holmesagreed to do a cameo in our film as the leader of an alco-holics’ anonymous meeting that our lead characters stumblein on. Her character had one or two lines in the script... butthanks to the ease of the Canon 7D’s set up, Jessica was en-couraged to do what she does best: improv. Her two lines inthe script have evolved into a 5 minute monologue filled withcomedic gold in the finished film. Actors and crew membershad to bite their hands to control their laughter. Jessica justkilled it. “I’m comedically at my best when there are zeroboundaries or walls,” explains Holmes, who went on a im-provisational tirade in the film about her husband Hank(played by real-life husband Scott Yaphe) and his drunkenrelationship with squirrels. “This stuff is in my mind all thetime, but this is the first time I was allowed to use it!”

We didn’t have a massive crew but that was part of the fun,as Production Manager Alex Verdurmen pointed out. “Wefostered an atmosphere of creative collaboration; everyonewas pitching in and the film was only better for it.” It wasthis atmosphere that really helped our young leads grow asperformers. It was “an amazing experience with the challengeof playing off the veteran actors,” saysPaula Brancati. Theold guys were coming in and teaching these young kids somethings about the business they were just getting started in. And the excitement for producing quality material of theirown grew with other ACTRA members who appear in MoonPoint. Comedian James Hartnett (of YTV’s That’s So Weird)was particularly interested in our production workflow. “Ididn’t think a movie could look that good on that kind ofcamera,” says Hartnett, who produces his own series of funnyviral videos. “You don’t need a huge crew or crazy equipmentto make something look really cool as long as you have funnyperformances and great writing.”

To quote Sean Cisterna, “This was designed to be a fun,gritty road movie shot with non-union talent, but thanks to

Christian Potenza and the helpful staff at the ACTRAToronto office, it's become something much bigger than Iever anticipated.” Director Cisterna admitted that “at first Iwas apprehensive about signing with ACTRA because I didn’twant to deal with the rules that come along with being sig-natory to the IPA. But after the experience on Moon Point —the passion and talent that each actor brought — I'll nevergo do another non-union film. Linda Kash said it best onher last day on set - ‘we come with paperwork... but we’reworth it’. And she’s right.”

“We are very proud of the film and what we have been ableto achieve with a limited budget,” says Moon Point's ExecutiveProducer Avi Federgreen (of the box-office hit One Weekand the recent TIFF-opener Score: A Hockey Musical). “It isour hope that we will be able to take this sweet, funny, andwonderfully special film and have it become a festivaldarling at TIFF and festivals around the world.”

Yes, producing a film is difficult, strenuous, stressful work...but the journey through production is much easier with thehelp of your fellow ACTRA members and the union as awhole. Moon Point isn't just a film - it's an example of thereach and community within our wonderful industry. Peoplegave the project everything they had, we worked long hoursand pushed ourselves harder than ever imaginable but evenon the last day everyone was coming to work with the sameenthusiasm and vigor they had on day 1, and we hope itshows. I can’t wait to share Moon Point with you, my friendsand colleagues, who helped make this the little film thatcould.

Spring 2011 15

by Christian PotenzaPointing to the Moon

Cast with crew of Moon Point. From left to right: Kyle Mac, Paula Brancati, Nick McKinlay, Kristen Gutoskie, director Sean Cisterna, Christian Potenza, Production Manager Alex Verdurmen. Photo courtesy of Mythic Productions Inc.


NOT

Diversity Feature

“There are not only racial diversity issues. There are gender diversity issues,sexual orientation issues, diverse abilities issues. “

- Zaib Shaikh

In November of 2010, the 25th annualGemini awards were held at Toronto’sWinter Garden Theatre, and for me,it will be the awards ceremony thatchanged everything. There was thetouching win for Less Than Kind.There was also, however, the 2 Gem-ini wins for Clé Bennett. Clé is anenigmatic young black actor who notonly gave a riveting performance inthe Hungry Eyes production of Guns,but also beat out some heavy compe-tition to win a 2nd Gemini for TheLine. Damn. Wow.

In the days after the awards I was ac-tually expecting more… well, I don’tknow what I was expecting, but when ayoung black actor beats ChristopherPlummer for a Gemini I guess I wasexpecting the media to recognize whatan incredible milestone it is for peopleof colour in the Canadian film industry.But maybe that’s a good thing. I hon-estly don’t know.

I, like many actors of colour, havestruggled with the issue of diversity infilm and television. But what does thatmean exactly? For instance, I knowmany MANY white actors who arefreaking BRILLIANT who struggle asmuch as I do for work, if not more so.I’m thinking of a couple right now whoare probably reading this article, think-ing, ‘Andrew, dude, you may be blackbut you’ve got a sweet gig at TVO, andI don’t know how the hell I’m gonnapay the mortgage next month’. The sadtruth is that, in this country, nobody is

given a free ride, no matter what yourcolour. However, there are certain pos-sibilities that are less likely for one per-son than another because of their race.It’s impossible to quantify a possibility,but in acting, that’s all we got. It’s whatwe live for. It’s what keeps us going intothat next audition, self-hypnotizingourselves with a determined, ‘Can DO!I’m gonna get this one!’ attitude. Andwhen those possibilities are reduced,well, it makes the ‘Can DO! I’m gonnaget this one’ harder to believe in.

So where are we at now? Have the bar-riers to diversity truly been broken? Idecided to talk to a couple of people inthe industry who are in the know.

“We are in a good place, but we can’t

rest on our laurels.” Zaib Shaikh is awriter, director, producer, freakishlyhandsome star of Little Mosque on thePrairie. A self-described ‘Brown Cana-dian’, he is acutely aware of the chal-lenges that his race plays in casting.“I’ve been looked over because of myskin, but I’ve been blessed because theshow I’m on needs me to be thecolour, religion and person that I am.”Zaib is aware that his role on one ofCanada’s hit sitcoms has made himone of the fortunate few, but he is alsoaware that there are not only racial di-versity issues, “There are gender di-versity issues, sexual orientationissues, diverse abilities issues. [We]must celebrate and recognize thewins, and those that are working to

Spring 2011 17

SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT

Diversity is not abouttaking the spotlight away from anyone,

it’s about sharing the spotlight together.

By Andrew Moodie

I

achieve equality on all fronts. A lot ofgood stuff going on, but if the goal isto not have these articles then there isstill a lot of work to be done.”

When NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox sentexecutives to Toronto for a casting ses-sion in August, Productions WithoutBorders partnered with them for the“Making Diversity Matter Mixer” toshowcase diverse talent behind thescenes. Karen King-Chigbo, theChair of PWB, and a Production Ex-ecutive for Drama Content at ShawMedia, brought together some ofCanada’s top diverse writers, directorsand producers of drama series to meet theAmerican and Canadian broadcasters.

A former feature film and NFB pro-ducer, she’s one of the most experi-enced people of colour in mainstreamtelevision in Canada, and she has de-veloped a step by step system for expe-riencing the benefits of diversity in filmand television production.

“This is a fantastic year for diversityand the Academy needs to be recog-nized for that”, King-Chigbo says.“Hungry Eyes raised the bar on what’scoming out of the black communitywith Guns winning five of their eightnominations. Huge year for male blackactors: three actors nominated in onecategory. We’ve never seen that before.Sun Li wins Best Performance by anActress in a Leading Role in a minis-eries for Iron Road for her first Eng-lish-speaking role. It speaks to thegrowth and the talent. The academyneeds to be given huge props for rec-ognizing diverse talent.” When I askedher about the challenges that still re-main in the industry, she made a verygood point about inclusion behindthe camera needing to catch up withthe changing demographics.“ACTRA is 45% diverse, because thewhole industry made colour-blindcasting a reality. It’s time to build onthat and get the whole industry to ap-preciate the benefits of inclusion off-camera too.”

Diversity on-camera wasn’t always thecase. Brenda Kamino is an actor andteacher of Asian descent, and she re-members a time when commercials ontelevision didn’t reflect the Canadiancultural reality. “Commercials are muchmore interesting now. They don’t makeyou go, ‘What’s wrong with this pic-ture?’ Even white people were sayingwhat’s wrong with this picture.” Brendahas been a diversity activist for years,and she remembers a time when pro-ducers ‘just didn’t know what to dowith you’. “Film and TV professes to bereal, not like theatre. And so they musthave an array of faces from differentcultures; but the faces are still morebackground and less major. They pop-ulate their world with diversity but notthe main characters.”

One of the reasons why Karen King-Chigbo is so passionate about diversityis because she sees how easily we couldbe enhancing our programs and our

bottom lines with diversity and inclu-sion if the industry all got on the samepage. And as film director ClementVirgo points out, there are other fac-tors. “With the economic downturn of2008, they want to maintain their au-dience and there’s less room whenthere’s hard economic times. It’s harderin a time of economic stress, as op-posed to better times. There is a re-trenching.” I asked Clement about thefuture. Will we ever see a program star-ring someone like Arnold Pinnock?The guy is uber-talented, uber-hand-some, painfully so. Why can’t he be theface of Canadian television? “It’s a mat-ter of the people at the network,” saysClement. “There could be improve-ment. Americans do a better job be-cause the population is different;people on streets represent people onthe show.”

Brenda is convinced that we have to re-turn to activism. “We who are in thefront lines should take back the reins.My perspective comes from a disgrun-tled perspective, but we’re the onlyones who benefit, so we have to getback in the game, make more noise.”

Karen King-Chigbo, not surprisingly,has taken on a leadership role in thefuture of diversity in Canadian filmand television. She has foundedProductions Without Borders andyou must check out their websitewww.productionswithoutborders.com.It’s an organization that is dedicated togetting the film industry to ‘Do it bet-ter with Diversity’. “At ProductionsWithout Borders, we take diversity tothe next level. Our market has changedin the same way that the banks’ markethas changed. Networks cater to a main-stream audience. Well, the mainstreamlooks different from 20 years ago. A di-verse marketplace can be a real factorat winning that ratings game. But writ-ers’ rooms are still very white. If we areable to do a better job of making a Ko-rean viewer feel like we are tapping intothe little things that matter in his orher life, then that’s going to make themstop and stay on the dial.”

Zaib has taken a leadership role as well,using his star power to create Gover-nor Films. “Governor Films is not onlyabout diversity in front of the camera,


Clé Bennett wins two 2010 Performance Gemini awardsPhoto: John White Photography

I

it’s about diversity of personnel, business model, formats, it’s about giving back. It’s our responsibil-ity to help, to create opportunities. We’re at a great place, but we don’t have to stop. We will be in agreat place when we don’t need diversity committees.”

So things have definitely changed from the days of Night Heat and Road to Avonlea. Clé has proved thatthe possibilities of what an actor of colour can accomplish have expanded. I’ve always said, diversityis not about taking the spotlight away from anyone, it’s about sharing the spotlight together. And itlooks like the spotlight has gotten just a little bit bigger, and a little bit brighter.

ACTRA Toronto’s DiversityCommittee dares to hopeWhen Heather Allin was elected President of ACTRA Toronto,one of the key planks in her platform was Diversity. And ACTRAToronto’s Diversity Committee, under the helm of Jani Lauzon,has been very busy indeed. In less than a year they have managedthree major initiatives and have more planned.

First up, they launched CastingDiversity.ca, a talent database forACTRA Toronto’s physically and culturally diverse performers. Aneasy to find, unique URL, CastingDiversity.ca is a free service tosignatory producers and Casting Directors. Last fall, on its annualtrip to promote Toronto to L.A., ACTRA Toronto introduced net-work executives to the database and they found it beautiful and sim-ple.

Then NBC came calling, saying that they wanted to do an open callfor Diversity in Toronto in the summer. They wanted to scout awide range of diverse Toronto talent for their productions currentlyand tentatively shooting here. The Diversity Committee workedclosely with the City of Toronto Film and Television Office to se-cure a Leslieville location for the event. On a scorching summer day,ACTRA provided performers with chairs, water and snacks. Over500 performers were seen, over 100 called back and many more sub-mitted reels. Local Casting Director, Millie Tom, who was broughtin by NBC for the event, says she too found talent through theprocess that she hadn’t previously known.

But NBC wasn’t finished yet. They wanted to come back for an-other chance to look specifically at First Nations talent. Performerstravelled from across Canada for the event which was scheduled tocoincide with the imagineNATIVE Film Festival. Network Execsattended screenings at the festival and ACTRA Toronto hosted andstaffed the audition call in our boardroom.

NBC Diversity Executives say NBC is fully committed to Diversityand they say that this season’s primetime series are the proof. In-terestingly, it was a civil rights protest which spurred the Americanstudios to make a corporate commitment to diversity. In 1999/2000,

under the leadership of then CEO Kweisi Mfume, the NAACP,together with a coalition of Hispanic, Asian Pacific American andAmerican Indian groups, threatened a boycott and legal actionagainst the major networks if they didn’t start seeing themselves onTV. In January 2000, Memorandums of Understandings were signedwith NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox committing the networks to activelypromote diversity on screen.

Here in Canada, our national public broadcaster is singing the sametune. Jason Knight, Casting Consultant for CBC, reports thatCBC is communicating to producers and Casting Directors a seri-ous commitment to reflecting Canada’s diverse population in alltheir shows. Knight recently signed on to CastingDiversity.ca.You’re on it, right?

The Committee is now brainstorming their 2011 initiatives. We’renot there yet. We know that. Diverse performers are tired of play-ing pimps, maids, terrorists and computer programmers. But withall this positive news on the diversity file, is it too much to hopethat it may finally be our turn?The Diversity Committee

turn yet?

Award-winning actor/playwright/director Andrew Moodie is currently the host of Big Ideas on TVO.

Spring 2011 19

Jani Lauzon, chair of ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee, addresses awaiting performers at NBC open call. Photo: Janesse Leung

After a relatively quiet period in negotiations, ACTRA isgearing up to go back to the bargaining table on our majoragreements. First up is the National Commercial Agreement(NCA), due to expire this year. What are the issues? What’sthe process? And how can you get involved?

As with every agreement, we’ll be thinking about the eco-nomics of the NCA and what an appropriate pay settlementmight be. The commercial industry will recover strongly dur-ing the term of the next NCA (2011-2014, likely) as Canadaemerges from recession – possibly with much of the newgrowth occurring in new digital markets. Performers shouldshare in that growth.

On the other hand, today’s bargaining environment is not agreat one for pay settlements, and most unions are been care-ful to keep their pay proposals fairly modest. We’ll be askingyou for your views about that.

Some significant changes were made to the last NCA. Twothat remain on the minds of both parties are changes to thedefinition of the “silent on camera” work category, and ratesand terms that apply to new media.

With regard to the “SOC” category, the NCA was amended

to bring our job definitions somewhat more in line withthose you find under the Screen Actors’ Guild commercialagreement. This change was made in response to represen-tations from advertising agencies that our old rules were cre-ating a compelling incentive for agencies to shootcommercials overseas, and were also a strong disincentiveagainst large-cast commercials. We don’t like losing com-mercial shoots to overseas locations. And we do like large-cast productions, since they represent more workopportunity for members. So we updated the definition.

ACTRA’s old rules governing new media productions wereclearly untenable for a number of persuasive technical rea-sons (for example, we had terms that charge a full session feefor each website a commercial would appear on. In modernnew media advertising, commercials can appear on hundredsof blogs and other sites).

We therefore modernized the new media rules, broadlyspeaking bringing them into line with the new media ap-proach agreed to with studios and Canadian producers afterthe 2007 ACTRA IPA strike. Again, we were on the hunt forterms and conditions that would work in the industry andtherefore create more work opportunities for members.

How did these two measures work out? That could prove to be the focus of the coming negotiations. We’re going to be consulting members about what their ex-periences have been under the new rules here. And we’ll beresearching what the overall economic effects have been (wealready know that new media production under the NCAhas almost tripled since these rules were rewritten).

We know our counterparties (two trade associations repre-senting advertisers and agencies) are also out consulting theirmembers on these issues.

So what’s the process?As you read this, ACTRA Toronto will be consulting mem-bers who have worked under the NCA about its terms. We’llalso be speaking to other stakeholders, like our agent com-munity. Ultimately, feedback will be considered by ACTRAToronto council; we’ll formulate our proposals; we’ll discussthem with colleagues from the rest of the union acrossCanada; and then, likely in early spring, discussions will beginwith the engagers aiming at a new agreement.

How can you take part? Check out ACTRA Toronto’s website. There will be a ques-tionnaire inviting you to comment on the issues around thisagreement. Watch for emails – we’ll be writing to membersasking for their views. Attend the members’ conference –we’ll be inviting comment at a workshop there. And watchfor news – we’ll be regularly reporting on progress.


National Commercial AgreementHeading to the bargaining tableBrian Topp

Brian Topp is the Executive Director of ACTRA Toronto and the author of How We Almost Gave the Tories the Boot: The Inside Story Behind the Coalition.

ServiTude Telefilm Canada Features Comedy Lab has its first projectout of the gate. ServiTude, starring Joe Dinicol, recentlywrapped shooting in Toronto. The low-budget feature, writ-ten by Michael Sparaga and directed by Warren Sonoda,is billed as a high “steaks” comedy of revenge. The story fol-lows a group of frustrated waiters who band together andtake over their restaurant for one glorious, revenge-fillednight when they discover that they are all about to be fired. Recognizing that Canada exports comedy, Telefilm startedits three-year Comedy Lab program in 2009. The ComedyLab, chaired by Eugene Levy and funded by TelefilmCanada through the Canada Feature Film Fund, the CFCand Just For Laughs, brings together Canadian producers andtheir creative teams and comedy scripts with leading inter-national comedic mentors to develop and package fiveEnglish-language theatrical feature comedies. Participantsspend some time in L.A. with top comedy mentors. Servi-Tude, for example, was mentored by Ivan Reitman, amongothers. ServiTude is tentatively scheduled for theatrical re-lease in Canada in fall 2011.

Telefilm recently announced the participants for the secondyear of its Comedy Lab. They include 3 Ontario projects, 2 ofwhich have ACTRA Toronto members as writers: El DuoMotion Pictures’ buddy comedy The Wild Society: producersRobert Scarborough and Shawn Myrick, writer/director Matthew Atkinson and writer Brendan Gall andProject 10 Productions’ horror comedy The House TheyScreamed In: producer Andrew Barnsley, writer/directorVivieno Caldinelli and writer Bob Kerr.

Spring 2011 21

ACTRA Toronto Members’

ACTRA Toronto congratulates its members honoured with PerformanceGemini Awards in 2010

Charlotte ArnoldClé BennettKim CattrallCaroline CaveGavin CrawfordCatherine DisherGeri HallDebra Lynne-McCabeShaun Majumder Tatiana MaslanyMichael Riley

Shaun Majumder Photo courtesy of CBC Television

Joe Dinicol serves Wayne Robson and Jayne EastwoodPhoto courtesy of Servitude Productions Inc.

My agency doesn’t ask me towork for free!Last fall, at Toronto Fashion Week, models and their agentsjoined together to protest the practice of designers and topretailers booking models to work runway shows for free.Brandon Hall, women’s agent at Sutherland Models, puttogether a protest campaign with agencies Elite, Push, Spot6 and B & M and with the support of the Fashion DesignCouncil of Canada. The agents dressed their models back-stage in T-shirts which read: “My agency doesn’t ask me towork for free!” The aim of the campaign was to send a mes-sage to the models whose agents purportedly justified thelack of a fair wage as an opportunity for new models to gainexperience and clients. Alicia Bell, president of Elite Mod-els, said it’s all about the principle. “Models have a skill andthey should be paid,” she was quoted as saying. “Undercut-ting really hurts the industry”, says Brandon Hall, “At Suther-land, we fight for our models to get the best rate.” ACTRAcovers models working in its jurisdiction of recorded media.“ACTRA is great,” says Hall, “Too bad we don’t have a unionfor print and runway!”

Labour Stability in the Filmand Television Industry Act ACTRA Toronto members came out in support of a privatemember’s bill which would bring labour stability to the filmand television sector. The bill, introduced by Peter Tabuns(NDP MPP for Toronto Danforth), would ensure that anyunresolved disputes arising out of long standing collectiveagreements would be heard by The Ontario Labour RelationsBoard, the appropriate body to resolve labour disputes.President Heather Allin spoke at the press conference to-gether with Jim Biros from the Toronto Musicians’ Asso-ciation and Jonathon Ahee, President of Nabet 700 CEPwho together with The Directors Guild of Canada all sup-port the proposed bill. ACTRA Toronto members were outin force to line the viewers’ gallery at second reading, andwere thrilled to see it pass.



.Eric Peterson, Tabby Johnson, Fiona Reid, Art Hindle, Peter Tabuns, John de Klein, Chris Gaultier and Heather Allin celebrate the bill passing second reading.

Model Addison Gill of Sutherland Models

joined the protest. PHOTO: ERWIN LOEWEN

Equity Showcase’s 50th Anniversary Celebration and Fundraising PartyACTRA Toronto was delighted to support and attend the fundraising party for our friends at Equity Showcase which tookplace at Bistro 990 in November. The evening was organized by Karen Ivany (our own ACTRA Awards in Toronto pro-ducer) and hosted by ACTRA Toronto councillors Colin Mochrie and David Macniven (Equity Showcase President).Artwork by Jennifer Wigmore formed part of the silent auction. Gordon Pinsent, honorary chair of Equity ShowcaseTheatre, spoke at the event which announced a season named after his wife and founding member Charmion King. Musical entertainment was provided by Kathryn Rose.

Heather Allin re-elected asPresident of ACTRA TorontoHeather Allin received a ringing endorsement fromGoverning Council in January. Having led the union for atwo-year term, Council voted to re-elect Allin for a secondterm. According to ACTRA Toronto’s By-laws, all Council-lors are elected for a term of two years and the President maynot sit for more than two consecutive terms. “I am honouredto have the confidence of the Governing Council and to bere-elected for a second term,” says Heather. “I look forwardto continuing the work we have begun.”

CopyWrongThanks to a last minute shout-out by our VP of Communi-cations, David Gale, many ACTRA members were able toattend a Town Hall Meeting organized by Liberal MPGerard Kennedy. Also present was Liberal MP PabloRodriguez, Opposition Critic for Canadian Heritage. Al-though Rodriguez said nearly all the right things in his open-ing remarks, a large group of questioners waited patiently atthe audience microphone to put his feet to the fire on Bill C-32. There was a well represented cross-section of Arts &Culture questioners from the Music Industry, Publishing,IATSE, Theatre, Documentary and our own Lynn MasonGreen voicing actors concerns. The questions tested theknowledge of Mr. Rodriguez who, along with 6 Conservativesand 5 other Opposition MPs, makes up the Committeeexamining Bill C-32 and (hopefully) recommending amend-ments. There is no doubt that this bill is completely un-satisfactory and should, in fact, be called the "CopywrongBill". Much hard work lies ahead and we all must waste notime spreading the word. This Government needs to hearthat Arts & Culture is not only a necessary part of the fabricof who we are as a Nation but also an important part of ourGross Domestic Production (60 + Billion Dollars) and em-ploys over a million Canadians. The Conservatives are callingthe Levy we want on Digital Audio Recorders to recompensecreators, a TAX! They are using the word “tax” to scare theLiberals and the public alike and painting themselves as TaxResisters. The only tax that would apply is the tax Creatorswill pay on the income from their creations! - Art Hindle

Spring 2011 23


.Heather Allin

Heather Allin walks the Unite Here! picket line with Martin Sheen. Photo: Chris Faulkner

Walking the picket line with Martin Sheen ACTRA Toronto members and our PresidentHeather Allin has joined the likes of MartinSheen and Danny Glover in supportingUNITE HERE!, the union for hotel workers.Members walked the picket line with MartinSheen during the Toronto Film Festival. “Ourindustry spends a lot of money on hotels and it’sfrankly shocking to discover that the peoplewho work so hard to make up the rooms we’repaying for are being treated so poorly,” HeatherAllin stated. “My union will support hotel work-ers in this city and across the continent. Theydeserve to make a decent living from the workthey do. Hotel owners will face a determinedboycott if they aren't fair to the hard workingpeople who make their hotels possible.”


It Gets Better CanadaSeveral high profile ACTRA Toronto members have sharedtheir stories of life getting better after teenage bullying onthe It Gets Better Canada video project. It Gets Better is thebrainchild of syndicated sex columnist, Dan Savage.Ann-Marie Macdonald, Rick Mercer, Rex Harrington,Diane Flacks and others add their personal stories to thegrowing chorus of international voices providing hope toLGBT teens. The project began in response to the suicidesof young people bullied for their perceived sexual orienta-tion and now has over 5,000 video testimonials.


Rick Mercer from It Gets Better Canada

Alisa Palmer and Ann-Marie MacDonald

FYI — AC

TRATorontoPeopleYouShouldKnow

Spring 2011 25

ACTRA Toronto Council Who’s Who

PRESIDENT Heather Allin [email protected] PRESIDENT Karl Pruner [email protected] NATIONAL PRESIDENT Ferne Downey [email protected], FINANCE Austin Schatz [email protected], ext. 6607VICE-PRESIDENT, INTERNAL AFFAIRS Theresa Tova [email protected], ext. 6605VICE-PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS Art Hindle [email protected], COMMUNICATIONS David Gale [email protected], MEMBER SERVICES David Sparrow [email protected] MEMBER-AT-LARGE Wendy Crewson [email protected]

Cayle Chernin [email protected] Goree [email protected] Hardacre [email protected] Ivany [email protected] Jai [email protected] Johnson [email protected] Lamoreux [email protected] Lauzon [email protected] Lucescu [email protected] MacKenzie [email protected] Macniven [email protected] Mochrie [email protected] Nelles [email protected] Newman [email protected] Peterson [email protected] Robson [email protected]

• Caucus chairs, member advocates and ombudsman:Shereen Airth, Apprentice Chair [email protected], ext. 6621Jim Usatis, Additional Background Performer Chair [email protected]

Taborah Johnson, Children’s Advocate [email protected] Lauzon, Diversity Chair [email protected], ext. 6618Eric Bryson, Stunt Committee Chair [email protected] Shawn Lawrence, Ombudsman [email protected], ext. 6604

ACTRA Toronto Staff is here for YOU.

ACTRA TorontoGeneral contact informationTel: 416-928-2278 or toll free [email protected] Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2G1

Commercial Agreement InterpretationsJudy Barefoot, Director, Tel: 416-642-6705Kelly Davis, Steward, Tel: 416-642-6707Cathy Wendt, Steward, Tel: 416-642-6714

Commercial Audition Callback Inquires Claudette AllenTel: 416-642-6713

Commercial Cheque Inquiries Terri Black, Examiner, Tel: 416-642-6744Lyn Franklin, Examiner, Tel: 416-642-6730Brenda Smith, Examiner, Tel: 416-642-6729

Commercial Payment Inquiries Tammy Boyer, Coordinator, Tel: 416-642-6739Tereza Olivero, Coordinator, Tel: 416-642-6731

Communications and OrganizingKarl Pruner, Director, Tel: 416-644-1506Karen Woolridge, Public Relations Officer, Tel: 416-642-6710Janesse Leung, Public Relations Officer, Tel: 416-642-6747Norm MacAskill, Organizer, Tel: 416-642-6711Laura McKelvey, Organizer, Tel: 416-642-6728

Finance and AdministrationKaren Ritson, Director, Tel: 416-642-6722

Independent Production Agreement (IPA), CBC TV & Radio, CTV, City-TV, Global and TVO AgreementsSue Milling, Director, Tel: 416-642-6719Indra Escobar, Senior Advisor, Tel: 416-642-6702Erin Phillips, Steward: IPA, CityTV, CTV, VISION, TIP, Documentaries, Industrials, Reality TV, Tel: 416-642-6738

Barbara Larose, Steward: IPA, Canadian Film Centre, Co-op, Student Films, UAP. Staff Liaison: Minors, Background Performers, Tel: 416-642-6712Noreen Murphy, Steward: IPA, Animation, Dubbing, New Media. Staff Liaison: Voice Performers, Tel: 416-642-6708

Richard Todd, Steward: IPA, CBC, Global, NFB, TVO, Staff Liaison,Health and Safety, Stunts, Tel: 416-642-6716

Clare Johnston, Steward: IPA, Audio Code. Staff Liaison: YEAA, Puppeteers, Tel: 416-642-6746

Toronto Indie ProductionTasso Lakas, TIP Coordinator, Tel: 416-642-6733

Member Training Intensive & Gordon Pinsent Studio BookingsStephanie Stevenson, Administrative Assistant, Tel: 416-642-6735

Membership Department Dues & Permit PaymentsContact: Membership Department Tel: 416-928-2278Karl Pruner, Director

Ask a StewardWhat is TIP?Stewards get many questions about TIP films. TIP (TorontoIndie Production) is a guideline for super-low budgettheatrical productions, both features and shorts. The mainfeature of TIP which Performers have questions about is thelow minimum fees. Depending on a film’s total overallbudget, minimum fees can be as low as $140 for a PrincipalActor, $110 for an Actor and $90 for a Background per-former, for an 8-hour minimum call. Of course, as with allour other collective agreements, Performers have the right tonegotiate above minimum rates.

The TIP guidelines were set up, by members, as a way tooffer new and emerging filmmakers, who could not affordfull IPA rates, an opportunity to work with union talent.Because these rates essentially mean that Performers aredonating a large portion of their fee, there are more strin-gent working condition limitations on TIP Productions.For example, the work day cannot go over 12 hours. Pref-erence of Engagement is more stringent as well – TIP Pro-ducers can only engage ACTRA members and Apprentices(and ACTRA Additional Background Performers for Back-ground roles).

If you have been cast in a Principal or Actor role on a TIPfilm, you may have noticed that your contract is differentfrom the regular IPA contract. For example, the Use Fee pro-visions are different. Producers do not have the option toelect a Pre-payment or an Advance payment on residuals. Be-cause TIP is specifically for theatrical use, TIP films may beexploited theatrically for one year without further paymentto the Performers, but all other exploitation requires a pay-ment of 3.6% of Gross Revenues to Performers’ RightsSociety who distributes the monies among the cast.

The TIP program has been tremendously successful. TheToronto International Film Festival typically always featuresa number of TIP shorts and features. As well, TIP films havegarnered numerous awards and nominations at internationalfestivals.

If you are a Performer who has been offered a role on a TIPfilm, or if you are looking to produce a film using the TIPguideline, please check out the info on our website atwww.actratoronto.com/produce/TIP.html

Clare Johnston


Clare Johnston

Daniel Abrahamson

Alden Adair

Ali Adatia

Kamiran Aldabbagh

Michelle Alexander

Tessa Alves

David Amito

Rachael Ancheril

Tes Andemariam

Jordan Andonov

Chase Anthony

Aris Athanasopoulos

Nicolas Attieh

Allison Augustin

Ramzi Ayash

Julia Balaisis

Keith Bambury

Peter Barrett

Michael Bassily

Paul Beer

Rob Bennett

Sarah Joy Bennett

Alexandria Benoit

James Bilik

Brianna Bisson

Wade Bogert-O'Brien

Ryan Bondy

Matthew Bradley

Kyle Harrison Breitkopf

Julia Catherine Brown

Cherise Brown-Hammill

Sean Browning

Kurt Browning

Philippe Buckland

Carlyn Burchell

Miranda Calderon

Jarett Cale

Matthew Campbell

Martine Campbell

Sabrina Campbell

Bryant Caplan

Kerrigan Carbol

Marie Carriere Gleason

Arden Chan

May Charters

Jimmy Chimarios

Christopher Chow

Maximus Lee Clements

Vanessa Coelho

Adina Cohen

Helen Colliander

Wesley Connor

Arisa Cox

Sarah Cranmer

Cassius Crieghtney

Adam J Cunningham

Jasmine D'Costa

Peter Dacunha

Rebecca Dalton

Sheel Darbar

Brooks Darnell

Zarrin Darnell-Martin

Kalen Davidson

Sergio De La Rocha

John De Marco

Andrea Del Campo

Louis-Philippe Deslauriers

Maria Dinn

James Paul Dixon

Leeann Downes

Rosemary Doyle

Jovan Drakul

Tamara Duarte

Matt Duncan

Wilma Dyson

Julian Elia

Denika Ellis-Dawson

Miles Faber

Pamela Farrauto

Victor Federico

Elisabeth Feltaous

Britt Fisher

Patrick Fitzgerald

Donal Foley

Matt Folliott

Dan Fox

John Allan Fraser

John Ghiz

Emma Gibbs

Martha Girvin

Howard Gord

Tal Gottfried

Azer Greco

Aidan Greene

Jesse Griffiths

Amanda Ha

Glenn Hall

Ken Hall

Jarek Hardy

Michael David Harrison

Sean Hauk

Brendan Heard

Charlotte Hegele

Téa Helena-Carini

Sean Henderson

Caprice Chantel Herjavec

Steven Holmberg

Avigail Humphreys

Scott Hyde

George Iliadis

Timmy Ingrassia

Nick Isabella

Anne Jennings

Will Jester

Christina Jol

Natalia Jonas

Ruby Joy

Sarah Jurgens

Catherine Kaiser

Roman Kalatchev

Kari

Daryn Karp

Joel Katz

Tim Kavander

Paula Kaye

Robert C Keele

Dwight K Kelsey

Amber Kent

Chaz Kent

Lorrie Kerekes

Paul "pk" Kingston

Kevin Kirkham

Ken Kogej

Devin Kornblum

Diana Kwon

Lindsay Kyte

Genevieve L'Esperance

Cody Scott Lancaster

Matthew Lantz

D'Arcy Lapointe

Steven Lazar

Sidney Leeder

Jasmine Leung

David Light

Susan A Lock

Owen Lock

Dennis Long

Daryl Lorette

Jake Loube

David Louie

David B Love

Carmine Lucarelli

Jeffrey R Lurie

Devon Macdonald

Donnie Macphee

Denise Mader

Jeigh Madjus

Josh Madryga

Alex Mallari Jr

Jasmeen Mandair

Dylan Mandlsohn

Elyse Mason

Sean Masterson

Sabrina Matthews

Ryan Mccallum

Allison Mccaughey

Craig Mcdermott

Norman E Mcisaac

Caleb Mcmullen

Jodi Medina

Ari Millen

Tristan Slade Mitchell

Steven Morana

Thamela Mpumluona

John Mucciacito

Michael Murphy

Megan Murphy

Ron Mustafaa

Rose Napoli

Hayley Nault

Jordyn Negri

June Ng

Kataem O'Connor

Britne Oldford

Gene Opler

Etenem Oton

Ian Page

Christine Paputsis

Angela Paputsis

Jean Parker

Joey Parro

Adrian Persad

Nicole Peters

Lauren Peters

Ava Preston

Lawrence Qiao

Jordan Race

Nabil Rajo

Cameron Ramsauer

Glynis Ranney

Misha Rasaiah

Joel Redmond

Katrina Reynolds

Jacob Richter

Deklon Roberts

Alie Romano

William Rottman

Joe Rubino

Brett Ryan

Ernie Ryles

Oliver Sabiston

Lili Sam

Vadim Samokhleb

Tinika Sampson

Mariah Sousa Sampson

Gia Sandhu

Daniel Sawh

Sarah Scheffer

Ryna Schickler

Jeff Schissler

Adam Seybold

Julia Sgarlata

Shairah

Aidan Shipley

Yanic Simard

Prem Singh

Elijah Slater

Harrison Smith

Paul Soren

Linda Speck

Matthew A Spencer

Patricia Stathi

Marty Stelnick

Jana Stephenson

Mark Strong

Lindsay Sullivan

Torren Sylvain

Ryan Taerk

Ashley Tam

Jonathan Tan

Jennifer Taverner

Pete Taylor

Richard Taylor

Joseph Micheal Taylor

Kaiman Teevins

Gregory Terlecki

Jacqueline Thair

Casimir Theriault

Rachel Thevenard

Anne Thompson

Grant Tilly

Artem Timofeyev

David Tommasini

Caroline Torti

Marvin Trail

James Traquair

Yuri Tsivtsivadze

Mark Uhre

Charles Vandervaart

Shamar Walker

Jennifer Walls

Torri Webster

Mark Taras Wiebe

Scott Williams

Emily Williams

Teresa Wilson

David Wontner

Jenny Wright

Naomi Wright

George E. Yapp

Richard Young

Ethan Young

Emma Young

Tamila Zaslavsky

Bailey Xiang Zhang

Angela Zhao

Eleanor Zichy

Welcome

New Members!

Every member of ACTRA has stories about being uncomfortable while filming out-doors, but usually there's one that sticks out above the rest. Mine is January 17, 2005.I was playing a police officer at a funeral on the set of Four Brothers, and I was freez-ing my - really any body part inserted here will do - off. First my ears were bristlingto the biting cold, since my police cap left them totally exposed. An hour later, mynose began to feel like it was going to fall off. I started to fear what would be next.

The above plays out regularly when we're cast in scenes that are supposed to portrayspring, summer or fall but are being filmed in the middle of winter. Even if the sceneis set in winter, sometimes it's just unbearably cold outside. As members of theACTRA Additional Background Performers (AABP), we often get the worst of thesesituations. And women, whether actors or background usually get the short end ofthe deal compared to their male counterparts, because the clothes they're asked towear often leave them even more exposed to the elements.

John de Klein is an active member of the ACTRA Toronto AABP Caucus Executive and a Gemini nominatedwriter for his work on Busy Town Mysteries.

Spring 2011 27

Additional Background Performers

So here's few tips for everybody to keep in mind as the temperature on set drops:

1) Your Agent might tell you in advance that you'll be workingoutside, but sometimes details are lost in translation. So YOUshould always be prepared just in case.

2) Before leaving home, check the weather reports so YOU knowwhat it's going to be like outdoors.

3) Bring a seasonally appropriate coat. Keep the coat with youto put on and take off between takes. Long coats are especiallygood for women in dresses.

4) Bring a thin sweater that can be easily hid under wardrobe.Layering is an especially good way of keeping warm.

5) Wear appropriate undergarments - long johns, undershirts,stockings... double or even triple them up for winter.

6) Bring a Blanket - Sometimes production will provide them,but they could run out so, if your have space, bring your own.

7) Hot Packs - are small plastic packets that heat up for hoursand fit in your gloves or boots. They're inexpensive and availablein most hardware stores.

8) Electric (battery operated) socks will keep your feet toasty.Look for them at your favorite camping or sporting goods store.

9) If you feel production is keeping you and other cast in thecold too long, or if the holding area is not warm enough, youshould notify an OSLO, the ACTRA steward or call ACTRA at 416-928-2278.

The big thing for all members of ACTRA to remember is, althoughour agreements hold productions to certain negotiated stan-dards, in the end, it's your body, your health and your comfort.So, be PROFESSIONAL and be PREPARED for the unexpected!

With warmest regards for the chilly seasons, John de Klein AABP Member

Lights, Camera... Chatter (Teeth, that is)

Jackie Burroughs1939-2010For almost five decades, Jackie Burroughsmaintaineda successful acting career in Canada—no mean feat—performing in film, television and theatre. She poured400% into everything she did, bringing the same wit,intelligence and focus to a one-woman monologue per-formed for an audience of 25 - her portrayal of JaneBowles, based on excerpts from the writer’s letters, isone of my favourite memories of her on stage - as shedid to the roles she is best known for: Kate Flynn, thefreespirited photographer who caught RichardFarnsworth’s fancy in the 1982 film The Grey Fox, andthe upright but tenderhearted Hetty King in the CBC’sThe Road To Avonlea.

Jackie cared a LOT about the things she cared about.She preferred rehearsals to performances, journals tooverpolished prose, and was a fan of the raw, unguardedmoment, in art and life. I met Jackie about 35 yearsago, through mutual friends. There was her greatcharm, of course, and her humour. A conversation withJackie was always adventurous; you went away fromtime spent with her feeling intimately understood, val-ued, challenged, and amused. She was terrific com-pany. My memories of her are almost all non-actorones: I remember her working like a dog (but not oneof her cherished, stew-fed, spoiled dogs) in the vastand beautiful garden she created on the grounds of thehouse in Mexico where she happily spent part of everyyear. I can see her bending over, planting rose busheson the farm near Kingston where her daughter ZoeYanovksy and family now live. I also have an image ofher walking quickly down Parliament St., smoking andunderdressed for the winter weather, on her way to adance class, which she religiously attended all her life.She’s straight as an arrow, floating along through theslush on high platform sandals, and frowning slightly— intent on some inner debate. She was a slow, care-

ful reader of books, and was drawn to the writings andletters of women torn between having great loves, anddoing great work.

In the course of her career, Jackie enjoyed creative bat-tles with her friend and director Robin Phillips at Strat-ford. She shared the stage and screen with manytalents—Bill Hutt, Peter O’Toole, Sarah Polley, andan army of live rats in the movie Willard. She playedMaria Callas at the National Arts Centre, Portia in TheMerchant of Venice, and batty old ladies too numerousto count; in the last decade alone, in fact, Jackieworked in 24 films.

But the project that she was most proud of, I think, wasthe 1987 film A Winter Tan, which Jackie wrote, co-pro-duced, co-directed, and starred in. Her performance asMaryse Holder, a New York schoolteacher “on vacationfrom feminism” in Mexico, is breathtaking –vulnera-ble, quixotic, touching and comic. Jackie based thescript on Holder’s book Give Sorrow Words, the author’saccount of her sexual pilgrimage in the form of de-spairing, hilarious letters written to a New York girl-friend. Jackie somehow lifted those rather intellectual,self-conscious lines off the page and fused them intoa searing, fearless performance. She was the drivingforce behind a Canadian film that still feels edgy andoriginal today.

When it was released in 1987, Jackie won the Gemini,for Best Performance. Some critics found A Winter Tana tad too pungent; others didn’t know what to make ofa film that listed five directors. But one admiring re-viewer, Jonathan Rosenbaum, observed that “the filmbreathes with a single fiery voice and vision”.

It still does, thanks to Jackie. Gracias a su vida.

Marni Jackson

Lives LivedDomini BlytheRichard CurnockMark DaileyIrene HoganElizabeth MawsonLeslie NielsenBillie Mae RichardsEric Tunney

Stunt TributeFour stunt performers will be honoured at the February plenary with aspecial posthumous tribute:Chris Lamon • Brent MeyerAnton Tyukodi • Billy E. Williams

Chris Lamon

Brent Meyer

Anton Tyukodi

Billy E. Williams

28

David French1939-2010I was fortunate enough to have been David’s life-longclose friend. In the seventies, I lived on Bloor Streetand he lived on Brunswick Avenue, just a two minutewalk away. David got into the habit of coming over prac-tically every morning for a coffee. He would climb upthe rickety fire escape up to my apartment every morn-ing like clockwork, the door would be open, he’d comein, we’d have a cup of coffee and we would talk about,theatre, films, books and … women. As I remember it,we used to talk a lot more about women than art. Thenhe’d go back to his place and I’d go back to my desk andwe’d write for the rest of the day. That used to be ourroutine for years.

This was a man who knew he wanted to be a play-wright when he was in his early teens in the fifties,when no such thing as a Canadian playwright reallyexisted in this country back then. And he was so de-termined to pursue his dream that he purposely tookon dead end jobs to support himself as he started towrite his short dramatic pieces. When Leaving Homewas first done, his job at the time was sweepingfloors at Rochdale College.

David was the eternal optimist. He was always so pos-itive about everything and always expected thingswould work out great. He never missed a single re-hearsal of any of his new plays or major remounts.When Soulpepper recently had their revival productionsof his four major plays, he was always there. He neverinterfered with the director’s vision, he just enjoyed see-ing his plays slowly come to life. Every time I askedhim how rehearsals were going, the answer would al-ways be, “Great.” Until the final dress rehearsal, whenhe’d have his usual melt-down and overreact and thinkit was going to be the biggest disaster of his life. Sureenough, after the final dress rehearsal of the recentSoulpepper production of Jitters, I had gone to pick himup and he was screaming his head off in the car abouthow the actors hadn’t even learned their lines yet andthe production would be an unmitigated disaster. Andthen the next day, I picked him up again after the firstpreview, and it was back to “Great” again as he chuck-led away all the way home.

I miss this grouch so much already. He has left such abig hole in our hearts. But we have to remember thiswhen the loss becomes too hard to bear; ‘It’s not howlong we have them, but how much we love them whenthey’re here’. We didn’t have David for very long…butwe sure loved him.

Hrant Alianak

Graham Harley1942-2010I'm grateful for this rare opportunity to proffer a pointof view about Graham without fear of being contradictedby him. Graham was, as we all know, a very, very smartguy. Unquestionably, he was the most learned, the mostintellectually curious, the quickest study, the most ver-bally dexterous, and possessed of the most highly de-tailed memory of anyone I have ever been lucky enoughto count as a friend. There were in him those tran-scendent elements of wit, of warmth, of impatience, ofcuriosity, of anger—and above all that singular mixtureof sweetness and acidity—which made him unlike any-body any of us has ever met.

Graham was also startlingly collegial, operating as ifhe and the rest of us were members of the same troupeof players, and it was up to us all to make the busi-ness of waiting backstage and in the green room of lifebearable with jokes and ritual exchanges and bits oftime-honoured shtick.

But there was nothing perfunctory or mechanistic inthe way that he related to his fellow thespians, eitherin the literal realm of the theatre or on the world-as-stage. As dry, as droll, or as acerbic as he could be, hewas at the same time a person who did everything asif it mattered and treated everyone he encountered asmeaningful in the great scheme of things.

He had a passionate attachment to those he perceivedas kindred souls, including beloved friends like MarianGilsenan and Jan MacIntyre, whose hospital beds hekept vigil at and whose posthumous memorial eventshe was instrumental in organizing.

The last time I saw Graham, he himself was in a hos-pital bed. He apologized for not being able to summonthe strength for one of his really ferocious trademarkhugs. "Never mind," I said to him. "This hug will do."Of course, I didn't say it would have to do because therewould be no more where that came from. But Grahamknew what I meant. Graham was, as I said, a very, verysmart guy. He will be greatly missed.

Erika Ritter

Peter J. McConnell 1938-2010I met Peter in 1965 in All My Sons at the CentralLibrary Theatre. He walked up to me during rehearsaland said, “I’m getting a lot of bad vibes from you.” Ireplied, “I guess it’s because you got the part I wanted.”We both laughed and became fast friends.

We found we had a lot in common. He had been forcedto resign from the Metropolitan Police Department andme from the Toronto Fire Department. It was a machoclub in those days. Firefighters and policemen couldget time off to play hockey but not for acting, eithertheatre or film, and we were in a hit play and couldn’tmiss a performance.

Peter did it all. He was an actor, director, playwrightand dramaturge. He founded the Forge with Carol Boltin 1969 and was a co-founder in 1972 and ArtisticDirector of The Smile Company where many unknownactors and beginners got lots of exposure and experi-ence allowing them to go on to successful careers.

The suffering of a close friend prompted Peter to be-come one of the leading forces in establishing P.A.L.with Patty Gale.

It took four cancers to take Peter away: leukemia, lung,bladder and lymphoma. But he worked out everydayand kept a fabulous garden. He would send visitorshome loaded down with fresh vegetables.

His last words to his wife were, “I’d like to have plantedone more garden.”

Well Peter, you planted a lot of gardens…in the soil andin the theatre and they always produced one hell of acrop! Farewell “Old Buddy “!

John Shaw

Spring 2011 29


Denis Simpson1950-2010The winter of 1983. There were five of us on stage andwe were in the middle of a matinée performance at TheGrand Theatre, London, Ontario. At a particularly quietand sober moment in the play our concentration wasbriefly broken by a child’s voice that came ever so qui-etly from the darkness of the audience, “Psssst, Denis.Denis, I love you.”

Spring. The late 1990’s. Walking together down DundasStreet in Toronto. Laughing out loud at some ridiculousstory he was regaling me with. A car pulled up alongsideus as we waited at an intersection and a guy looking tobe in his late twenties rolled down the window andrather raucously called out, “Hey Denis! It was you,wasn’t it? You were really Polkeroo weren’t you???”Denis just burst out laughing and the stranger gave hima big thumbs up and shouted, “Stay cool, Dude,” as thecar drove off.

October 2010, within hours of Denis dying - I visited hisFacebook page - wanting to see what his own last entryhad been. I was stunned to see how many hundreds ofentries there were already - notes to Denis he wouldnever read. An outpouring of loving memories thatneeded to be expressed. And this was hours before hisstunning death was announced publicly.

There were stories that made me laugh out loud, andthen cry, and then laugh out loud all over again as Iknow Denis would have too. And I was struck by howcompletely consistent all these notes from close friendswere. How he made us laugh. How outrageous he couldbe. What a meaningful and forever memorable uncle hewas to so many of our children. What a loyal and sup-portive friend, tremendous talent and a completely gra-cious, generous man. He was ”one vast substantialsmile.” He was our Denis.

And what I revel in is that Denis not only knew that hewas deeply loved by his friends, but that total strangershad been touched by him too.

How many times he said, “Aw, missed him again,” ashost of Polka Dot Door. Well, we’ll miss him forever.

Barbara Budd

Ruth Springford1921-2010Ruth Springford, the venerable Canadian stage, radio,television and film actor, died November 20. She was89. Springford began her career at the age of ninewhen, as she liked to put it, “I began to get paid.” Fromthere she became a fixture in Canadian arts and en-tertainment, mapping out a long and varied career thattook her from the studios of CBC to the stages of theCrest and Royal Theatres to film shoots in Hollywoodand New Zealand. She was prominent during the CBC’sGolden Age of Radio, appearing in hundreds of radioand television productions with stars such as JamesDoohan, John Drainie, Jane Mallett, Barry Morse,Toby Robins and many others. Springford’s credits in-clude Maggie Muggins, Four’s Company, Hangin’ In, AGift to Last, The Frankie Howerd Show and The MysteryMaker, as well as the Jim Henson teleplay The Cube.She also appeared in the feature films The Changeling,with George C. Scott, and as Mama Malone (the sa-loon owner) in Five Card Stud, starring Dean Martinand Robert Mitchum. A long-time member of ACTRA,Springford was the recipient of numerous awards, no-tably the John Drainie Award in 1979; the Andrew AllanAward for best radio actor; and several Dora MavorMoore Awards. Springford will be remembered as atalented professional with a wonderful penchant foraccents and an unmistakable dramatic voice.

Gina Wilkinson1960-2010I first met Gina Wilkinson some thirty years ago whenwe were acting-student-whippersnappers eying theworld as our own personal oyster. I was a recent grad-uate from Studio 58 in Vancouver coming to Montrealto visit my pal Lindsay Leese who was attending TheNational Theatre School with Gina. The first thing I heardabout Gina was that she had initiated a plumbingdisaster on a date with her boyfriend that involved abathtub full of chocolate pudding. I was terribly naiveand Gina seemed so exotic and exciting. She enjoyedred wine like no one else, wore sarongs, smoked multi-coloured cigarillos and had a father who was an artist.She devoured books like candy, was wickedly funny, hadan intimidating intellect, danced like a crazy-womanand was jaw-droppingly, voluptuously gorgeous. Menand women alike fell at her feet in awe. Flash forwardto the present and I find myself feeling so utterly bereftat the loss of such a brilliant human yet lucky to havebeen blessed by her fierce and loyal friendship. Herdevotion to her work was unparalleled; whether she wasacting, writing, directing or coaching a friend for an au-dition, her taste was impeccable. In the CBC radio dramastudio, in theatres from the Belfry to the Neptune, inguest spots on the best (and worst) TV series and every-thing in between, Gina had a unique, mesmerizing pres-ence on screen and off. She did nothing in halfmeasures, not even dying. Wearing a hospital gown thatshe had fashioned into an extraordinary wedding dress,Gina managed a joyous hospital marriage to her greatlove, Tom Rooney, pulling it off with wit and beauty.We shall not look upon her like again.

Beverley Cooper

Donations would be gratefully accepted for theGina Wilkinson Fund for Emerging FemaleDirectors. Please make payable to “Ontario ArtsFoundation-in memory of Gina Wilkinson” andmail to The Ontario Arts Foundation, 151 BloorStreet West, 5th Floor, Toronto Ontario, M5S1T6, Attention: Alan Walker, Executive Director.

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February Members Conference – February 23-25, 2011.

Toronto is a TV Town!

Ted Roge rs Schoo l o f Management Bu i l d i ng , Rye rson ( Yonge and Dundas )

9th Annual ACTRA Awards in TorontoFriday, February 25, 2011The Carlu, 444 Yonge St., 7th Floor

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