[NEohioPAL]ACTORS' EQUITY MEMBERS--Annual Meeting November 7th

Wed Oct 19 12:52:28 PDT 2005

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On Monday, September 26th, my wife and I joined the Atlanta Equity community
for an evening of baseball at Turner Field, home of the 1995 World
Champions. I took great pride in my ability to overcome ten years of disdain
for the team that beat my beloved Indians in order to get closer to the
actors, directors and stage managers of my current residence . and that I
concealed my glee when the Colorado Rockies' Todd Greene belted a three-run
shot in the 8th inning that ended the team's-and the Atlanta Equity
community's-hopes for the evening.

And yet, when the evening concluded, we all grouped together for a
photograph, and everyone's smiles seemed genuine enough. The night, from a
social perspective at least, had been a success.

As I sat in the twilight hours of Turner Field, chatting with fellow
professionals about their upcoming projects and even agreeing to volunteer
on an upcoming AEA/SAG/AFTRA event, it made me reflect upon my distance from
my own professional community. I thought about the fact that I'd never sat
in the bleachers at Jacobs Field with a whole gang of Cleveland theater
pros, that, in fact, the only time I ever remember more than 20 of us being
in the same place at the same time was at an audition that only a few of us
would land . or at the annual Equity meeting. And as fun as the annual
meeting can be, the last thing I'd be doing at the ball game would be
talking about the future of health insurance.

I've often said that if you took the talent sitting inside a hotel lobby at
any given cattle call rehearsal, you could easily produce something with a
lot more impact than a lottery commercial, so why don't we try it?

On November 7th at 6:30pm, our annual Equity meeting will be held in the
Donahue Auditorium in the Dolan Center for Science and Technology at John
Carroll University. (For maps OF the campus or parking areas, click on
http://www.jcu.edu/mapparking.htm )These new surroundings should provide
just the right change in chemistry for us to approach this year's meeting
with a fresh outlook for our community. Once you get the majority of us
together, what kind of difference can we make? What ideas can you bring to
the table in the spirit of challenging and invigorating our community . or
even just offering them a chance to get to know each other over an evening
of baseball?

I would like to propose that the annual meeting be only one of two annual
events, starting in 2006. That other event will be up to the Cleveland
membership to decide. Should we aim toward a social cause? An evening out? A
full-fledged production? Perhaps even all three. Should the event be aimed
at increasing our own bond, or perhaps increasing our public perception as a
service organization? Is there a cause we can rally behind, and is there
another union or organization that would join us?

I realize, of course, the irony of my mission, as I propose these community
building blocks from south of the Mason-Dixon line. However, it is because
of the uncertainty of my future as the area representative that I pass on
the responsibility of these plans to the membership as a whole. Next month,
we will be seeking to fill three chairs that will be naturally vacated when
Sheila Maloney, Jerrold Scott and Robert Snook finish their three-year terms
at year's end. Because of the uncertainty of my status as a Cleveland-area
actor/stage manager, I have asked that we elect four people to the committee
this year in order to accommodate my absence. After the election of the new
members, we will discuss my term as the committee chair.

Regardless of that decision, know that my heart, like my theater and my
baseball, will always be at home in Cleveland. This will be the first annual
meeting I have missed since joining the union. If you've never been, please
accept my invitation. If you're interested in serving on the committee, feel
free to drop me an email at aeacleveland at att.net or contact Tracee Patterson
at tpatterson at jcu.edu and we'll be happy to discuss the responsibilities
with you. If you can't make it, please think about what kind of activity
you'd be interested in setting aside time for in order to build your
community and drop it in an email to anyone on the committee. Your
contribution is vital.

--
Joseph Ruffner 
AEA Liaison Committee 
Cleveland, Ohio, Area 
440.779.2001 Hotline

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<div class=3DSection1>

On
Monday, September 26th, my wife and I joined the Atlanta Equity =
community for
an evening of baseball at Turner Field, home of the 1995 World =
Champions. I
took great pride in my ability to overcome ten years of disdain for the =
team
that beat my beloved Indians in order to get closer to the actors, =
directors
and stage managers of my current residence … and that I concealed =
my glee
when the Colorado Rockies’ Todd Greene belted a three-run shot in =
the 8th
inning that ended the team’s—and the Atlanta Equity
community’s—hopes for the =
evening.<o:p></o:p>

And
yet, when the evening concluded, we all grouped together for a =
photograph, and
everyone’s smiles seemed genuine enough. The night, from a social =
perspective
at least, had been a success.<o:p></o:p>

As
I sat in the twilight hours of Turner Field, chatting with fellow =
professionals
about their upcoming projects and even agreeing to volunteer on an =
upcoming
AEA/SAG/AFTRA event, it made me reflect upon my distance from my own
professional community. I thought about the fact that I’d never =
sat in
the bleachers at Jacobs Field with a whole gang of Cleveland theater =
pros,
that, in fact, the only time I ever remember more than 20 of us being in =
the
same place at the same time was at an audition that only a few of us =
would land
… or at the annual Equity meeting. And as fun as the annual =
meeting can
be, the last thing I’d be doing at the ball game would be talking =
about
the future of health insurance.<o:p></o:p>

<p><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>I’ve
often said that if you took the talent sitting inside a hotel lobby at =
any
given cattle call rehearsal, you could easily produce something with a =
lot more
impact than a lottery commercial, so why don’t we try =
it?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p><b><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
font-weight:bold'>On November 7<sup>th</sup> at 6:30pm, our annual =
Equity
meeting will be held in the Donahue Auditorium in the <st1:PlaceName =
w:st=3D"on">Dolan</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Center</st1:PlaceType> for Science and =
Technology at <st1:place
w:st=3D"on"><st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">John</st1:PlaceName> =
<st1:PlaceName w:st=3D"on">Carroll</st1:PlaceName>
 <st1:PlaceType =
w:st=3D"on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place></span></font></b><font=

size=3D2 face=3DArial>. (For maps OF
the campus or parking areas, click on <a
href=3D"http://www.jcu.edu/mapparking.htm">http://www.jcu.edu/mapparking.=
htm</a>
)These new surroundings should provide just the right change in =
chemistry for
us to approach this year’s meeting with a fresh outlook for our
community. Once you get the majority of us together, what kind of =
difference
can we make? What ideas can you bring to the table in the spirit of =
challenging
and invigorating our community … or even just offering them a =
chance to
get to know each other over an evening of =
baseball?<o:p></o:p>

I
would like to propose that the annual meeting be only one of two annual =
events,
starting in 2006. That other event will be up to the <st1:City =
w:st=3D"on"><st1:place
 w:st=3D"on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:City> membership to decide. =
Should we aim
toward a social cause? An evening out? A full-fledged production? =
Perhaps even
all three. Should the event be aimed at increasing our own bond, or =
perhaps
increasing our public perception as a service organization? Is there a =
cause we
can rally behind, and is there another union or organization that would =
join
us?<o:p></o:p>

I
realize, of course, the irony of my mission, as I propose these =
community
building blocks from south of the <st1:place w:st=3D"on">Mason-Dixon =
line</st1:place>.
However, it is because of the uncertainty of my future as the area
representative that I pass on the responsibility of these plans to the
membership as a whole. Next month, we will be seeking to fill three =
chairs that
will be naturally vacated when Sheila Maloney, Jerrold Scott and Robert =
Snook
finish their three-year terms at year’s end. Because of the =
uncertainty
of my status as a Cleveland-area actor/stage manager, I have asked that =
we
elect four people to the committee this year in order to =
accommodate my
absence. After the election of the new members, we will discuss my term =
as the
committee chair.<o:p></o:p>

Regardless
of that decision, know that my heart, like my theater and my baseball, =
will
always be at home in <st1:City w:st=3D"on"><st1:place =
w:st=3D"on">Cleveland</st1:place></st1:City>.
This will be the first annual meeting I have missed since joining the =
union. If
you’ve never been, please accept my invitation. If you’re
interested in serving on the committee, feel free to drop me an email at =
<a
href=3D"mailto:aeacleveland at att.net">aeacleveland at att.net</a> or contact =
<st1:PersonName
w:st=3D"on">Tracee Patterson</st1:PersonName> at <a
href=3D"mailto:tpatterson at jcu.edu">tpatterson at jcu.edu</a> and =
we’ll be
happy to discuss the responsibilities with you. If you can’t make =
it,
please think about what kind of activity you’d be interested in =
setting
aside time for in order to build your community and drop it in an email =
to
anyone on the committee. Your contribution is =
vital.<o:p></o:p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>--<br>
Joseph Ruffner <br>
AEA Liaison Committee <br>
<st1:place w:st=3D"on"><st1:City w:st=3D"on">Cleveland</st1:City>, =
<st1:State
 w:st=3D"on">Ohio</st1:State></st1:place>, Area <br>
440.779.2001 Hotline<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D3 face=3D"Times New Roman"><span =
style=3D'font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>

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