Great Canadian Theatre Company Unveils Plans for 2009-10 Actors' Fund Benefit, 6/8- 6/27

As previously reported, several local theaters in Canada have banned together in support of the Actors Fund of Canada, an organization that provides support for theatrical industry workers in the country.  One participating theater, The Great Canadian Theatre Company, has announced that its annual benefit for the Actors' Fund of Canada will take place during the run of Heroes from June 8 to 27, 2010.

Cast member (and GCTC board member) Paul Rainville will be organizing curtain speeches to encourage donations from audience members at every performance, stressing the important role the Fund plays in the lives of artists across the country. Last year the theatre contributed $2,585 in audience donations.

"We are proud to support the Actors' Fund in any way we can," says GCTC Artistic Director Lise Ann Johnson "by helping audiences to make the connection between the work they love to see and the economic struggles sometimes faced by the people who make it, we hope to show how the Actors' Fund can be a crucial factor in helping artists to continue their careers after what might otherwise be a devastating setback."

The Actors' Fund of Canada is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. Performers and others who work behind the scenes in film and television, theatre, music and dance can apply for emergency financial aid from the Fund, which recently set a new record for the amount of financial aid delivered to industry members in a single year, topping $600,000 in 2008. The Fund has helped over 10,000 entertainment industry workers recover from illness, injury or other circumstances causing severe economic and personal hardship since it was founded in 1958.

The Fund is a registered charity that has paid out over $3.7 million in rent payments, grocery money, utility payments and other basic living expenses in the last 10 years. Performers, creators, technical staff and other production team members can benefit from the Fund, which receives no government funding and is wholly sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.

For more information, visit www.actorsfund.ca  or www.gctc.ca.

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