The Actor's Fund of Canada Gets Support from Local Theaters

In a collaborative effort, the Actors' Fund of Canada will be receiving support from four of Canada's most highly regarded theater establishments: The National Arts Centre English Theater, The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, The Prairie Theatre Exchange, The Theatre North West, and Western Canada Theatre. Each of these theaters will be donating proceeds from their respective productions to benefit the fund.

The Actor's 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 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.

National Arts Centre English Theatre today announced that its December 8 performance of the holiday classic, A Christmas Carol will be a pay-what-you-can benefit performance for the Actors' Fund of Canada. Showtime is 7:30 pm and tickets will be available at the door on a first-come first-serve basis.

The production runs to December 26 and marks the first time Charles Dickens' cherished holiday story has come to the NAC English Theatre stage. The lush period piece is presented on the full Shakespearean thrust stage-where the transformation of cold-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge is brought to life by gifted actor Stephen Ouimette.

The December 8 benefit is the latest in a series of annual NAC English Theatre benefit performances for the Actors' Fund. Commenting on the theatre's longstanding commitment to supporting the Fund, Artistic Director Peter Hinton said, "Scheduling an annual benefit performance for the Actors' Fund is a responsibility that we are happy to undertake. We have a great deal of respect for the Fund, which has been so important to so many of this country's finest artists and those who work with them."

Stratford Shakespeare Festival General Director Antoni Cimolino has announced that proceeds from the October 14 performance of Cyrano de Bergerac will be donated to the Actors' Fund of Canada. Ticket prices for the 8 pm performance range from $47-$79 and are available online at stratfordfestival.ca or by phone at 1-800-567-1600. Colm Feore stars as the titular Cyrano in a performance that has been hailed as "everything you could want.dashing, funny, heartbreaking "(Robert Crew, The Toronto Star).

The October 14 benefit performance carries on an annual tradition of benefits for the Fund the Festival has maintained since the Fund's inception over 50 years ago, making the Stratford Shakespeare Festival the Fund's largest benefactor among Canadian theatres. Commenting on Stratford's half-century of support for the Fund, Mr. Cimolino said, "Over the past 50 years, the Actors' Fund has shown itself to be a deep well of compassion for the most vulnerable members of the theatrical community. Every night, on every stage in Canada, artists who have been helped by the Fund perform for appreciative audiences. We are proud to be able to support this organization
whose work has had such a positive impact on the lives and careers of many thousands of our colleagues in Canadian theatre."

Prairie Theatre Exchange today announced that all bar proceeds and audience donations from the Playwrights Cabaret at the 2010 Carol Shields Festival of New Works will be donated to the Actors' Fund of Canada. This free event will take place at 9:30 pm on May 23, 2010 at the PTE Rehearsal Hall and will feature performances by Canadian actors and playwrights.

The Carol Shields Festival of New Work was created by PTE Artistic Director Robert Metcalfe
to support the company's long-time commitment to supporting, nurturing and promoting theatre artists, both local and national. The Festival's role in supporting artists finds a parallel in the work of the Actors' Fund, which 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 importance of the Actors' Fund cannot be overstated" says PTE's Bob Metcalfe "We are happy to do our part to contribute to an organization that in turn benefits all of us who participate in and enjoy the creation of Canadian cultural work."

Theatre North West has announced that it will donate funds raised through student performances of Thy Neighbour's Wife to the Actors' Fund of Canada. The show runs from February 1 to 21, 2010.

The company raised $1,200 for the Fund from last year's performances of How it Works for audiences of high school students. Each class that was booked to attend was sent a letter explaining describing the Fund and stressing the need for emerging theatre professionals to be aware of its value to the theatrical community. The classes were then asked to either fundraise or donate a small amount of money to support the charity. Last year's successful appeal prompted the company to again seek donations for the Fund from those looking to enter the field.

Theatre North West General Manager Anne Laughlin said "We are delighted to support the Actors' Fund with our annual benefit performances. Supporting the Fund should be a professional obligation for all of us who work in Canadian theatre. With so many young people interested in pursuing a career in theatre it made a lot of sense to have them help support the Fund. Not only do they get to help somebody else, but they also get a chance to learn a bit more about the industry."

Western Canada Theatre has announced that its annual benefit performance for the Actors' Fund of Canada will take place during the run of My Fair Lady from November 6 to December 5, 2009. The theatre contributed over $4,000 for the Fund last year by donating the proceeds from a student matinee performance of Seussical.

WCT General Manager Lori Marchand is thrilled that the company was able to make such a sizable contribution last season and hopes for similar results this year, saying that "Artists need to support artists. Too often we fall outside of the regular social safety net. The Actors' Fund ensures that we
can continue to move forward in our careers, even when finances might prove limiting."

 

 

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