Fall 2009 - ACTRA Toronto

Fall 2009
Volume 18 • Issue 3
The magazine from ACTRA Toronto
Inga
Cadranel
on The Bridge
I work ACTRA:
The fight against
non-union work
Pinewood
Toronto
Display until February 2010
$4.60
03
Being Erica
set to beat the
sophomore
slump
President’s
Message
There are big things happening at ACTRA Toronto.
Over the last six months we’ve seen significant movement on a number of files.
Our coalitions have more than proven their worth.
In early July we were a part of a tremendous win,
helping lobby for a crucial change to the Ontario
Film & Television Tax Credit. Kudos go to FilmOntario
and its managing director, Sarah Ker-Hornell, for persuading the
Ontario government to expand the tax credit to cover 25 per
cent of a production’s overall budget. This change allows
Toronto to be competitive with jurisdictions all over the world
and helps ensure that production stays within the province.
We ratified the new Independent Production Agreement (IPA).
It was extremely gratifying to see an overwhelming endorsement
of the agreement, as 98.3 per cent of the membership voted in
favour of its ratification. The new IPA allows for a 2 per cent
wage increase per year, over the next three years, and will help
to provide labour stability during a tough economic climate.
We’re also partnering with our sister branches to further develop
a new initiative we’ve termed ‘I Work ACTRA,’ designed to
strengthen our union’s jurisdiction coast-to-coast. This initiative
will be kicked off by a concerted national organizing campaign.
But the big issue at ACTRA these days is our re-energized
Canadian drama campaign. In 1999 the CRTC made a catastrophic
decision, eliminating the drama expenditure requirements for
Canadian television and allowing broadcasters to count cheap
reality and entertainment magazine TV shows as 'priority
programming.' Almost immediately the number of one-hour
Canadian dramas being produced dropped sharply.
To combat the purging of Canadian drama from our television
screens ACTRA went to Ottawa to speak with MP’s and the
CRTC’s Commissioners, recruiting prominent members like
Wendy Crewson, Paul Gross, Rick Mercer and Sonja
Smits to help make sure our voices were heard.
The CRTC’s 1999 Television Policy was wrong when it was first
conceived of and it hasn’t gotten any better with age. It’s wrong
because broadcasters have consistently failed to deliver on their
promise to provide Canadian programming, instead flooding our
airwaves with cheap American shows. It’s wrong because
investing in the film and television industry makes sense from a
financial point of view, just take a look at the Conference Board
of Canada’s report that says cultural industries contribute more
than $85 billion dollars and 1.1 million jobs to Canada’s economy.
And it’s wrong because watching ourselves and our stories helps
define who we are as a people, reflecting our unique and evolving
Canadian natures.
So now we’re turning up the heat, demanding the CRTC address
this disastrous decision, even as broadcasters continue to
petition to further relax regulatory requirements in advance of
their license renewals.
2
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Toronto mayor, David Miller, ACTRA Toronto president, Heather Allin and
past president Karl Pruner at the 2009 Labour Day parade.
Photo: Brian Topp
Here’s where you come in. This fall ACTRA is going to make its
presence known to the CRTC through rallies, concerted lobby
efforts, letter campaigns and loud, boisterous days of action.
We’ll put the issue of Canadian content back at the centre of
the CRTC license hearings; right where it belongs.
And we’ll be asking you to do your part by writing or visiting
your local MP and telling them how important Canadian drama
is to you. We’ll also be asking you to join us on those days of
action, lend your voice at rallies, and to ‘get on the bus’ when
the situation calls for it.
This is a battle we need to win. The upcoming CRTC license
renewals will cover broadcasters for the next seven years. We
can’t afford to lose this fight and let Canadian drama disappear
from our airwaves. What good is a Canadian broadcaster if
they’re only going to air American shows?
Your union and its membership needs every one of us to do
whatever we can to ensure that this time the CRTC steps up
and makes the right decision. Because if we don’t, who will?
In solidarity,
Heather Allin
President, ACTRA Toronto
Contents
Table of
Performers
The magazine from ACTRA Toronto
Volume 18 • Issue 3 • Fall 2009
PUBLISHER
Lyn Mason Green
lmgreen@council.actratoronto.com
EDITOR
Chris Owens
editor@actratoronto.com
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
Heather Allin, Lyn Mason Green, Chris Faulkner,
Art Hindle, Jani Lauzon, Dan Mackenzie, Chris Owens,
Karl Pruner, Brian Topp.
DESIGN and LAYOUT
Erick Querci / creativeprocess@sympatico.ca
ADVERTISING SALES
Karen Cowitz / kcowitz@rocketmail.com 416-461-4627
CONTRIBUTORS
Heather Allin
Judy Barefoot
Chris Bolton
Kelly Davis
Chris Faulkner
Jag Gundu
Karen Ivany
Barbara Larose
Janesse Leung
Norm MacAskill
Monica McKenna
Chris Owens
Brian Topp
Cathy Wendt
Karen Woolridge
2
President’s Message
4
2010 ACTRA Awards Submissions
by Karen Ivany
5
Stewards at work
6
I work ACTRA
by Heather Allin
10
An interview with Inga Cadranel
by Chris Bolton
14
Work opportunities in Ontario
by Brian Topp
PLEASE ADDRESS
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE TO:
Performers magazine
c/o ACTRA Toronto
625 Church Street, Suite 200
Toronto, ON M4Y 2G1
Fax: (416) 928-2852
editor@actratoronto.com
JOIN THE TEAM
If you’re an ACTRA Toronto Member or Apprentice and
want to write an article or contribute original artwork or
photos, we’d love to hear from you. Send an email to
editor@actratoronto.com.
Printed in Canada by union labour at Thistle Printing.
THE NEXT COPY DEADLINE IS
December 18, 2009
The magazine invites members to submit notices of
births, marriages, obituaries and letters to the editor.
Article submissions must be sent via email to
editor@actratoronto.com. We reserve the right to edit
or omit any material for length, style, content or possible
legal ramifications.
Performers magazine is published three times a year by
ACTRA Toronto. The views expressed in unsolicited and
solicited articles are not necessarily the views of ACTRA
Toronto, its council or this committee.
Publications Mail Agreement number 40069134
ISSN 1911-4974
www.actratoronto.com
18
Talking with actors
19
Local lobbying
by Norm MacAskill
20
Who’s who
21
Labour Day 2009
24
Being Erica
by Chris Owens
28
Members News
(COVER PHOTO)
Inga Cadranel
Photo:
www.mckennaphoto.com
Corrections
In the article “The Line” from our summer issue
of Performers, we erroneously identified ACTRA
Toronto member Ingrid Hart as
Ingrid Gaynor. We regret the error.
29
New Members
30
In Memoriam
Inga Cadranel
Photo: www.mckennaphoto.com
Fall
2009
3
ACTRA
Awards
Submit
performances
now!
by Karen Ivany
All photos by Jag Gundu
WHEN:
30 September, 2009 – 30 November, 2009.
WHERE:
Online at the ACTRA Toronto homepage,
www.actratoronto.com.
WHO:
All ACTRA Toronto members in good standing.
WHAT:
Performances that first were exhibited
between December 1st 2008 and November
30th, 2009.
REQUIREMENTS:
A Lead or Supporting Role with that WOW
factor!
4
AC T R A TO R O N TO
1
2
3
4
It’s that time of year again, when we ask the
entire ACTRA Toronto membership to
reflect on the amazing performances you
witnessed on the internet, radio, or onscreen
and submit them for consideration to the
2010 ACTRA Awards in Toronto. The
ACTRA Awards in Toronto are our annual
landmark event, a showcase to honour the
best performances by Toronto members over
the last year. This year the awards will be held
on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at the always
glamorous Carlu in downtown Toronto.
A central part of the ACTRA Awards vision is
to support and celebrate the fabulous homegrown talent pool that is so vital to our indigenous film and television industry. Just like
the Director’s Guild and the Writer’s Guild
awards, the ACTRA Awards are a pure peer
award, meaning only members can submit
performances for consideration, and only
members will choose the eventual winners.
It’s all about recognizing the tremendous
work of our peers.
Each year we receive hundreds of submissions
for our Outstanding Performances Awards.
Members are free to submit performances in
three categories, Outstanding Performance
Female, Male and Voice.
When in doubt, submit. The only criteria to
submit is that the performer is a Toronto
member in good standing and that their part
is a lead or supporting role. It costs nothing
to make a submission, so you are free to submit as many member performances as you
like. If you’re not sure if the performer
is an ACTRA Toronto member, submit
them anyway. Our tireless staff research all submissions to make sure every submission is valid.
Don’t forget, in order for a performance to
be considered it must have had its first
public exhibition between December 1st,
2008 and November 30th, 2009. Again, if
you’re not sure of the screening or airdate, submit it anyway! We don’t want a
fantastic performance to go overlooked.
And just what exactly is it about a performance
that makes a good submission? You’re an
actor, just follow your heart. You know when
something has that wow factor that really
sets a great performance apart from all the
others. The juries that choose the eventual
winners know it too, they’re comprised of
fellow members who have been in your
shoes. They look at each performance
separately, acknowledging that different
mediums sometimes place different requirements
on an actor.
So think back on all the great performances
you may have seen at festival screenings,
theatrical releases, on television, the internet
or heard on the radio over the last year.
Get out there and make your 2010
ACTRA Awards happen!
Karen Ivany is currently serving
her second term as an elected
councillor for ACTRA Toronto. She
is chair of the Awards Committee
and producer of the annual
ACTRA Awards in Toronto. Some
of Karen’s recent credits include
T h e Tw o M r. K i s s e l s a n d
R e G e n e sis.
1. Peter Keleghan • 2. L-R Matt Watts, Aaron Poole, Caroline Cave, Eric Peterson • 3. L-R Maria Del Mar, Gordon Pinsent, Wendy Crewson • 4. Sarah Polley
2010
Stewards
at work
Upgrade
edition
Group Dancer Upgrade
Principal Upgrade
Two performers were working in the Actor category over multiple
days on a production. Throughout filming they were both given
additional lines. The performers kept track of their lines and held
on to the new sides provided by production. The extra lines took
them over the 5 lines allowed by the Actor category and required
the members to be upgraded to the Principal performance category.
The steward for the production investigated the claim, which was
at first refused by the production company. Using the language of
the IPA, and the evidence wisely retained by the performers, the
steward was able to obtain Principal upgrades for the performers
retroactive to all previous days of their engagement, approximately
20 days each. This resulted in substantial additional payments for
both members.
Group Singer Upgrade
A low budget production wanted to engage a group of gospel
singers as Background Performers. The steward read the scene and
could see that it called for the singers to break into song. The steward
registered her objections but the production went ahead with the
scene.
On the day the steward sent an On-Set Liaison Officer (OSLO) to
set who observed the songs being sung in four part harmony and
learned that the singers had been provided with the music in advance of the shoot day. The steward sent a formal claim to the
production to upgrade the performers. Following much back and
forth with the producer an agreement was reached to upgrade all
the gospel singers to the Group Singer category.
A new comedy series called for a group of male Background
Performers to be dressed as geisha girls. On set, the performers
were choreographed by the director in a geisha fan dance. The
performers contacted their steward from set. The steward advised
them that they should be requesting an upgrade to the Group
Dancer performance category and pointed them to Article C202
in the IPA which states “No Background Performer shall be
required to perform choreographed dances.” The performers were
then able to show the relevant article to the 2nd A.D. and the
production manager.
Notwithstanding the article in the IPA, that clearly showed an upgrade was in order, the production did not agree on the day to
upgrade the performers. The performers checked disagree on their
vouchers and sent emails to their steward describing what they
had been asked to do. The steward contacted the production to
support the performers request for an upgrade. Following the
steward’s intervention, the production agreed to upgrade the
Background Performers to the Group Dancer category.
Silent-On-Camera Upgrade
A member was recently booked as a Background Performer on a
car commercial. Once the spot went to air it became apparent that
an upgrade to the Silent-on-Camera (SOC) performance category
was warranted. A copy of the commercial was requested and submitted promptly to the commercial department. After reviewing
the material the steward determined the performance delivered
by the member met two of the criteria for an upgrade to SOC,
being recognizable on camera for 16 frames or more and a clear
association with the product advertised in the commercial. Initially, there was some resistance from the agency in securing the
performer’s upgrade. The agency did not agree with the steward’s
interpretation of the new SOC criteria. However the steward persevered and was successful in making sure the member received a
session upgrade and use payments at the SOC category rate, totaling over $5,000 dollars.
Fall 2 0 0 9
5
I WORK
ACTRA
The fight
against
work.
by Heather Allin
6
AC T R A TO R O N TO
What is ACTRA?
Gordon Pinsent said it best, “ACTRA is the house we built
for ourselves”
There are many rooms in our house. In one room are our
member conferences, our negotiated contracts, our benefits,
our member communications initiatives, like this very magazine, and our payment oversight. In another room, our offices and dedicated staff members. Finally with the
Performer’s Rights Society, ACTRA Fraternal and the Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union we’ve added entire wings
to our little home.
It’s taken over six decades to build this house we call
ACTRA. And this organization only works because a small
group of people saw that they could achieve more by presenting a united front, meeting their employers as equals,
rather than negotiating as individuals.
In the 1940’s there was no such thing as ACTRA. Back then
the CBC was the only game in town and it had the resources
to dictate the working conditions for a whole generation of
performers. That is until a group of radio announcers, unhappy at the injustice of the situation, chose to walk off the
job, demanding fair payment for their work. Out of such
pluck the seeds of ACTRA were planted.
“ACTRA is all about community…
a community of performers united for
our right to fair pay and treatment”
– Art Hindle
Things are a bit different in 2009. Although we’ve accomplished a great deal for our membership over our 66 year history that doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. There are
new challenges on the horizon and they must be met with
the same determination and resolve that our union’s founders
showed so many years ago.
This fall ACTRA is launching a coast to coast organizing campaign against non-union production tentatively called ‘I Work
ACTRA.’ This campaign arose partly from conversations in our
voice community, and our recognition of a growing concern about
work in the non-union sector, both here and across the country
The campaign will roll out in three parts. The first stage will
focus on member education about the benefits of union membership. The campaign’s second stage will be a concerted and
ongoing outreach effort to organize non-union production. Fi-
nally, the third stage will deal with enforcement, identifying
those performers, agents, casting directors and producers who
continue to facilitate non-union work.
“United we bargain, divided we beg!”
- ACTRA National Past President, Richard Hardacre
We are undertaking this organizing campaign because any
growth in non-union production undermines our own work
opportunities. There are performers who want to work on
both sides of the fence and when they choose to work on a
non-union production they jeopardize all the hard fought
gains we’ve won over the years. They justify it by saying, ‘It’s
just one job. It’s just one cheque. I need the money right
now.’ But by accepting that job they encourage non-union
work opportunities to grow and flourish. They nurture our
own competition by creating a pool of experienced actors
who have a track record of agreeing to work for less. They
weaken our ability to earn a living, chip away at our pensions,
cut our benefits and make it easier for unscrupulous productions to bend the rules, putting us in harm’s way.
Moreover, working non-union erodes the support system we
have in place to protect ourselves. It enables a race-to-the-
bottom pay structure amongst ourselves in which all actors
lose. Stewards can’t inspect non-union contracts to ensure
that you aren’t being taken advantage of, or monitor a set to
make sure your working conditions are clean and safe. It will
also be impossible to guarantee you are paid properly as staff
won’t be able to chase down late payments or wayward
cheques for non-union work. ACTRA stewards can’t fight on
your behalf for a well deserved upgrade or monitor a work
report to verify that a production has paid you out properly.
When members work non-union they are effectively handcuffing ACTRA and make it impossible for the union to do
anything at all.
“As freelance contractors in a rapidly
changing…competitive industry, most
performers lack the clout to negotiate fair
rates…When we stand up together as a
union, on the other hand, it’s a different
story.” – ACTRA Toronto Past President, Karl Pruner
Fall 2 0 0 9
7
Ever since I decided to act for a living, I wanted to be a member
of ACTRA. I worked hard to get my first six credits in order to
qualify for full membership, and I could immediately see significant benefits when working on a union production, in comparison to how poorly performers are treated in the non-union
sector. I was proud to be a member of ACTRA and I could see
that same pride reflected in fellow actors on and off set. We were
treated with respect, paid on time, had an insurance plan, an
RRSP and help at the other end of the phone when we needed
our union. ACTRA was there for me, making it possible to concentrate my efforts on getting work and doing a job I could be
proud of. These are things we all share because ACTRA fights
for us.
In the time that I’ve been an ACTRA member, I’ve seen devoted
councillors and hardworking staff toiling on our behalf to ensure
we are treated with respect and dignity. It’s clear we are con-
nected with each other, and not just the members in the Toronto
branch, but also with performers all across the country who support the values we uphold. In this unity of purpose, we understand the value and power of members standing united. When
helping to negotiate the Independent Production Agreement in
2007 we were shown disdain and arrogance from our counterparts. We were told our work had no value whatsoever, beyond
lining the pockets of some very lucky producers. It took a bitter
strike for us to convince them otherwise. We proved that in solidarity we have power. And these qualities, when combined with
a clear purpose, ensures our rights as creators now and into the
future.
“By being strong and resolute during the
last rounds of negotiations, and being
proactive for these rounds, we [came] to
such a quick and mutually acceptable
agreement with the producers… The
whole experience has left me with a sense
of confidence in the people who represent
us and the respect we command as a
collective body.” - Jim Codrington
How do we, as individual performers, benefit from ACTRA
membership? Our collective agreements ensure that we are
paid a fair, working wage. We can plan for the future knowing that insurance and retirement payments are being made
on our behalf. We get health benefits, safe working conditions, and ownership of our creative endeavours. We get the
benefit of the accumulated knowledge and experience of an
8
AC T R A TO R O N TO
organization that has been looking after the well being of
performers for the past 66 years. We get an organization that
fights for us every day, whether it’s on-set or on Parliament
Hill. This is ACTRA.
“ACTRA is remarkable. It is a member
run organization of 21,000 self employed
artists that negotiates and enforces
collective agreements, provides insurance
and retirement benefits, tracks and
distributes residual payments, that gives
strong voice to Canadian cultural issues
and ensures our place in the rapidly
changing media landscape. It is an
organization dedicated to protecting
performers and I am proud to be a member.
Our strength is in our solidarity.
We stand together.” -Wendy Crewson
I am proud to be an ACTRA member, to uphold our union’s
core values and ideals. I am proud to stand alongside my fellow cultural activists when we demand change from our
elected representatives. And I am proud to walk the picket
line with you when we fend off attacks against our livelihood.
What is
ACTRA?
It is the promise we make to
one another, to hold fast to
our principles and keep faith
with each other in the face of
adversity.
Heather Allin is the President of ACTRA Toronto.
I WORK ACTRA
Clockwise from top left: Wendy Crewson makes some noise about the importance of Canadian-made
programming. Photo: Kim Hume • David Sparrow rallies the troops during an ACTRA strike demonstration.
Photo: Peter Baker • Sonja Smits confronts then Liberal Finance Minster, John Manley, at a 2003 protest on
cuts to the Canadian Television Fund. Photo: Thom Tapley • Carrying the colours at the 2007 Labour Day
parade. Photo: Kim Hume
Fall 2 0 0 9
9
Chris Bolton sits down with his
friend and Rent-A-Goalie co-star,
Inga Cadranel, to talk about
her new show, The Bridge, and to
see if punk rock really does
make you a better actor.
Inga Cadranel
Photo: www.mckennaphoto.com
10
AC T R A TO R O N TO
INTERVIEW WITH
Inga
Cadranel
CB: So I started to prepare for this about an hour ago. And I was
wondering, ‘What do I actually know about her?’ Not that much,
why is that?
IC: Because I don’t tell anybody anything about myself.
We’re in a public business and I learned really young to keep
my public self separate from my home life. A lot of young actors kind of mix them both. But as I grew up I watched my
parents family life and they would change when they went
into their public selves.
CB: Ok, so let’s start there. Your parents were actors, both of them.
IC: Maja Ardal and Jeff Braunstein. My dad is a sweetheart and my mom’s touring her one-woman show all
across Europe right now.
CB: She’s a writer as well?
IC: Yeah, writer/director. She used to be the artistic director for Young People’s Theatre for about four seasons. I did
a play for her called Cabbage Town Kid Crusaders. That was the
first and only time I ever worked with her.
CB: So your first jobs weren’t because of your parents?
IC: No, I was actually really against acting, my brother and
I both. We vowed never to become actors.
CB: Paul Braunstein, another very, very funny boy.
IC: We hated actors growing up. There were always these
weird people who’d come to our house. They were just too
much for us. And then we both realized there was nothing
else we could do.
CB: School didn’t work?
IC: We had no drive. I went to Vancouver’s Studio 58 theatre
school when I was around 23. It wasn’t the best experience.
I dropped out after eight months. It was winter and very
depressing. I wasn’t ready for it mentally but it taught me
that I could do this.
CB: Its interesting that you bring up schooling because on my way
over I was thinking about the kinds of actors that I like and I didn’t think you were schooled. You seem so from the hip when you work.
IC: It all comes from the guts. As you know, that’s a pro and
a con. If it all comes from your gut, you can come up with
magic. At the same time, you get so invested in it you can
get very emotional, because it all comes from you. I can’t
separate myself and use tools and techniques to get into stuff
and get out of stuff. If I have to cry, it all comes from a real
place. It’s almost a curse because it’s hard to shake off and
it’s hard to separate myself from that at the end of the day.
CB: Punk rock. How old were you when you started in your first
band?
IC: I guess I was about 16 or 17. I was really shy and afraid
to perform on stage. Singing is so personal to me. I grew up
with mostly reggae and hip hop. But at the same time I was
always searching for something a little more freeing. When
I discovered punk music and the punk scene, I thought, ‘Ah,
nobody is here to judge.’
CB: In a way I’m looking for your teachers, was that one of them?
IC: Oh, that was huge. My first few shows I was carrying on
in front of a microphone with this crazy band behind me. It
took me a few times to realize the crazier and looser and
more out there I was, the more the audience would feed off
it. My shows started to get bigger and I started to get crazier.
It was the best time of my life.
Fall 2 0 0 9
11
Inga Cadranel
on the set of The Bridge.
Photo courtesy of CTV/CBS
CB: So you and Gabe are both actors, Inga is married to Gabriel
Hogan, in case nobody out there knows that, what changed for you
guys? Did things get serious after your son Ryder was born?
IC: Before we had our son we would party right up until the
transport driver knocked on the door.
CB: You are so funny. Is that a problem, because beautiful, funny
people don’t happen very often.
IC: You know what, I never go out for funny stuff. Drama
is hard for me. I’m on a very serious show right now and it’s
really hard for me not to take the piss out of every scene we
do. I think Rent-a-Goalie gave me my platform to be as funny
as I wanted to. It was so freeing and fun, you guys gave us
licence to pretty much do what ever we wanted to do.
CB: You’re on The Bridge now, how’s it going?
IC: It’s a different character for me. I get to play a part that I’ve
always wanted to play, which is a really tough cop and she’s a
bi-sexual major crimes detective, so that’s fun. The only problem
I have with the show, is that because everything comes from me, I
can’t separate myself from the content of the episode. For example, in one episode a six-year-old’s head was put through a wall in an
apartment and my character was pulling hair fibres out of the wall.
Achild’s hair fibres.And I couldn’t handle it. I had to walk off set.
That’s been the hardest part of being on The Bridge.
Inga Cadranel
Selected Credits
The Bridge
Rent-a-Goalie
The One That Got Away
M.V.P.
Jeff Ltd.
ReGenesis
Degrassi: The Next
Generation
The Eleventh Hour
Leap Years
Inga Cadranel
Photo: www.mckennaphoto.com
12
AC T R A TO R O N TO
CB: How are you finding the Canadian product you’re working
on stacking up against American product?
IC: That’s where they’re putting their budget, you know,
the choppers and the amazing car chases. We shut down the
Bloor viaduct one day and filled it like it was rush hour. Every
single car was a stunt vehicle and I was in the police car while
they were driving through. Cars are crashing in front of me
and spinning out, it was probably one of the most amazing
experiences I’ve ever had. The shots they are doing, you
know, the big chopper shots and the crane shots, that feels
more American, compared to what I’ve worked on. The big
scary thing with this show is that they don’t show cops in a
particularly good light.
CB: That’s quite raw though, right?
IC: It’s very raw and very real. Every episode has to be dealing with some cops who have messed up. If this show
doesn’t go anywhere that may be one of the reasons, because
it’s saying that cops are being too nasty and too horrible and
doing things that just should not be done by a police force.
CB: Must be fun to play though.
IC: I come and I talk about the crime scene, that’s my bag.
Everything else that goes on is the union stuff. Yeah, it’s
extremely edgy and that makes it more American than
Canadian. The make up women wear aprons, because they’re
covered in blood all day.
CB: Did you read Paul Gross with Gail McDonald? He was talking about the US/Canada simulcast trend that’s happening right
now. That’s a good thing for you on The Bridge.
IC: It’s good for the fact that I want to be in Canada. I
would love it to go and go and stay here and be on a show
that airs in the States.
CB: Do you remember your first job that you actually got a paycheque for?
IC: I played a pregnant Mexican in Texas for HBO. They
were doing this series about significant moments in
the history of the United States.
CB: Shot in Canada?
IC: Shot in Canada.
(laughter)
IC: Yeah, so I was a Mexican girl and I had to give birth and
everything. That was my very first job, gave birth on the back
of a covered wagon.
CB: Remember that paycheque?
IC: Oh, my god, how’ve they changed! My first series was
Leap Years, an American show. You think this is the beginning
and you can only go up, your paycheques can only get bigger. No, not in Canada, they get smaller.
CB: Does that bother you?
IC: To a point. Every actor I know is in debt. With the
amount of series work I’ve done, if I did those in the States,
I’d be a millionaire. I find that with our jobs we kind of work
our way to the middle and you just remain there. You may
get some more notoriety, but for the amount of work someone like Hogan has done, he’s still working for the same scale
cheques everyone else is.
CB: And he still has to audition.
IC: There’re no offers. He’s still unrecognized on the
streets. Canada is one of the only countries that has a thriving film and television industry, but don’t support their actors
in that regard.
CB: But you know what, he’ll go down to the States and he’ll do like
a Blimpy Burger commercial and come back here and be a superstar.
IC: Exactly, and that’s twisted! So, yes, it does bother me.
There should already be a certain kind of unspoken respect.
Say I’m on set and we have a guest star who has an amazing
career, someone who I consider being a celebrity, and there’s
no honeywagon for them. They are getting the same small
cheque everyone else is and I don’t think that’s right. It’s
about respect, because as you know, nobody really knows
what you’re making on set, but they know what room you
step out of. That’s a huge thing. It’s just about respect.
CB: You’ve got a new actor sitting in front of you, wants to make
a go of in the business, any thing you want to say to them? I know,
run!
IC: No, because of my family and stuff like that, I would
never say run. I think for me the advice is ‘don’t be spiteful,’
because there are going to be people who treat you like crap.
Don’t carry it home. Don’t be spiteful. Let it go.
CB: Good talking to you Inga Cadranel.
IC: You too Chris Bolton.
Chris Bolton is the co-creator and star of Rent-A-Goalie
. Some of his recent credits include Billable Hours, Life With
Derek and The State Within.
Fall 2 0 0 9
13
Lights,
camera,
jobs.
Taking a look at work opportunities in Ontario.
by Brian Topp
14
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Here's a chart prepared by our colleagues at the Ontario
Media Development Corporation that people in Ontario's
film and television industry have spent a lot of time thinking
about.
It tells two stories about work opportunities for ACTRA
Toronto members and for people throughout the industry.
The first story is a good news story about Canadian content
production, the heart and soul of ACTRA Toronto and its
members. Twenty years ago domestic film and television was
a $181 million dollar business in Ontario. Slowly, steadily, with
growing national and international success, we have built
Canadian film and television in Ontario up, to a $544 million
dollar industry last year.
The second story is a more worrisome one, about foreignfinanced export production. Twenty years ago ‘export’ production was a $69 million dollar industry in Ontario. This
part of our business grew exponentially in the late 1990s,
peaking at $574 million in 2002. Since then export production
has dropped significantly, slumping to $126 million last year.
Overall the industry peaked at $1.011 billion in 2000 and
then dropped to $671 million in 2008, a 33 per cent decline.
In addition to a steadily appreciating dollar, it was clear at
the start of the decade that Ontario was being seriously challenged by hyper-aggressive competitors; other Canadian
provinces, led by British Columbia, and then by American
states -- 43 of whom now offer the industry some form of tax
credit incentive to switch production to their jurisdiction.
It was therefore clear, and remains clear, that something had
to be done.
Marcus Handman, then executive director of the Directors
Guild of Canada (Ontario), had a good handle on what that
was. The Ontario film and television industry needed to find
its voice and speak up for itself; it needed to identify and address key issues affecting our competitiveness; and it needed
to act on those issues by pooling our efforts and working towards a common agenda.
Everyone, including ACTRA Toronto, was worried enough
to sign up for the DGC-O program. And so FilmOntario was
born, officially chartered in 2003.
The key issues, as we saw them, were these:
• The City of Toronto needed to become more film friendly.
• Our jurisdiction needed to do a better job marketing itself.
• Our province's tax credits had become uncompetitive and
needed to be updated.
• We needed to address our woefully inadequate infrastructure, huddled, as we were, in lightly retrofitted old warehouses, some of which were inevitably being gentrified and
turned to other uses.
On the first point, we found a good friend in Toronto's new
film friendly mayor, David Miller, who agreed to co-chair a
reformed and revitalized Toronto Film Board with leading
producer, and FilmOntario co-chair, Sue Murdoch. Quietly,
effectively, step-by-step, the new Film Board has been work-
Fall
2009
15
ing through location issues, and has been effectively making
Ontario's principal film and television town one of the most
film-friendly jurisdictions in the world.
Work in progress, the main stage at Pinewood Toronto under
construction in 2008. Photo: Chris Faulkner
The second point, marketing Toronto properly, merits its
own article. Then there are the tax credits. Some excellent
progress has been made here. Led in this area by FilmOntario’s managing director, Sarah Ker-Hornell, we have
been working closely with Premier Dalton McGuinty's government on this issue for almost six years now.
In that time Ontario's Canadian content credits were increased by the McGuinty government from a rate of 16 per
cent to 30 per cent. When you factor in travel costs and
many other expenses and challenges, these new rates have
essentially matched the tax credits being offered by other
Canadian provinces, a key reason why Ontario has been able
to retain and build on our role as the leading market and production centre for Canadian content.
It is hard to overstate what a blessing this has been to us all,
during a period when the Canadian dollar appreciated by
more than 30 per cent, going from the mid-60 cents on the
American dollar, to the low 90 cent range.
The battle for Canadian content is far
from won and will probably never end.
That is why it is critically important
that ACTRA, in all its components,
focus on this year's hearings before the
CRTC, which is reconsidering its disastrous 1999 television policy and
weighing the future of Canadian content on Canadian television.
To protect and grow our work and artistic opportunities in
Canadian content, there must be some shelf space for it,
preferably a lot of shelf space on our own televisions.
There’s more on tax credits. This July the McGuinty government announced that it would match an important
change introduced by the province of Quebec.
Quebec and Ontario now both offer a 25 per cent foreign
service tax credit on the entire budget of an ‘export’
production, not just its local labour. The details are a little
complex but the bottom line is pretty straight-forward: this
summer, the government of Ontario doubled the value of its
export tax credit. That has provided our province with a very
important new business tool to rebuild this part of our
business.
16
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Finally, there is the issue of infrastructure.
As we have learned, it takes a long, long time to do something about our old buildings.
As a first step, in a project that began almost a decade ago,
Toronto's leading studio (Toronto Film Studios) relocated in
the summer of 2008 from a complex of retrofit warehouses
on Eastern Avenue and moved into a new purpose-built facility in the Portlands, dubbed Filmport.
It is a beautiful facility with more than 200,000 square feet
of first class studio space. It is Ken Furgeson's masterpiece.
Ken was the CEO, project manager and principal inspiration
of the new studio. It opened for business last summer. And
then stood basically empty for almost twelve agonizing
months.
What happened to our leading Toronto studio facility over
the past year is a long story. It's about the Canadian dollar,
the Writer’s Guild strike in the United States and the unresolved negotiations over a new SAG agreement. It's about
tax credits. It's about business and marketing plans and how
you build a successful brand for a new studio facility in a market with hundreds of competitors all around the world.
The bottom line is that Filmport's investors and financial
backers found themselves with a much bigger challenge than
they had been planning for. And so, in the brutal context of
a world financial crisis and a much tighter credit market, they
looked for someone new to take the place over.
This past June a public-private consortium replaced the controlling shareholder of Filmport. The consortium includes
Paul Bronfman's group of companies (Bronfman chairs the
new Board continuing the role he played under the prior
team) the City of Toronto; Castlepoint (a leading Toronto
developer) and the $450 million dollar fund manager ROI
Capital, which manages a $140 million dollar labour-sponsored venture capital fund sponsored by ACTRA Toronto.
ROI fund president and CEO, John Sterling, (the sole outside director on our credit union) devoted many long hours
to putting together this agreement.
This consortium then hired one of the world's great studio
brands, Pinewood Studios of James Bond and Ridley and Tony
Scott fame, to manage and re-brand the facility. The new
Pinewood Toronto Studios was born.
How have thing been going there since then?
Much better.
The studio is reporting growing success booking work and
seems to be on track to land a reasonable amount of business in 2010. Ontario's strong new domestic and foreign tax
credits give the highly experienced, capable and well-regarded Pinewood managers some excellent new business
tools to market Ontario with. The strong credibility of the
global Pinewood brand is more than helpful as well.
We all know better than to try to predict the future in the
entertainment business. But for now, Pinewood Toronto is
well capitalized, well-managed, and well re-launched. They’re
at www.pinewood.com. Does Pinewood Toronto solve all of
our infrastructure problems? Not by a long shot.
It is an important first step towards moving out of warehouses and into purpose-built facilities. But much more
needs to be done to make sure that both our domestic and
our export productions have good facilities available at the
right price points for the different kinds of budgets people
work with.
On this, and many other issues, we still have a long way to go
to get back to sustained growth in Ontario's film and television industry.
But our industry's heart and soul -- Canadian content -- is
growing already.
If we keep our province film friendly, market it well, keep
equipping it with the tax credits and other business tools it
needs and make sure it has a growing stock of great places to
shoot, we'll do better overall.
I’ll give the last word to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty,
who summed it all up in a recent interview, “I see Ontario
being recognized as a powerful and permanent North American player. If you are thinking of shooting a movie or a TV
production in North America, you will automatically give
consideration to Ontario. We will remain an exceptionally
welcoming environment in terms of our tax treatment of foreign productions.”
Brian Topp is the Executive Director of ACTRA Toronto. He co-chairs FilmOntario,
chairs the board of the Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union, and is a member of
the Toronto Film Board, the Board of Directors of ROI Fund, and the Board of
Directors of Pinewood Toronto Studios.
Building sets inside one of Pinewood Toronto’s seven purpose built sound stages.
Photo courtesy of Pinewood Toronto
Fall
2009
17
Talking
with
actors
What's important to you in
preparing an audition?
Carlos Diaz:
I need the right shoes.
Janet Bailey:
Renee Percy:
Time. Not so much to prepare, but to
panic. I need at least a day to bitch about
how I have no time and then a solid day
to panic about how I haven't prepared
yet. That's how I roll anyway, but maybe
that's just me.
I must feel connected to the text and the
character's circumstances on a personal,
emotional level. I read the lines over and
over again, sometimes just a word or
phrase at a time until they start to resonate with me, becoming solid and alive.
Grab whatever wardrobe, one, maybe
two, pieces of clothing that make you feel
like this person and walk out the door
and into the audition room feeling I
belong here. I am bringing my personal
work to the table for all to see.
Joy Tanner:
I go line by line and decide what my actions
are, what I am doing to the other character to achieve my objective. If I've done a
thorough job preparing, then my nerves
will not get the better of me at the actual
audition. And I always write ‘listen’ at the
top of my audition material to remind me
to, well, listen to the reader! After that,
it's up to the acting gods.
Sean Bell:
I need to identify all the obvious choices
first. My inner bad actor is always lurking
in the shadows ready to pounce. Beat
separation and pace are weaknesses in my
game so I need to be aware of that. Besides
that, I try to shower and avoid fist fights
in the waiting room.
Alex Castillo:
I record the scenes in their entirety
several times into my digital voice
recorder. I set it to a replay loop, then I
pop in my earbuds and go for a run. I listen
a few times then I say all the lines out
loud as I huff and puff through Trinity
Bellwoods. This helps to make the dialogue my own by tying it to a personal,
physical experience.
Carlos Diaz
Joy Tanner
Tom Melissis
Renne Percy
Tom Melissis:
I always start by determining what drives
the character. Then I write a back story
for myself and I tie it into the script so
that by the time I get to the audition the
role is usually fairly rooted in me. I make
sure that I get to the audition early. I
need that time to get over my nerves and
to begin imagining the room I'm about to
walk into as whatever room they specify
in the script. I can't tell you how important it is that I take the time for the room
to become a comfortable safe place for
me. I just can't do that by dashing into an
audition at the last minute.
Janet Bailey
18
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Sean Bell
Alex Castillo
Local Lobbying
How to get government to work for you
by Norm MacAskill
ACTRA Toronto members in 2006, lobbying Queen’s Park about Status of the Artist.
In the last issue of Performers Art Hindle recounted a visit
by some of ACTRA’s most recognized members to Queen’s
Park, where they met with politicians of all parties. Since
reading the article, a number of performers, many of whom
have taken part in demonstrations or letter writing campaigns, have asked about getting involved in this type of
political action and what impact they might have by doing it.
The best and easiest way to get involved in local lobbying on
behalf of ACTRA Toronto is to go directly to your own MP
or MPP in their local constituency office.
Concerned constituents who take the time to discuss the
issues that concern them with a politician are much more
likely to get their point across. For one thing, face to face
meetings have a lasting impact. It provides an opportunity
for dialogue, for questions to be asked and answered. And, it
allows you, the voter, to get to know your representative –
to understand what makes them tick and what buttons you
might press to get them to tick a little louder about the
things that matter to you. The message you deliver will be
remembered and referred to when the time comes to make
decisions.
No one who is elected to political office is an expert on
all issues. In that regard, MPs and MPPs are no different
from anyone else. In fact, they may have little or no knowledge of the countless opinions, facts and positions held by
the various people who elect them. In many respects, elected
officials will welcome the opportunity to understand their
constituents views better. And, if our cause is just, a greater
understanding should lead to more favourable laws.
Secondly, it is important to remember that the primary goal
of any politician is to get re-elected. As a voter, you have
power over your own local representative that complements
and strengthens ACTRA’s work at Queen’s Park or Ottawa.
By taking the message to the local level you make it clear
that our issues affect real people in the community - people
whose votes they rely on.
When you arrange a meeting with your MP or MPP avoid
the temptation to talk about every concern you have.
Understand ACTRA’s public policy objectives, decide what
specific topic you want to address and stick to it. Once
you’ve decided on your topic determine whether it is a
provincial or federal issue. For example, if you want to talk
about employment rights for artists, you should be speaking
to your Member of Provincial Parliament. However, if you
want to talk about the need for more Canadian programming
on television you should meet with your Member of Parliament.
Some points to remember:
Before your meeting, make sure you have a good understanding of your chosen topic and what you want to achieve
from the meeting. Do want support for a particular Bill? Do
you want them to promote an issue with a Minister? Do you
want a letter written on your behalf?
Go as part of a small team if possible. You can go alone but
it’s better if you have one or two others as support.
Meet with your colleagues in advance of the meeting to
review your goals and who will say what during the meeting.
Relax, smile and be comfortable. Don’t be nervous or feel intimidated. Remember that your politician’s job is to serve
you and it’s unlikely they will know more about your issue
than you do.
Don’t forget to contact Norm MacAskill in the ACTRA
Toronto office at nmacaskill@actratoronto.com for
background materials to take with you and for any other information you might need.
Good luck.
Norm MacAskill is an Organizer with
ACTRA Toronto.
Fall
2009
19
FYI — ACTRATorontoCouncilandStaff
ACTRA
Toronto
Council
Who’s Who
PRESIDENT Heather Allin (1,2) hallin@actratoronto.com
PAST PRESIDENT Karl Pruner (1,2) kpruner@actratoronto.com
ACTRA NATIONAL PRESIDENT
Ferne Downey (1,2) fdowney@actra.ca
VICE-PRESIDENT, FINANCE
Austin Schatz (1,2) aschatz@council.actratoronto.com, ext. 6607
VICE-PRESIDENT, INTERNAL AFFAIRS
Theresa Tova (1,2) ttova@actratoronto.com, ext. 6605
VICE-PRESIDENT, EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Art Hindle (1,2) ahindle@council.actratoronto.com
VICE-PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS
Lyn Mason Green (1,2) lmgreen@council.actratoronto.com, ext. 6603
VICE-PRESIDENT, MEMBER SERVICES
David Sparrow (1,2) dsparrow@council.actratoronto.com
EXECUTIVE MEMBER-AT-LARGE
David Gale (1,2) dgale@council.actratoronto.com
Joanna Bennett (1,2) jbennett@council.actratoronto.com
Wendy Crewson (2) wcrewson@council.actratoronto.com
Dom Fiore (1,2) dfiore@council.actratoronto.com
Richard Hardacre (1,2) rhardacre@actra.ca
Karen Ivany (2) kivany@council.actratoronto.com
Taborah Johnson (2) tjohnson@council.actratoronto.com
Don Lamoreux (2) dlamoreux@council.actratoronto.com
Jani Lauzon (1,2) jlauzon@actratoronto.com
Steve Lucescu (2) slucescu@actratoronto.com
Lynn MacKenzie (2) lmackenzie@council.actratoronto.com
David Macniven (2) dmacniven@council.actratoronto.com
John Nelles (1,2) jnelles@council.actratoronto.com
Jack Newman (2) jnewman@council.actratoronto.com
Wayne Robson (2) wrobson@council.actratoronto.com
Stephen Graham Simpson (2) sgsimpson@council.actratoronto.com
Legend 1: - ACTRA National Councillor;
2 - ACTRA Toronto Councillor
Shereen Airth, Apprentice Chair sairth@actratoronto.com, ext. 6621
Chris Gauthier, Additional Background Performer Chair
cgauthier@actratoronto.com
Theresa Tova, Children’s Advocate ttova@actratoronto.com, ext. 6605
Jani Lauzon, Diversity Co-Chair jlauzon@actratoronto.com, ext. 6618
Shelia Boyd, Diversity Co-Chair sboyd@actratoronto.com, ext. 6619
Eric Bryson, Stunt Committee Chair ebryson@actratoronto.com
Shawn Lawrence, Ombudsman slawrence@actratoronto.com, ext. 6604
ACTRA
Toronto Staff
is here for
YOU
ACTRA Toronto
General contact information
Tel: 416-928-2278 or toll free 1-877-913-2278
info@actratoronto.com
www.actratoronto.com
625 Church Street, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2G1
Commercial Agreement Interpretations
Judy Barefoot (Director) Tel: 416-642-6705
Kelly Davis (Steward) Tel: 416-642-6707
Cathy Wendt (Steward) Tel: 416-642-6714
Commercial Audition Callback Inquires
Claudette Allen Tel: 416-642-6713
Commercial Cheque Inquiries
Tammy Boyer (Examiner) Tel: 416-642-6739
Lyn Franklin (Examiner) Tel: 416-642-6730
Brenda Smith (Examiner) Tel: 416-642-6729
Commercial Payment Inquiries
Tereza Olivero (Coordinator) Tel: 416-642-6731
Laura McKelvey (Coordinator) Tel: 416-642-6728
Communications and Organizing
Dan Mackenzie (Director) Tel: 416-644-1506
Chris Faulkner (Public Relations Officer) Tel: 416-642-6710
Janesse Leung (Public Relations Officer) Tel: 416-642-6747
Norm MacAskill (Organizer) Tel: 416-642-6711
Finance and Administration
Karen Ritson (Director) Tel: 416-642-6722
Independent Production Agreement (IPA), CBC TV & Radio,
CTV, City-TV, Global and TVO Agreements
Eda Zimler (Director) Tel: 416-642-6717
Indra Escobar (Senior Advisor) Tel: 416-642-6702
Barbara Larose (Steward: IPA, Canadian Film Centre, Co-op,
Student Films) Tel: 416-642-6712
Noreen Murphy (Steward: IPA, Animation, Dubbing, Digital Media)
Tel: 416-642-6708
Cindy Ramjattan (Steward: IPA, Audio Code, Documentaries, Industrials,
Reality TV, TIP) Tel: 416-642-6746
Richard Todd (Steward: IPA, CBC, Global, NFB, TVO, Digital Media)
Tel: 416-642-6716
Karen Woolridge (Steward: IPA, City-TV, CTV, VISION)
Tel: 416-642-6709
Toronto Indie Production
Tasso Lakas (TIP Coordinator) Tel: 416-642-6733
Member Training Intensive & Gordon Pinsent Studio Bookings
Stephanie Stevenson (Administrative Assistant) Tel: 416-642-6735
Membership Department Dues & Permit Payments
Contact: Membership Department Tel: 416-928-2278
Dan Mackenzie (Director)
20
AC T R A TO R O N TO
1.
2.
2009
Labour Day Parade
3.
Decked out in red and white, ACTRA Toronto members took
to the streets to celebrate Labour Day and spread the word;
more Canada on T.V.!
Special thanks to Cappel’s Cargo Bikes for providing ACTRA Toronto with the transportation
that allowed us to carry refreshments for all our thirsty marchers.
4.
1. Cheerfully preparing to march in the parade. Photo: Chris Faulkner
2. Some of the many smiles found in abundance at the 2009 Labour Day parade. Photo: Chris Faulkner
3. ACTRA National president, Ferne Downey, ACTRA Toronto president,
Heather Allin and ACTRA Toronto Vice-President of Finance, Austin Schatz. Photo: Carol Taverner
4. Getting the message across, Canadian television needs Canadian stories. Photo: Chris Faulkner
5. ACTRA Toronto members gather for a group photo before disappearing into the CNE. Photo: Chris Faulkner
6. Leading the way, friends and family join ACTRA Toronto in the march. Photo: Chris Faulkner
6.
5.
21
You’ve played to an
audience of hundreds.
Now play to an
audience of millions.
Commercial voice-over work is a great way to make
ends
meet
in-between
gigs.
With
professional
instruction and one-on-one training from Pirate Voice
director/instructor and top voice actor Tracey Hoyt,
that’s just what you’ll do. And if you’re ready to make
your first voice reel or refresh your current one, Tracey
can help you with that, too. To learn more, visit
piratevoice
http://www.piratevoice.com/ or call 416-594-3784.
John
Andrew
Robinson
Mortgage Agent
ACTRA Member since 1985
Because
a Home
is all about
FAMILY.
416-835-1754
jarobinson@mortgageedge.ca
22
AC T R A TO R O N TO
lic.#10680
“It takes a lot of courage to grow up and be who you really are.”
– e. e. cummings
Making sense of second chances
by Chris Owens
Photo courtesy of the CBC
24
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Wouldn't it be great if life had mulligans and do-overs?
If we could go back in time, pinpoint a moment and
see what might've happened if we'd chosen a different
path? How many times have you kicked yourself for
making the wrong choice because you didn't trust your
instincts or believe in your own abilities?
In Being Erica, an hour long comedy-drama which debuted
last year on the CBC, Erica Strange, played by Erin
Karpluk, is a 30-something woman who begins seeing a
therapist, Michael Riley as Dr. Tom, to deal with some of
the regrets in her life. To her surprise Erica discovers her
doctor has the ability to send her back in time to alter those
troubling events.
Now in its second season Being Erica has a steadily growing
fan base, made up of a surprisingly diverse cross-section of
viewers. It has already been picked up for syndication in the
Netherlands, England, Australia and the United States. The
show boasts a strong Canadian cast and has Toronto standing in for...Toronto. Who knew?
Vinessa Antoine plays Judith Winters, Erica's best friend
and confidante. “Judith is Erica's rock,” says Vinessa. “They
met in high-school and they've been best friends ever since.”
Born in Toronto, Vinessa spent most of her childhood in
Scarborough and Pickering, before heading to British
Columbia for a stint on the west coast. A dancer throughout
her teens, Vinessa began studying ballet at the age of four.
To pursue her dream of becoming a professional dancer she
uprooted herself and moved back east, summoning her
courage for a date with New York. “I auditioned for the Alvin
Aliey American dance theatre. A great, great company. A
great school. I went there at the age of 18 with no family, no
friends and just went for it. I was there four years.”
As much as she loved to dance, Vinessa felt she needed another means of expressing herself, so she turned to acting.
After appearances Off-Broadway, she moved to the west
coast to try her luck in Los Angeles. “I wasn’t quite ready,''
she says with a laugh. “But I stayed for two or three years.”
Right now she's happy to be in Toronto. “I’m really proud of
being Canadian and I'm proud of new Canadian work. We
showcase Toronto, so I love that.”
Film and television veteran John Boylan plays Gary
Strange, Erica's father. Gary was once a hippie and a marijuana enthusiast and now is a divorced rabbi. For John the
beauty of Being Erica is how he and his fellow cast members
embraced the idea of creating a family. “It was an example
for me of when actors work best. There was a kind of respect, an understanding. We did it without saying anything
and I just thought that was absolutely brilliant.”
Though he attended the National Theatre School John feels
more suited to the demands of film and television. “I get
bored easily,” he laughs. “So the more you throw at me the
happier I am. I like the challenge.” He also likes the idea of
ensemble work. “I’ve always liked working in collectives. I
worked in construction, I worked on fishing boats and tug
boats in BC, I worked in the theatre...there’s always been a
crew. I like that.”
John has been an acting coach for over fifteen years. He has
taught at Ryerson and York University, given workshops in
New York and Dublin and he taught the first ever oncamera course at the Yale School of Drama. To help meet
the needs of developing artists in this city, for a space they
can call their own, John also founded The Centre for the
Arts. “My work is always geared to the audition room, how
to translate this work across the street to the real world. You
have to. I think we all agree it’s the toughest part of the
whole deal.”
Michael Riley plays Dr. Tom, Erica's inscrutable therapist.
He pops up unannounced in any number of disguises and
transports Erica to different times in her life, where she has
the opportunity to confront her past. He also has a penchant
for uttering famous quotations to illustrate his point, quite
often to Erica's chagrin. Michael is one of the most celebrated actors in Canada. He is a graduate of the National
Theatre school and the winner of five Gemini Awards, not to
mention a handful of Genie and Dora Award nominations.
Michael says he prefers to approach his work “by going to
the part instead of bringing the part into your comfort zone.
For me,” he adds, “the most exciting part of the process is
turning the first page of that script and having no idea, no
preconceived notion about who that person is.”
The element of detective work is what Michael enjoys when
he embarks on a part. Often this includes taking a field trip
as the character. “Our fear as actors is that somehow we’ll be
found out. So one of the litmus tests that I put out for myself, many years ago, was seeing if I could pass as that guy
somewhere in public, like in a bar. I've done that on a
number of occasions especially if the character is a conglomeration of things that are far away from me. People’s
reactions to us can tell us more about ourselves than we ourselves might know.”
Michael has done extensive series work including two
seasons of Powerplay and three seasons of This Is Wonderland.
How does he manage to keep his work fresh? “I've been
really lucky to be in situations where the material itself is
enough to keep me getting up in the morning,” he says. “'I
lived in LA and definitely without question the best things I
did, the most satisfying artistically satiating things that I did
during those eight years, were the things I came back and
did here.”
In Being Erica, CBC has found a winning formula – a
Canadian show with wide appeal and a solid cast. This is a
show that believes in itself. In terms of mental health, even
Dr. Tom would agree.
Fall
2009
25
[L-R] Kathleen Laskey as Barbara Strange,
John Boylan as Gary Strange
and Erin Karpluk
Photo courtesy of the CBC
Vinesa Antoine plays Judith,
one of Erica’s best friends.
Photo courtesy of the CBC
Michael Riley as Erica’s therapist, Dr. Tom.
Photo courtesy of the CBC
26
AC T R A TO R O N TO
BLOGGING
ERICA
Erin Karpluk was born in Jasper, Alberta and received a Bachelor
of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria. She earned a Gemini
nomination for her work on the series, Godiva's. Erin answered some
questions, via email, while on a break from filming season two of
Being Erica.
CO: Part of the theme of Being Erica is finding the courage to be yourself
and express who you are. What sort of things inspire you to express yourself?
EK: I am inspired by the people in my life and count myself very
lucky to have such amazing friends, family and peers. I'm inspired
by my hometown, Jasper National Park, and make a point of coming
home throughout the year to clear my head and recharge the
batteries. I’m drawn to acting because I am allowed to be anything
I want to be, outside of who I am day to day, and because everyday
it’s different. I will never have it ‘right,’ it’s not a science. It keeps
me present, taking risks and challenging myself. Plus there’s the family
that you gain with cast and crew working long hours, and the shared
experiences project to project.
CO: What kind of acting preparation works best for you?
EK: Some actors can fly by the seat of their pants and they are amazing
and that works best for them. I over-prepare, read and re-read the
script, make notes, make an outline, then organize the scenes and
dates we shoot them to keep the emotional trajectory of the
character and story in check for when we shoot out of order. I invest
more in sticky notes and highlighters than lipstick and hairspray, and
that is saying a lot! It is only after doing an abundance of prep that I
can confidently go on set, only to throw it all away and allow myself
to be present for unexpected surprises. I love how different the
scenes end up being from how I envisioned. If it goes exactly according
to plan I’m in trouble!
CO: Do you enjoy working in Toronto?
EK: I love Toronto and I am lucky to explore the city for the first
time through this show. We shoot at spectacular locations, Centre
Island, Royal York, University of Toronto, Chinatown, Lake Simcoe,
Casa Loma. My favourite is when they plunk us on Front street
during lunch hour, strap the cameras to skyscrapers and just hope
for the best as we weave in and out of pedestrians. Toronto plays itself in
our show and is far more sexy than Erica at times. The crew and cast
are phenomenal, everyone should get the chance to work opposite
Michael Riley. He is wonderful. I can now say from experience
both Toronto and Vancouver represent Canadian film and television
on par with any other country in the world.
CO: How do you balance the workload of playing the lead in a series with
your daily life?
EK: I made a pact with myself to try and have a life during the
second season. Somehow the weekends still remain occupied with
laundry, calling the folks, doing prep for the next episode and exercise.
No complaints though. I managed a few dinners and saw a Blue Jays
game. I love working and count myself very lucky to be right now.
Chris Owens is the editor of Performers Magazine. He just finished work
on Maurey Loeffler's TIP film Pooka. He looks forward to the hockey
season with Sgt. Rock.
Erin Karpluck is Erica Strange
Photo courtesy of the CBC
Fall
2009
27
Membe
2008 – 2009 audited financial statements now available online
Another balanced budget! On the income side steady domestic film and television production
and a solid level of commercial production kept us afloat. We were able to control expenses
and finish the year with a very small operating deficit of only $2,798.
Income from dues, permit fees, and administration fees remained at essentially the same level as
2007/08. Investment income was significantly higher at $1,181,868, compared to $679,482 in
2007/08. This increase is due to the fact that we were able to recognize $155,721 in capital gains
as well as benefit from a loan arrangement that netted us just over $300,000 for the year. Our total
branch expenses were $5,309,452 in 2008/09 compared to $5,133,803 in 2007/08. This year
transfers to ACTRA National decreased to $2,003,213 from $2,010,067 in the prior year.
We are now required to adjust our investments to market value at year end. As a result unrealized
paper losses, resulting from a falling market, show up as a write-down of $1,292,330, bringing our
total net loss to $1,295,128. Of course, as the market recovers, the same accounting practice will
mean that equally irrelevant unrealized paper gains will show up on the revenue side. Remember:
Subtract the paper loss of $1,292,330 from the reported total net loss to find our operating loss of
$2,798.
Please visit www.actratoronto.com to view ACTRA Toronto's Auditors Report and the
Audited Financial Statements for fiscal year ending February 28, 2009. Should you have any questions or would like further information about our financials please contact Austin Schatz,
ACTRA Toronto’s VP Finance, at aschatz@council.actratoronto.com.
ACTRA TakeItPublic committee launches video campaign
Taking a cue from other successful viral campaigns, ACTRA is launching a video campaign of its
own in support of Canadian arts and culture. ACTRA members are encouraged to create a video,
no more than five minutes in length, which makes us laugh, makes us cry and makes us care about
our culture. When you’re done, submit your finished product to ACTRA and if your video
is selected it may even be featured on our YouTube channel. Regrettably, in recent years, Canadian
culture has come under attack from a number of different parties. Prime Minister Harper
believes that culture isn’t appreciated by ordinary Canadians and that artists spend all their time
attending galas. And our own broadcasters are ignoring Canadian culture as well, spending almost
14 times as much on American programming in 2008 as they did on Canadian content during that
same time period. It’s time for them to get with the program. For more information,
and inspiration, on how to produce a video for this campaign please visit
www.actra.ca/actra/control/feature25 or email takeitpublic@actra.ca.
Sarah Polley receives honourary Doctorate of Laws
Actor, filmmaker, ACTRA Toronto Award of Excellence winner and now…lawyer? In early June
Trent university bestowed Canadian star Sarah Polley with an honourary Doctor of Laws. Sarah
received the doctorate during Trent’s 42nd convocation ceremony. Having appeared in over 50
films and television series over the course of her career Sarah made one of her biggest splashes as
the feisty Sara Stanley in the popular Canadian series, Road toAvonlea. Recently, Sarah was nominated for
an Academy Award in the category of Best Adapted Screenplay for her 2006 directorial debut,
Away From Her. Some of Sarah’s recent work includes Mr. Nobody, due out in theatres later this year.
Sarah Polley getting ready to accept her honorary doctorate of laws.
Photo courtesy of Sun Media Corporation
28
AC T R A TO R O N TO
rs’ News
ACTRA Toronto Council elections – vote now!
Don’t forget to cast your ballot in the 2010 ACTRA Toronto Council elections. Every two years
ACTRA Toronto holds elections for the ACTRA Toronto Council and the ACTRA Toronto
Stuntpersons Committee. Elections for the 2010 – 2011 council are now underway. The 24 ACTRA
Toronto Councillors serve as the elected representatives of our 15,000 members for a two year
term and provide steering decisions to guide ACTRA Toronto’s staff. As a member in good standing you have a role to play in your union by taking an active part in choosing your next council,
so please be sure to cast your ballot. By now all full members should have received their ballots
in the mail along with statements from the prospective nominees. Ballots must be returned by November 9, 2009 to be eligible.
ACTRA Toronto’s 2005-2007 council. Photo: Jag Gundu
The Actors’ Fund of Canada teams up with Cover FX
Make up line, Cover FX, is donating a portion of proceeds from the Canadian sales of its new
product SkinPrep FX to The Actors’ Fund of Canada. The collaboration between the two organizations was orchestrated by Donald Mowat, an award winning Hollywood makeup artist.
“Cover FX’s support of the Actors’ Fund will make an immediate difference in the lives of entertainment members across Canada who have been sidelined by illness, injury or other misfortune
and who have no other resources to fall back on,” said David Hope, Executive Director, The
Actors’ Fund of Canada. “It may seem glamorous, but the entertainment industry can be a tough
way to make a living.” Cover FX has also created a Facebook fan page where members can learn
more about the Fund and read about the latest events regarding this collaboration. The Actors'
Fund of Canada is a registered charity and the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. For
more information on The Actors’ Fund of Canada visit www.actorsfund.ca.
Ubisoft to create video game studio in Toronto
Video game giant, Ubisoft Entertainment, is setting up shop in Toronto with ambitious plans to
build a new video game studio in the city. The company’s intentions were made public in early July
in a joint press conference between Ubisoft and the government of Ontario. The province will invest over $260 million dollars in the studio over the next ten years, creating more than 800 jobs
in the process. Ubisoft Montreal CEO, Yannis Mallat, outlined the keys to success for the new
Toronto studio as the support of the local government, the region’s deep pool of gaming and film
industry talent, the worldwide support network of Ubisoft’s other gaming studios and Toronto's
thriving cultural scene. The new studio joins Ubisoft's two previous Canadian studios, both
situated in Quebec.
Green Screen Toronto rolls out onset pilot project
Green Screen Toronto will soon have a direct impact on film and television production in the
city. Established to provide environmental stewardship to the local film and television industry
Green Screen Toronto consists of organizations representing all aspects of the industry. Over the
past couple of years these industry partners, under the umbrella of Green Screen Toronto, have
developed a Green Practices Manual and a Green Resource Guide. This fall Green Screen Toronto
will take their research to the next stage by initiating a pilot project to put these practices
and resources to use.
Productions are invited to participate in the pilot project, which will provide them with the services of an environmental consultant. Working with the production, the consultant will design and
deliver such services as mentoring, training, data collection and analysis, all aimed to minimize the
production’s environmental impact. For more information on Green Screen Toronto including
the Green Practices Manual and the Resource Guide go to www.greenscreentoronto.com.
Welcome new members!
Lara Arabian
Michael Bien
Ryan M. Boyko
Matthew Cassils
Eric Coles
Coral Fraser
Zoe Fraser
Hayley Gene
Jake Goodman
Chris Hanratty
Jesse Kavander
Matthew Lancaster
Julia Lefebvre
Jen Maclennan
Byron Mann
Jesse Martyn
Megan Moniz
Akia Munga
Radek Nevrlka
Gina Pomone
Latoya Robinson
Brendan Rowland
George Sekanina
Stephen Sheffer
Lisette St. Louis
Nicole St. Martin
Ivan Stefanac
Frank Tan
Donovan Watson
Brian White
Bradley Yip
Jenn E Young
Fall
2009
29
In Memoriam
We share our sadness at the passing of our beloved colleagues
David Cole • Barbara Franklin
Carl Harvey
1951 – 2009
Carl and I were classmates in ACM
Creative Arts at Seneca College
until graduation in 1974. His personality, creativity and friendship,
together with that big smile, made
those wonderful creative years pass
quickly. He was original, flamboyant, always expressing a well calculated sense of humour. Most
important, he would help and back
his friends in any project.
Carl later obtained his degree from
York University’s Fine Arts Film
program and moved into film and television production. The talented
ACTRA member then branched
into acting, voice work, writing
and comedy production where he
was sometimes credited as Hogan
Montanna.
Carl left us suddenly this past
spring and is sorely missed. He is
survived by his beautiful wife Liz and
three talented, amazing children
Sean, Joel, Emma and sister Mary;
together with a past and present
multitude of grateful friends and
colleagues. He also left us ‘strong
work.’
Bill Chambers
30
AC T R A TO R O N TO
Sylvia Lennick
1915 – 2009
Sylvia Lennick graced Canadian
radio, stage and television for more
than half a century. On the professional stage, Sylvia performed in
Toronto, Stratford and New York.
She was part of The Theatre of Action in the 1930s where she met her
long time husband Ben. They went
on to help form other stage companies including the Belmont
Theatre Productions.
Sylvia performed extensively in
radio including The Wayne and Shuster Show. The show eventually blossomed into several television
comedy shows. One skit ‘Rinse The
Blood Off My Toga’ led to her famous performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1958. As the bereaved
widow, Calpurnia, she delivered the
unforgettable line “I told him, Julie
don’t go”. It brought down the
house and Sylvia was immortalized.
She was a regular on the television
series The Adventures of Tugboat
Annie, Cannonball and The Trouble
With Tracy.
Sylvia and Ben served on the
ACTRA Toronto and ACTRA National councils. They also established the Ben Lennick Archives
and, after Ben’s passing, she teamed
with Myra Fooden to video tape
nearly 300ACTRAmembers living in
Canada and the USA. Sylvia’s contribution to the arts and ACTRA
will be remembered by many as she
leaves behind a community of
friends.
Austin Schatz
Henry Ramer
1923 – 2009
Jan Rubes
1920 – 2008
Henry leaves his long-time partner,
Valeries Iles.
Left to treasure many extraordinary adventures and wonderful
memories are Susan, his adored
wife of almost 60 years; sons
Jonathan (Judith) and Tony
(Brenda) and grandsons Morgan,
Colin and Jasan. Predeceased by son
Christopher in 1996 and brother
Miroslav. Fondly remembered by extended family members and many
lifelong friends in theatrical, musical and sporting circles.
Canadian audiences may be more
familiar with the voice of Henry
Ramer, rather than his face. Henry,
a Romanian immigrant, was sometimes referred to as ‘the Voice of
Canadian broadcasting.’ He crafted
a long-lived career in broadcasting,
film and theatre. Frequently heard
on CBC radio, Henry was the voice
of Luther Kranst, host of the late
night series, Nightfall, which broadcast science fiction, mystery and
horror stories. Besides his work at
the CBC, Henry earned a comfortable living doing voiceovers in a
number of commercials. He also
worked alongside many famous actors, including Orson Welles and
Christopher Plummer. In 1974
Henry garnered an ACTRA Award
nomination for his role as Dingleman
in The Apprenticeship of Duddy
Kravitz.
With great sadness, the family announces the peaceful passing of
their beloved Jan on June 29th,
2009, at age 89. He emigrated to
Canada in 1948 from his native
Czechoslovakia. An acclaimed operatic basso with the Canadian
Opera Company, whose singing career spanned over 20 years, he went
on to enjoy considerable success in
theatre, television and films, continuing to perform into his mideighties.
Please join us for a celebration of the
life of Jan Rubes at the Lorraine Kimsa
Theatre for Young People, formerly
the Young People’s Theatre, 165 Front
Street East, Toronto on Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 4:30 pm.
The Digital Self Promotion
Registry is live!
Do you have a short self promotional video
that you’d like put online?
Registering your project with ACTRA will help to protect your
rights, by providing you with a dated registry number as
evidence of your ownership over your material. You can
promote your skills online while remaining in good standing with
your union. And the risk of having your material stolen or
misused, without compensation or recourse,
is significantly reduced.
For more information, or to register your self promotional
piece, visit
www.dsp.actra.ca today.
The wait is over.
Step up to a new financial institution
Creative Arts Savings and Credit Union is officially open for business.
Signup and join today to access a full line of services and products from a financial institution that was created
just for you. At Creative Arts, we understand the entertainment business, and the professionals who work in it.
Joining is easy. Just go to www.creativeartscu.com and apply for membership now.
The wait is over. Join Creative Arts today!
416.642.6749 • Toll free: 877.643.3660
Get on the
bus with
ACTRA
Toronto
Tired of seeing your TV schedule filled with
American programming?
Tired of cable companies passing the cost of
their obligations on to you?
Canadian stories are disappearing from our
television screens as our own broadcasters
spend nearly ten times more on American
programming than they do on Canadian
content.
Join ACTRA Toronto later this year, in a
demonstration in support of Canadian content, as we take the fight for more Canadian
drama to our nation’s capital.
Get ready to board the bus and tell the CRTC
its time to get with the program. It’s time to put
more Canada on Canadian TV.
Visit www.actratoronto.com/political/canadianstories.html to register your attendance at
the demonstration and for more information
about the event as it becomes available.
ACTRA Toronto Performers
625 Church Street, 2nd floor
Toronto,ON
M4Y 2G1
Printed in Canada
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P ublication Mail A gr eem ent N o.
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