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Denver Membership Meeting

Members Discuss Ways to Increase Employment; Select Liaison Committee

Twenty-six local Equity members were in attendance when Chair Jamie Horton opened the annual meeting of the Denver membership on Saturday, January 21, 2006. In his opening remarks, Horton outlined the job of the Liaison Committee, which, he said, includes serving as "a conduit of information to the LA office" and assisting in generating new work opportunities. Mr. Horton had recently attended a meeting of Liaison Committee chairs from all over the country and noted that while some regions are highly proactive and others not so, Denver is "somewhere in the middle." He expressed the hope for his area becoming more proactive. He commended Western Regional Director John Holly and the LA office for coming through when contacted by the Denver members.

Mr. Holly then discussed initiatives other Liaison Committees have employed to generate work, including using "goodwill ambassadors" to local theatres and a mini-Players' Guide, containing the pictures and resumes of all local AEA members. These Guides would then be distributed to the Artistic Directors of all theatres in the area.

Liaison Committee
Three Liaison Committee members were re-selected for a three-year term: Kathy Kautz, Tom Sheridan and Mark Rubald. Lindsey Hanahan was chosen to serve out an open two-year term slot on the Committee. Five members volunteered to fill the one available one-year alternate slot, so in the spirit of inclusion, it was decided that these five people would form a subcommittee. Serving one-year terms, the new Action Subcommittee is comprised of Jennifer Rowe, Bruce Monette, Ron Fraid, Drew Frady and Marta Burton.

Getting Hired
During the Open Discussion Period at the end of the meeting, members discussed the need for an easy way to explain to a producer of a small theatre how to hire them. Mr. Holly said that in the past the Western Office has developed a concise "how to cast me" booklet that has been distributed to producers, covering the Guest Artist, Special Appearance, SPT and Periodic Performance Agreements. The producers then call Julie Eisenbeiss in the LA office, (323) 634-1750, ext. 320, to discuss the details. There was strong support for developing such a book in the Denver region that actors could hand to producers with their pictures and resumes. The Liaison Committee, in consultation with staff, will address that.

Mr. Holly spoke about the accessibility of the website, encouraged everyone to register in the "Members Only" section, and talked about the future website features that will include the ability to change contact information and pay dues online.

Denver Membership Meeting

Front row: Lindsey Hanahan

2nd row: Marcus Waterman, Jan Waterman, Kathy Kautz, Claudia Carson, Drew Frady

3rd row: Catherine di Bella, Penny Dwyer, Randy St. Pierre, Heather Fortin Rubald, Jennifer Rowe, Marta Burton

4th row: Jamie Horton, Anne Oberbroeckling, Bruce Monette, Michael Cobb, Tom Sheridan, Jonathan Farwell, Robert M. Reid

5th row: Rod Fraid, Mark Rubald, Steve Grojahn, Lowell Noel, RJ Pettet