Houston-Galveston Members Meet

The annual membership meeting for the Houston area was held on February 11, 2013 at Main Street Theatre's Chelsea Market location in Houston. New liaison chair, Joel Sandel, and fellow committee members Debs Ramser, David Grant, Carolyn Johnson, Susan Shofner and Luisa Amaral-Smith took advantage of the event to informally kick off AEA's 100 anniversary and had a few appropriately themed items on the check-in and refreshment tables. Michael Van Duzer and Albert Geana-Bastare, from Equity's LA office, were special guests. A handful of Equity Membership Candidates attended the reception and it was noted that an event specifically for the EMCs needs to be organized, hopefully, in the fall.

The meeting began with the selection of the liaison committee. Robert Nelson volunteered to come aboard and was unanimously affirmed (the remainder of the committee is unchanged from last year). Several topics were discussed: first and foremost was the new Members Project Code agreement. Ron Jones, a former committee member, announced his intention to be the first person in the area to utilize the MPC in a "member generated" production of Tennessee Williams' THE MILK TRAIN DOESN'T STOP HERE ANYMORE. Mr. Geana-Bastare reported a very healthy uptick in the number of contracts issued for Houston during the 2012 calendar year (20 theatres hired union actors!). He also encouraged the membership to urge non-Equity theatres to contact him if they're interested in using an Equity member. He said he would walk the producers through the process and show them how easy it actually is to hire professionals. Mr. Van Duzer then reported on a few national items and said that Equity will be celebrating its one hundredth anniversary in May, and each liaison city will be encouraged to mark this milestone in some manner. He also spoke about the "soon to be" new offices for AEA in Los Angeles.

Mr. Sandel thanked Luisa Amaral-Smith, the liaison chair for whom he took over, for her tireless work on behalf of the Houston area saying she set a standard that will be impossible to match.

At the conclusion of the meeting, there was a drawing for theatre tickets generously donated by Theater Under the Stars, Stark Naked Theatre, Unity Theatre and the University of Houston School of Theater. Afterwards, members returned to the lobby for more socializing and snacking. All in all, "it was a very successful, informative and encouraging event that was enjoyed by all who attended," reports Mr. Sandel.