Minerva Community
Theater Organizatinal Charter
(Full Charter)
The Minerva Community Theater
17 April 2006
NAME
The name of this organization shall be
the Minerva Community Theatre.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Minerva Community Theater is
to provide an outlet to community members of all
ages to express, visualize and broaden the access
to the many forms of art either by performance,
participation or by viewing the events. To invigorate
the community by having artistic activities that
broadens the access to the art experiences in our
community and surrounding areas.
MEMBERSHIP and PARTICIPATION
Membership in the Minerva Community Theater can
be of two forms. Any individual who participates
in any Minerva Community Theater production will
be considered a “participating member”
of the organization for that year. Participating
members can attend organization meetings. Any individual
that pays the membership dues of $25 will be considered
a voting member. Only voting members of the Minerva
Community Theater may run for offices and vote in
elections.
ADMINISTRATION
The Minerva Community Theater is administered by
a steering committee. The steering committee consists
of all the officers of the organization and any
other interested members. Assistantships may also
be added to the offices to relieve overextended
duties. All members may vote on issues before the
steering committee and any member may contribute
to discussion and bring up issues before the committee.
The duties of the steering committee include: evaluation
and approval of production proposals, budget allocations
to productions, and administration of all productions.
Except where this Charter states otherwise, all
meetings of the steering committee shall be run
by Parliamentary procedure. The steering committee
may amend this Charter by a two-thirds vote of all
officers.
President. The President is responsible
for the administration of the entire organization
and all of its activities. Duties include running
all steering committee meetings and performing all
central administrative duties. With the treasurer,
the general manager establishes an annual budget
for the organization.
Treasurer. Duties include applying
for funding, necessary fundraising and collecting
receipts during productions for subsequent reimbursement.
With the President, the treasurer establishes an
annual budget for the organization. The treasurer
works with the production team in finalizing a complete
itemized budget for each production. The treasurer
also advises the steering committee and production
team of budget considerations when establishing
the budgets of individual productions. The treasurer
is responsible for all receipts and moneys for the
organization.
Artistic Director (AD). The artistic
director oversees the artistic aspects of each production/event
and keeps an eye out for problems, keeping shows
running smoothly. Serving in an advisory position
when issues or problems arise; and acting as liaison
between the production team and the steering committee.
The Artistic Director in coordination with the board
is responsible for the locating of interesting performances/events
for the Minerva Community Theater. The AD is also
responsible for working with the board in applying
for grants and funding.
Technical Coordinator (TD). The
technical coordinator (also known as technical director
or TD) oversees the technical aspects of each production
and keeps things running smoothly. The TD evaluates
other interested individuals in order to delegate
the technical aspects of each production appropriately.
Duties may include finding (or assist in finding)
a technical director, set designer, set construction
manager, lighting designer, sound designer, light-board
operator, sound-board operator, and surplus techies
for each production. The TD trains all interested
techies in the proper use of equipment. The TD also
contacts Environmental Health and Safety to schedule
the fire-inspection appointment required of every
production.
Publicity Manager (PM). The publicity
manager advertises every event; this includes workshops
as well as productions. Scheduled times/locations
are sent to the PM from the production team. Production
duties include advertising auditions, callbacks,
and performances.
Secretary. The secretary takes
minutes at organization meetings and sends them
to the organization listserv, sends periodic Newsletters
to the general organization listserv, and insures
that the organization is run according to the policies
of this Charter. They are responsible for the updating
of the Minerva Community Theater website.
ELECTIONS
Officers are elected annually to serve from March
to March. Any voting member of the Minerva Community
Theater may run for an office and/or may vote for
candidates. A voting member desiring to run for
an office may announce her/his intentions in advance,
or may nominate him/herself at the elections. Before
they are nominated, each candidate shall receive
a written copy of the officer duties outlined in
Section IV above.
Each candidate shall give a brief presentation
of her/his goals and qualifications; this will be
followed by a brief question and answer period.
When all candidates for an office have presented
themselves, a secret ballot will be held. Votes
should be tallied immediately and the result announced.
If an unsuccessful candidate desires to run for
another office, s/he may then nominate him/herself
for that office.
The officers shall be elected in the order that
they are described in Section IV of this Charter.
PROPOSAL AND PRODUCTION
Anyone may apply to direct a play, musical, or other
performances. Applications to produce using the
name and resources of the Minerva Community Theater
must be submitted in a timely matter at a date determined
by the steering committee. The application should
include the following in the order given:
Director. The director's qualifications and specific
self-determined duties must be listed. If an assistant
director is involved, her/his qualifications and
duties must also be listed. The director may be
considered as the person whose ideas will structure
the production and who has the final say in artistic
decisions. Directors who are also officers may not
participate in the evaluations of their own proposals.
Synopsis. This must include a general overview
of the production concept, plot, setting, cast size,
and all characters.
Budget. The itemized budget should be as detailed
as possible to ensure sufficient grant funding.
This includes costs for properties, scripts/scores,
copyrights, costumes and makeup, set materials (include
a set design if possible), publicity, and any technical
requirements beyond standard theater fare.
Timeline. An anticipated schedule of audition,
rehearsal, and performance dates should be provided.
Applicants may also submit preferred locations for
each of these events.
Crew. Any additional predetermined crew and their
qualifications and duties must also be listed. This
may include a stage manager, technical director,
set designer, set construction manager, lighting
designer, sound designer, light-board operator,
sound-board operator, stage crew, and surplus techies.
Script/Score. A copy of the full script must be
provided.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Once a production team has been approved by the
steering committee, they take on the responsibilities
of booking times/locations for and holding auditions
and callbacks, casting the production, developing
and implementing scenic design, and performing.
The production team is expected to carry out their
duties to the steering committee roughly in this
order:
• Work with the AD to finalize logistic/artistic
aspects for the budget
• Work with the TD to finalize technical
aspects for the budget
• Send the finalized budget to the treasurer
• Send the schedule of auditions to the PM
• If applicable, work with the AD to find
a stage manager and stage crew
• If applicable, work with the TD to find
a technical director, set designer, set construction
manager, lighting designer, sound designer, light-board
operator, sound-board operator, and surplus techies
• If applicable, work with the TD to acquire
building tools/materials; create the scene!
• Send the times/locations of performances
to the PM
• Send production receipts to the treasurer
for reimbursement
Once a budget and production dates have been jointly
determined by the production team and the steering
committee, the production team will be expected
to produce within these boundaries. The production
team has full responsibility for achieving their
proposed goals. The steering committee will take
any necessary corrective action if it feels it has
adequate cause, but normally plays only an advisory
role in daily production activities.
