Central Alberta Theatre Membership

Mini-History of CAT

CAT is a non-profit society in Alberta that is governed by the Societies’ Act, member-approved bylaws, a set of written, Board-approved policies and procedures, and a member-elected Board of Directors.  It was formed in 1970 to be a community theatre organization.  CAT was warmly received by the citizens of Red Deer and district and performed mostly musicals in various locations including the Memorial Centre and Red Deer College.

In 1994 CAT assumed operation of the Memorial Centre from the City of Red Deer.  Originally part of the A-20 Training Camp during WWII, what we now know as the Memorial Centre was the camp’s drill hall.  It was converted into an auditorium in 1951.  At that time the hall was given its current name and renovated to include a memorial wall in the lobby as a tribute to people from Red Deer and district who lost their lives in World Wars I and II.

CAT Studios

The CAT Studios addition was completed in 2002 and consists of an office area, a small performance space with fully licensed concession called the Studio Theatre, rehearsal spaces, workshops, costumes and props storage areas, an elevator, a Member Lounge with kitchen, plus other areas.

Memorial Centre

The Memorial Centre auditorium hosts concerts, dance recitals, comedians, theatre, and other public events.  Its auditorium is the largest soft seat performing arts facility in the City.  It houses 700 seats including 8 permanent wheelchair spaces.  It has full theatrical lighting and sound equipment, and recently renovated dressing rooms.  The upper lobby has a Box Office and an administration office; the lower lobby has a fully licensed concession and two main washrooms.  The lower lobby also has a passage connection to CAT Studios and their facilities.

 As a volunteer, you’re also a member of CAT

Membership is free! Volunteers at CAT become members of the not-for-profit Central Alberta Theatre Society, a registered charity in Alberta.  Membership is renewed every fiscal year (starts July 1) except for Lifetime Members voted so by the Board.  

Membership is free!  Membership is defined by the completion, signing and submission of a current annual Membership Form. This form will be provided to you by the Artistic Producer or Front of House Manager, as applicable.  You’ll need to fill it out, sign off on it and submit it. As a not-for-profit Society, CAT has an Annual General Meeting in September at which the current budget is presented for member approval, the financial statements of the previous year are presented, and the board elections are held.  Members 18+ vote at this meeting.  CAT’s certified Bylaws, found in Shared Folder #2, contain other details of membership plus the foundational legal prescriptions to which we abide. 

Confidentiality

All employees and volunteers of Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) are required to adhere to confidentiality procedures;

* Volunteers shall not discuss confidential issues of CAT with people outside of CAT

* When completing and signing the annual Membership Form, volunteers agree that the information on the form can be

used solely for the purpose of CAT volunteer assignments, contact lists, scheduling, recognition and conflict resolution 

* If an individual fails to safeguard, releases without appropriate authority or uses information/assets for unauthorized

purposes, such action may constitute a contravention of the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act or other Acts of Parliament.

* Any attempt to breach or an actual breach of confidentiality is grounds for immediate dismissal from CAT.

Community Expectations, Code of Conduct & Harassment

Volunteers are very important at CAT.  CAT will:

* Provide you with training and support

* Keep you informed

* Treat you with courtesy and respect

* Provide you with a safe and enjoyable atmosphere in which to volunteer

* Acknowledge, appreciate and reward you

* Address your concerns, problems and issues

CAT requires that you conduct yourself above reproach. Here are summaries of key policies and procedures describing how we get along at CAT.  You’ll need to be familiar with these as you volunteer.  There are files available to view for the complete policies for your reference and use, for example if you have a conflict with someone at CAT.

Community Expectations

The community sees volunteers and staff of Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) as integral to the Central Alberta community and therefore expects employees and volunteers to act in an ethical manner when representing CAT.

Code of Conduct

CAT is committed to providing a workplace free of conflict, where staff and volunteers are treated with fairness, dignity and respect. CAT’s Code of Conduct is a set of standards of acceptable conduct of volunteers and staff. It makes it clear to all what is expected and reduces confusion and possible conflict. 

All CAT volunteers and staff must agree to represent CAT in a positive way. When performing CAT duties, all volunteers are expected to interact positively with each other, with CAT staff and with CAT’s patrons. At no time will volunteers conduct themselves while representing CAT in such a manner as to bring Central Alberta Theatre, any of its Board members, staff, or any other CAT volunteer into public dispute or ridicule.

In their conduct a volunteer shall:

* Treat patrons, other volunteers and staff with courtesy, respect and dignity

* Maintain high personal and professional standards in the capacity of a service provider for CAT

In their conduct a volunteer shall not:

* Discriminate against any employee, member of CAT or patron on the basis of age, gender, gender expression, disability, ethnicity, race, national origin, religious belief or sexual orientation

* Discuss confidential issues of CAT with people outside of CAT

* Use illegal drugs and abuse alcohol when representing CAT

* Speak for CAT when interacting with patrons, the public, the press or other entities unless given specific permission by the Board

* Make any judgments of staff performance or Board of Directors’ decisions when interacting with the public, the press or other entities

* Use their position to secure personal gifts, personal monetary rewards, or special personal privileges or advantages

Harassment 

Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) is committed to a healthy, harassment-free work environment, to protect personal worth and dignity.   Abuse, harassment and discrimination are violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Alberta Bill of Rights, and CAT will not tolerate a violation of these laws or this policy.

Central Alberta Theatre will not tolerate the following:

* verbal or physical abuse

* threats

* derogatory remarks

* jokes, innuendo or taunts about any person’s appearance, religious beliefs, colour, place of origin, mental or physical disabilities, ancestry, marital status, family status, source of income, gender or gender expression or sexual orientation

* display of pornographic, racist or offensive signs or images

* practical jokes that result in awkwardness or embarrassment

* unwelcome invitations or requests, whether indirect or explicit 

*pinching, patting, rubbing, or leering – any unwelcome physical touch, “dirty” jokes, comments, suggestions, innuendoes, requests or demands of a sexual nature

* persistent expression of sexual interest after being informed that such interest is unwelcome 

*bragging about sexual prowess or questions or discussions about sexual activities

Behavior need not be intentional to be considered sexual harassment.  

If you have a Harassment or Code of Conduct complaint:

Everyone at CAT will follow the Board-approved procedure for dealing with Code of Conduct violations outlined in Section 1.2 of CAT’s policies and procedures, and those for dealing with Harassment complaints outlined in Section 1.7.

In order to ensure an environment of fairness, anyone with a complaint is required to refrain from discussing their complaint with anyone but the offending party during the complaint resolution procedure. A flow chart can be found in our file library.

Volunteer Benefits

* Volunteer recognition, parties and awards

 * Enjoying creative and fun opportunities

*  An opportunity to gain new skills

* An opportunity to make new friends and acquaintances

* Being an active part of performing arts in Central Alberta

* An opportunity to support your community and community growth via the performing arts

* Being a part of showcasing local talent and abilities

Memorial Centre and Concession Volunteers

*Distributed at the discretion of the Front of House Manger based on number of shifts and the like

Memorial Centre volunteers, regardless of position, also qualify to receive some of the tickets in Row T (seats 11 – 20) to Memorial Centre events.  The tickets in these seats are distributed at the discretion of the Front of House Manager using these criteria:

1)   Number of shifts worked

2)   “Above and Beyond” customer service (i.e. positive attitude, going the extra mile to make our patrons happy or to help them, etc.)

Also, like all other CAT volunteers, Memorial Centre and Concession volunteers have the opportunity to attend one of two Preview Nights (dress rehearsal, if okayed by the director, and preview) of each CAT production. To qualify, a member/volunteer has to have worked a minimum of ten (10) volunteer hours in any volunteer role over the past six (6) months, as verified by the Artistic Producer or the Front of House Manager.  One ticket max.

Procedure:

* Volunteer picks up ticket at Box Office M-F 9am – 2pm OR calls Box Office at 403-967-1769 to reserve. First come, first served.

CAT Productions Volunteers (Studio Theatre)

1. An opportunity to attend one of two Preview Nights

(dress rehearsal, if okayed by the director, and preview) of each production. To qualify, a member/volunteer has to have worked a minimum of ten (10) volunteer hours in any volunteer role over the past six (6) months, as verified by the Artistic Producer or the Front of House Manager. One ticket max. 

* Volunteer picks up ticket at Box Office M-F 9am – 2pm OR calls Box Office at 403-967-1769 to reserve.  First come, first served.

2. A price reduction for ticket(s) to a show night:

*Includes Tech Rehearsal, Dress Rehearsal and Preview shifts

A maximum of 2 tickets can be earned per production.  Not every position will be needed for every production.

There’ll be a deadline for claiming communicated early in the production phase of each show.

Procedure:

* Artistic Producer prepares reduced price ticket list for each production and submits to Admin/Bookkeeper/Box Office staff.  Volunteer picks up ticket at Box Office during BO hours OR calls Box Office at 403-967-1769 to reserve.  Front of House volunteers are given a list for each show.

Working Alone

Central Alberta Theatre (CAT) is committed to ensuring the safety of staff and volunteers at its facilities. If a volunteer must work alone they will take appropriate steps to ensure assistance is available if needed:

Volunteers will try to ensure that when performing a potentially hazardous task (climbing a ladder, using any of the shop equipment, etc.) another staff or a volunteer is present.  If it’s not possible to have someone else present, the volunteer will notify a staff member or volunteer in the facility when they begin the task, they will have a cellphone on their person during the commission of the task, and they will check in with the staff member or volunteer when they’ve completed the task.

When handling cash, volunteers will never work alone

Volunteers will always be accompanied by a staff member when handling cash.  This includes counting floats, reconciling sales at the end of a shift, etc. 

Termination of Volunteer Position

We appreciate the time you donate to us; however, as outlined in earlier files in this folder, any reported behaviour that reflects negatively on the organization or any of its venues will be investigated and might result in termination of your volunteer position and any associated privileges. See Article 4 in CAT’s bylaws, found in Volunteer Shared. Folder #2, for more detail on what it means to be a member in good standing of Central Alberta Theatre and what the criteria are for suspension or termination of membership.

Intro to Staff and Board Members you’ll be working most closely with

Staff

Front of House Manager:  Cathrin Parkin

Cathrin does CAT’s recruitment, selection, supervision, scheduling and evaluation of front-of-house volunteers in the Memorial Centre and Studio Theatre. She’ll contact you to sign up for volunteer shifts at Memorial Centre events and front-of-house shifts at Studio Theatre.  She also arranges CAT’s volunteer appreciation events throughout the year and participates in selecting volunteer awards and recipients.  She can be reached by email at boxoffice@centralalbertatheatre.ca or by calling: 403-967-0829

Artistic Producer:  Jeremy Robinson

The Artistic Producer is responsible for the selection, smooth organization and presentation of all CAT productions.  Jeremy chairs the Artistic Planning Committee and, supported by volunteers recruited to the committee, selects plays for each theatre season, including CATnips, our one-act play festival.  He then makes sure they are well presented to the community.  He can be reached via email at artisticproducer@centralalbertatheatre.ca or by calling: 403-309-0522

Board Members

Producer:

The Board position called Producer provides support to the Artistic Producer in the production of CAT’s live theatre.  CAT’s Producer is Susan Dearing; she can be reached by email at sdearing@mail.com.