CONSTITUTION OF THE MIT MUSICAL THEATRE GUILD
amended May 24, 2015
orginally written November 30, 1987
The name of this organization shall be the MIT Musical Theatre
Guild.
The purposes of this organization shall be to produce and
present musical theatre productions, to engage in related activities,
and to promote fellowship among the membership.
MIT AFFILIATION
A full awareness of the Musical Theatre
Guild's affiliation with MIT will be maintained. In filling cast and
production positions, priority will be given to members of the MIT
community, and in particular to MIT students.
The Musical Theatre Guild agrees to abide by the rules and
regulations of the Association of Student Activities (ASA), its
Executive Committee, and the Undergraduate Association Finance Board.
In the constitution, `MIT student' will mean any student
officially registered at MIT.
In the constitution, `MIT community' will comprise MIT
students, faculty, alumni, former students, full-time staff and
employees, registered part-time students, the immediate family of MIT
students and faculty, and full-time Wellesley students.
Each segment of a production will
include a significant portion of MIT participants, in particular MIT
students. Production and casting decisions will not result in the
rejection of a disproportionate number of MIT students in favor of
other participants.
CASTING REVIEW BOARD
There will be a Casting Review Board for each production. The
purpose of the Casting Review Board shall be to represent, in all
casting decisions, the interests of the Musical Theatre Guild,
particularly those itemized in Section
2.1. Before
notification of any casting decision is made, the decision must be
approved by the Casting Review Board.
The Casting Review Board shall be a 5-member committee,
composed of as many members of the Managing Board as possible. The
producer and the directors of the production may not sit on the
Casting Review Board, nor may anyone who auditions for, or is
otherwise under consideration for, a cast position. The membership of
the Casting Review Board must be approved by the Managing Board prior
to the first meeting of the Casting Review Board, If any member of the
Casting Review Board subsequently becomes the producer, one of the
directors, or comes under consideration for a cast position, his
position on the Casting Review Board shall remain unfilled. A Chair of
the Casting Review Board will be chosen by the producer or, in the absence of
a producer, by the Managing Board. The Chair will be responsible for choosing
one Representative and two other Casting Review Board members.
Two Casting Review Baord
Representatives will be chosen. One will be chosen by the Chair
of the Casting Review Board. The other will be chosen by the directors.
Both will be subject to the conditions on section 2.6.2. The Casting Review Board
Representatives and Chair shall meet with the producer and the directors prior to
the holding of any auditions. At that time they shall discuss the
requirements of each cast part, taking into account as many aspects as
possible. They shall also discuss the costs of not meeting those
requirements, and to what extent the production would be willing or
able to meet those costs. The Casting Review Board will also indicate
any additional criteria it deems relevant to the casting process.
Both Casting Review Board Representatives will attend
both auditions and callbacks. No other members of the Casting Review Board
may attend.
Following the holding of scheduled auditions, the
Casting Review Board Representative will meet with the producer and
the directors to discuss the auditionees. At no time will any audition
information be withheld from the Casting Review Board.
Callbacks may be held at the discretion of the director;
additional auditions may be held at the discretion of the Casting
Review Board.
The directors shall cast the production in accordance with
sections
2.1 and
2.5. Following casting, the
Casting Review Board, the producer, and the directors will meet to
review the proposed cast, keeping in mind the requirements previously
established as per section
2.6.3. No names shall be used
in discussing the proposed cast. An actor's anonymity will be conserved
until he/she is offered a role.
The Casting Review Board may choose to approve alternate
castings of a role, to be offered in the event of a candidate's
inability or refusal to accept and complete that role. If no approved
alternate exists, the Casting Review Board must reconvene to approve
recasting. If an actor rejects a role, the subsequent recasting will
preserve anonymity as detailed by section 2.6.7.
Before selecting the directorial staff, the Managing
Board will make certain that each candidate understands fully the
provisions of section
2 of this constitution.
The text of paragraph
2.1 will be included on
all audition forms.
The membership of the Musical Theatre Guild will consist of
all people who have participated in a Musical Theatre Guild production
within the preceding twelve months.
Members of the Musical Theatre Guild may vote at meetings of
the membership, may attend any meeting of the Managing Board and have
access to the minutes of Board meetings under the provisions of
section
6.5.
The majority of Musical Theatre Guild members will be MIT
students.
There will be a Managing Board comprised of four executive
officers and three members-at-large. The executive officers will be a
President, a Treasurer, a Secretary, and a Publicity Director.
Members of the Managing Board will be elected at each regular
meeting of the membership,in the fall and the spring of each year.
Executive officers will be elected by a simple majority of the members
present. Members-at-large will be elected by preferential balloting.
Terms of office will end at the close of the subsequent regular
meeting of the membership.
The Managing Board will be responsible for making major
decisions regarding the Musical Theatre Guild's activities.
The Managing Board will choose the shows to be produced during
its term of office.
The Managing Board will choose the dates and locations for
these shows.
The Managing Board will choose the producer for each
of these shows, and will participate in interviews for major
direction, design, and production positions.
The Managing Board will serve on the Casting Review Board for
each show under the provisions of section
2.6.
The Managing Board will, in the event of a controversy,
interpret the constitution. A written statement describing the
controversy and the interpretation will be included in the minutes of
the next general meeting.
The Managing Board will appoint the officers of the Musical
Theatre Guild under the provisions of section
5.2.
The Managing Board is responsible for the recruitment of new
members.
The Managing Board can, at its discretion, appoint an MIT
faculty member as an advisor to the Guild for a renewable one year
term. He or she shall function as a liaison between the Guild and the
Institute. He or she can be removed by a vote of two-thirds of the
members present at a membership meeting. The advisor shall have the
privilege of attending all Managing Board meetings, open or closed,
but shall have no vote.
The President will be a full-time MIT student.
The President will preside at meetings of the members.
The President will chair the Managing Board.
The President will submit any necessary paperwork to the
Association of Student Activities and the Undergraduate Association.
The President will serve as the Musical Theatre Guild's
representative to the Association of Student Activities, Theater Arts,
and MIT in general.
The Treasurer will be a full-time MIT student.
The Treasurer will be responsible for the funds of the
Musical Theatre Guild.
The Treasurer will submit funding requests to the
Undergraduate Association Finance Board.
At all regular meetings of the members, the Treasurer will
present a report of the Musical Theatre Guild's financial position.
In the absence of the President, the Treasurer will assume the
President's responsibilities.
The Treasurer will be the main contact for all contracts.
The Secretary will be a member of the MIT community.
The Secretary will maintain a list of active members of the
Musical Theatre Guild.
The Secretary will maintain all Guild mailing lists.
The Secretary will keep minutes of meetings of the
Managing Board and will keep them in a chronologically organized file.
The Secretary will keep typed minutes of meetings of the
membership and will place them in the agenda for the next meeting of
the membership.
The Secretary will notify all Guild members of upcoming
meetings, as specified in section
6.3.
In the absence of the President and the Treasurer, the
Secretary will assume the President's responsibilities.
The Secretary will maintain a list of all MTG members
eligible for membership on Interview and Casting Review Boards.
The Publicity Director will be a member of the MIT community.
The Publicity Director will be responsible for
membership recruitment publicity and for all other non-show related
publicity. The Publicity Director will coordinate with the current
Producer and the Producer's appointed Publicity Manager all
show-related publicity to the extent defined by the Managing Board.
In the absence of the President, the Treasurer, and the
Secretary, the Publicity Director will assume the President's
responsibilities.
At least one of the members-at-large must be a member of the
MIT community.
The duties of the members-at-large will be assigned
by the Managing Board.
In the event of a vacancy in an elected position other than
that of President, the President will appoint, with the Managing
Board's approval, someone to fill the vacancy whose term of office
will expire at the next regular meeting of the Musical Theatre Guild.
If a vacancy occurs in an elected position within four weeks
of a regular meeting, that position will be left vacant.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of President, the
Treasurer will assume the President's duties until a special election
meeting can be held.
Vacancies occurring during the Summer term will be filled in
the first full week of the next term.
There will be eleven appointed officers of
the Musical Theatre Guild: Archivist, Business Manager, Corresponding
Secretary, Costume Shop Manager, Documentarian, Hair and Makeup Manager, Light and Sound Manager, Procurement Card Manager, Properties Manager, Set Shop Manager,
and Webmaster.
Each officer will be appointed by
the Managing Board within two weeks of each elections meeting. Any
vacancies will be filled by the Managing Board within two weeks.
Each officer will hold their position from appointment
until the close of the subsequent regular meeting of the membership, with
the exception of Procurement Card Manager, which will hold their position
from appointment until the close of the second subsequent regular meeting
of the membership.
The Archivist will keep a history of the Musical Theatre
Guild.
The Archivist, in conjunction with the producer of the current
show, will be responsible for documenting the show for the Musical
Theatre Guild archives.
The Archivist will be responsible for the preservation of
materials of the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Business Manager will assist the Treasurer with the
financial matters of the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Corresponding Secretary will assist the Secretary of
the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Costume Shop Manager will be responsible for the
inventory and upkeep of the costume shop and the costumes held by the
Musical Theatre Guild.
The Costume Shop Manager will oversee the lending and return
of all costumes owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Documentarian will be responsible for documenting all guild performances for archival purposes.
The Documentarian will be responsible for maintaining the recording equipment owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Hair and Makeup manager will be responsible for the inventory and upkeep of the Guild's hair and makeup supplies between shows.
The Hair and Makeup Manger will oversee the lending and return of all hair and makeup supplies owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Light and Sound Manager will be responsible for the inventory and upkeep of all light and sound equipment owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Light and Sound Manager will oversee the lending and return of all light and sound equipment owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Procurement Card Manager will be responsible for holding the
Musical Theatre Guild's procurement card in their name.
The Procurement Card Manager will oversee the use of the procurement
card for purchases by the managing board, production staff of the current show,
or other members of the Musical Theatre Guild with approval from the managing board.
The Properties Manager will be responsible for the inventory
and upkeep of the prop shop and all properties of the Musical Theatre
Guild.
The Properties Manager will oversee the lending and
return of all props owned by the Musical Theatre Guild.
The set shop manager shall work with the current
technical director to keep the MTG shop orderly, safe, and usable.
The set shop manager shall work with the Managing Board
to keep MTG's tools in safe working order and to purchase new and
replacement tools when necessary.
The Webmaster will be responsible for maintaining the
website of the Musical Theatre Guild.
The Webmaster will coordinate with the Managing Board,
the Archivist, the current show's Producer, and the current show's
Publicity Manager to keep all website information up-to-date and to
maintain any on-line archive materials.
A regular meeting of the membership will be held toward the
end of each academic term.
In addition to the regular
meeting, special meetings may be held within two weeks after either a
request is made by a majority of the Managing Board, or after a
petition signed by at least twenty members is submitted to a member of
the Managing Board.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of President that
occurs more than four weeks prior to a general meeting, a special
election meeting will be called as soon as possible.
At all meetings of the membership, twenty members will
constitute a quorum. At all regular meetings, the twenty members will
included three members of the Managing Board, one of whom must be an
executive officer.
NOTIFICATION
Announcements of each
meeting of the members will be sent at least ten days before the
meeting to the most recent address of each member.
Announcements will include the minutes from the preceding
meeting of the membership, an agenda for this meeting, and a copy of
all amendments to be voted on at that meeting.
Meetings of the Managing Board may be moved to executive
session by a majority vote of the Managing Board present.
Any decision made by the Managing Board
must be reported in the minutes.
A motion for removal of a member of the Managing Board may be
made by either a majority of the Managing Board or a written petition
signed by at least twenty members.
The vote for removal from office must be taken at either a
regular meeting of the membership or at a special meeting called under
the provisions of section
6.1.2.
To maintain fairness prior to the meeting, the name(s) of the
member(s) of the Managing Board, the names of the petitioners, and the
specific charges will not be announced formally before the meeting.
At the meeting, the petitioners will present their position
and the candidate(s) involved will then be allowed to respond. The
membership may then engage in a discussion of the motion.
A three-quarters vote of the members present is required to
remove the candidate from office. The vote shall be made by secret
ballot.
In the event that the presiding officer is either a candidate
or a petitioner, a majority of the members at the meeting will elect a
temporary presiding officer to oversee the disposition of the motion.
In the event that the motion for removal passes, the vacated
position cannot be filled at that meeting.
The Managing Board may, for good reason, remove an appointed
officer from office by a majority vote.
An amendment to the constitution may be proposed by a member
at a meeting, at which time the proposal may be discussed. If the
proposed amendment is seconded by at least four other members, then
the amendment will be voted on at the next regular meeting of the
membership.
A written proposal for an amendment signed by at least five
members may be submitted at any time. If the proposed amendment is
submitted sufficiently in advance of a regular meeting of the
membership to comply with section
6.3.1, then the amendment will be
voted on at that meeting.
In all cases, the text of a proposed amendment will be
included in the mailed announcement of a meeting at which it is to be
voted upon.
An amendment may be adopted by two-thirds of those members
voting but not by less than twenty members.
The Managing Board may enact a by-law, remove an
existing by-law, or change an existing by-law by a two-thirds
majority.
By-laws may not contradict or change anything in the
Constitution of the Musical Theatre Guild, nor may it contradict any
of the rules of the Association of Student Activities.
All current by-laws will be listed at the end of the
Constitution, and will be numbered according to the date the by-law is
passed.
A by-law may only be voted upon after the text of the
proposed by-law has been posted for a minimum of seven days in a
prominent place, to be defined as a publicly accessible board or
posting area designated for official MTG notices.
- 2004-04-22-1 The document entitled
``Musical Theater Guild Casting and
Interview Policy''
written by Jennifer Braun, Welkin Pope, and the MTG Managing
Board, and voted into policy on Thursday, April 22, 2004
will herein be a by-law of the MIT Musical Theatre Guild.
- 2006-03-07-1 The document entitled
``Musical Theater Guild Archivist Expectations''
written by the MTG Managing
Board, and voted into policy on Tuesday, March 7, 2006
will herein be a by-law of the MIT Musical Theatre Guild.
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