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Membership Q&As

Response for the OCTG Townhall Meeting on December 19, 2020

In the November monthly OCTG Board meeting, before we started plans for 2021, we wanted to answer questions about some of our 2020 initiatives, and asked if there was anything we could help members  with in the coming year. Here is what was discussed:

What’s going on with the Awards program?
After much conversation, and looking at several options, we have decided it will be best to roll over the 2020 productions (and votes) to combine them with any productions submitted for 2021. We will then celebrate the 2020 and 2021 combined seasons at an awards ceremony in 2022, with a large-scale in-person event to toast our OC theatre community, and also give us the opportunity to celebrate being together again! Click here for information about this program

 

If I was a voter in 2020, can I still be a voter in 2021?
Yes! If you were selected to be a voter for the 2020 season you can still be involved with the 2021 season. The commitment for 2021 will be through December 31, 2021.  This year, our voter’s commitment will come with the understanding that they have the option to accept and decline assignments based on their own comfort level. Theaters will be sharing their safety and COVID-19 procedures when submitting their productions so our voters can make an informed decision once they get a voting assignment.

What happened with the Artist Relief Fund?
In response to the growing financial concerns of artists in the Orange County theatre community due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the OC Theatre Guild started an Artist Relief Fund in April 2020. The fund was specifically created to provide aid to those theater artists who had to stop work and were not getting paid, including those who were on contract with a theatre, part time employees at a theatre and those working on a theatre stipend which was not paid, due to COVID closures. We ultimately raised just under $4000 with the help of several corporations and generous donations - many from our amazing members! On average our relief fund recipients received $300 to help them financially until things like unemployment kicked in. As stronger resources became available, we closed our relief fund and developed a COVID-19 resource page to help our community quickly get in touch with the most up to date information and resources available.

What is happening with the EDI Committee?

In July, OCTG hosted an introductory EDIA - Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Assessment session for our members, and from this our EDI Committee was formed. Over the last 6 months we have continued to work on making EDI a priority in our organization and our community. If you would like more information about our mission and commitment or would like to become involved, please check out our EDI web page. You do not have to be a member of OC Theatre Guild to join this committee.

How can I find local BIPOC theatre artists? 

If you're looking for designers, directors, actors, etc. for your upcoming production, this List of BIPOC theatre artists in the Greater Los Angeles provides a list of local artists seeking new opportunities.

 

I am a BIPOC theatre artist – how can I be added to this BIPOC theatre artist list?

Click here for information about having your name and information added to this growing list of local BIPOC artists in our community.

How are the Roundtables going?

We began our Roundtable series in May of 2020, inspired by the necessity for more information and communication during the COVID-19 crisis. We began by discussing essential questions facing our theatre community during this unprecedented time, and have continued to host these events as a way to help keep our theatre organizations in touch with the community. If you’d like to go back to listen in on any you may have missed, you can find links to all the OCTG Roundtables here.  If you’d like to help us with future roundtable discussions, perhaps learn some new technology first hand? Please contact us for more details!

How has OCTG been able to continue to support our theatre community during 2020?

After many months of coordinating with all other theatre organizations in the later half of 2020, we were so proud to be able to share our “We’ll Be Back” video featuring many organizations to help bring awareness to the community and let all the theatre patrons know that we’re still working hard to be able to provide you a live theatre performance when the state guidelines allow theatre to reopen.   

Can OCTG help provide resources for online theatre makers?

Yes! This was a hot topic for our December Townhall, and we are doing the best we can to give our members some tools to help them get started with this transition. There is a lot of information out there, but over the last few months some of us have had opportunities to get involved – some for the first time – in producing virtual theatre. From this, we have created an Online Theatre Resource page to help get started with transitioning to online and digital theatre options.  We have thoughtfully compiled these video links to help start you on this journey. We currently have links covering topics such as:

  • online streaming services

  • ticketing and payment services

  • how to premiere using social media

  • virtual technology links for lighting, mic’s, better image quality, tools for remote performances, free tools for virtual theatre, and making virtual theatre (with no budget).     

 

This page will continue to grow as we get suggestions from you, with both things you may be looking for and things you want to suggest others try.  Check out our page here.   

 

We hope this re-cap has helped catch you up on all the things the Guild has been working on. 

 

As always, thank you for being a part of the OC Theatre Guild and the theatre arts in our community. If you’d like to volunteer on any of our committees or if there is anything we’re doing that you’d like to be more involved with, feel free to contact us any time. 

 

We hope you are all staying safe and keeping busy, and we cannot wait to see you all face to face!

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