The Actors' Fund of Canada - More Than Applause reaches $20,000

The Actors' Fund of Canada - The lifeline for Canada's Entertainment Industry

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Media Release

Calgary theatres bring 2006 Actors' Fund campaign total to $20,000

November 7, 2006

Toronto - The Actors' Fund of Canada's 2006 More Than Applause fundraising campaign in Canadian theatres will soon reach its halfway point with curtain speeches and audience collections at the Ground Zero/Hit and Myth production of Urinetown and Vertigo Theatre's production of Wait Until Dark pushing the total to the $20,000 mark. Both shows were in Calgary.

This year's fundraising started off with a bang in the latter two weeks of August as the Company of My Fair Lady at Chemainus Theatre Festival raised $15,000 through curtain speeches and audience collections. Actors' Fund events in Calgary are coordinated by Trevor Leigh, the Fund's National Advisory Board member for Alberta and Saskatchewan. Leigh is hopeful that other theatres in the region will participate in the campaign, which raised $43,203 during a week of audience collections last fall.

Coordinated by the Fund's National Advisory Board members in the B.C.-Yukon, Alberta-Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Eastern Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic regions, campaign activities will be tailored to what works best for the theatre companies and casts involved. Says Hope: "My Fair Lady" at Chemainus sets a great example: even the smallest companies can participate in More Than Applause. All you need is enthusiasm and an audience that's willing to give." More Than Applause is an evolution of the popular "Equity Fights AIDS" drive, run successfully for many years in the Canadian theatre community.

Says Actors' Fund Executive Director David Hope, "We're really encouraged by the results so far. The fact that the campaign period has expanded from just one week last year to one that encompasses the entire theatre season should provide lots of opportunities for theatres to get involved. Trevor and all our National Advisory Board members are working with theatres in their regions to help make that happen."

Money raised in the campaign will help the Fund provide emergency relief in the form of rent money, utility payments, healthcare costs and groceries to over 250 entertainment workers and their families experiencing financial hardship this year.

The Actors' Fund of Canada is a registered charity that provides short-term financial aid to entertainment industry professionals working in theatre, film & TV, music and dance. Performers, creators, technical staff and other production team members can apply for help from the Fund which delivered over $400,000 in rent payments, grocery money, utility payments and other basic living expenses to clients in the last 12 months and over $3 million in the last 10 years.

The Actors' Fund receives no government funding and is wholly sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.

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