WINNIPEG - Prairie Theatre Exchange today announced that all bar proceeds and audience donations from the Playwrights Cabaret at the 2010 Carol Shields Festival of New Works will be donated to the Actors' Fund of Canada. This free event will take place at 9:30 pm on May 23, 2010 at the PTE Rehearsal Hall and will feature performances by Canadian actors and playwrights.
The Carol Shields Festival of New Work was created by PTE Artistic Director Robert Metcalfe to support the company's long-time commitment to supporting, nurturing and promoting theatre artists, both local and national. The Festival's role in supporting artists finds a parallel in the work of the Actors' Fund, which has helped over 10,000 entertainment industry workers recover from illness, injury or other circumstances causing severe economic and personal hardship since it was founded in 1958.
"The importance of the Actors' Fund cannot be overstated" says PTE's Bob Metcalfe "We are happy to do our part to contribute to an organization that in turn benefits all of us who participate in and enjoy the creation of Canadian cultural work."
The Actors' Fund of Canada is the lifeline for Canada's entertainment industry. Performers and others who work behind the scenes in film and television, theatre, music and dance can apply for emergency financial aid from the Fund, which recently set a new record for the amount of financial aid delivered to industry members in a single year, topping $600,000 in 2008.
The Fund is a registered charity that has paid out over $3.7 million in rent payments, grocery money, utility payments and other basic living expenses in the last 10 years. Performers, creators, technical staff and other production team members can benefit from the Fund, which receives no government funding and is wholly sustained by support from individuals and entertainment industry organizations.
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CONTACT:
David Hope, The Actors' Fund of Canada
Phone: 1-877-399-8392
E-mail: contact@actorsfund.ca
Web site: www.actorsfund.ca
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