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Constitution

REVISED CONSTITUTION
FOR THE HARVARD-RADCLIFFE DRAMATIC CLUB
May 2, 2003

ARTICLE I - Name and Purpose
1) The name of this organization shall be the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club, hereinafter referred to as the HRDC.
2) The purpose of the HRDC shall be to promote interest in theater at Harvard, to organize and administer student participation in the Loeb Drama Center (hereinafter referred to as the Loeb), to produce plays on the Loeb Mainstage and Loeb Experimental Theater, and to act as an umbrella organization for Harvard theater by encouraging and assisting in the production of plays elsewhere on campus.
3) The HRDC shall coordinate with the American Repertory Theater, the resident professional theater company at the Loeb (hereinafter referred to as the A.R.T), to provide contact between interested students and company members, Institute students, visiting artists, and the staff of the A.R.T.

ARTICLE II - Membership
1) Students in Harvard undergraduate program are eligible for membership. Graduate students and non-students voted upon by the HRDC Board maybe considered as Honorary members of HRDC but do not have the right to vote in open meetings.
2) Members shall be those who have worked on a campus production within the last two semesters that the student was registered at the University. Membership will expire after two contiguous semester of inactivity.
3) First semester freshmen and new transfer students that indicate their interest on the Interest list shall be considered provisional members for the first semester they are enrolled in Harvard. Provisional membership shall entail all privileges and responsibilities of a full member.
4) A member of the HRDC shall have all the usual parliamentary privileges generally associated with membership, including the right to vote on all issues decided by the general membership, the right to speak and make motions on the floor during the HRDC open meetings, and the right to attend special HRDC functions.
5) Interest lists shall be compiled at the beginning of each semester from interest forms completed by students at undergraduate registration and official HRDC events. Interest forms shall also be available in the HRDC office at the Loeb. This list shall be kept on file in the HRDC office.
6) Full, Honorary, and Provisional members shall be entitled two complementary tickets to each opening night of an HRDC Mainstage.

ARTICLE III - Officers
1) The HRDC shall have eight officers: a President, a Vice President, a Coordinator of the Experimental Theater, a Historian, a Publicity Coordinator, a Treasurer, a Campus Liaison, and a Technical Liaison. Only undergraduate members of the HRDC shall be eligible to hold office in the HRDC. The officers shall constitute the Executive Board of the HRDC.
2) The President is a position that has very little written responsibility, but an incredible amount of overall responsibility. The President needs to be the primary liaison with the ART, OFA, Committee of Dramatics, Deans, and other campus theater groups. He/she also is responsible for making sure the daily and yearly operations of the HRDC proceed smoothly. Finally, the President is charged with taking new initiatives and coming up with ideas to guide the HRDC over the coming years.
3) The primary job of the Vice President/Mainstage coordinator is act as the main liaison between each Mainstage production and the HRDC Board. The VP runs the Mainstage interview process, which chooses two Mainstage productions every semester, attends staff meetings, load-in, and strike for those productions and serves as a general extra pair of hands during tech week and before when help is needed. The VP also helps each show with staffing issues, casting issues, any other logistical problems, and serves as the connection between the production staff and the professionals at the ART. The VP also organizes the opening night reception for each Mainstage. Other tasks include buying pizza for the pizza-q and organizing workshops, as well as overseeing and picking producers for the season of Harvard-Radcliffe Summer Theatre.
4) The Ex Coordinator's primary responsibility is to oversee the application and production process for all Experimental Theater productions. The Ex Coordinator distributes applications, officiates during Ex interviews, and, with the approval of the Board, acts as a final decision-maker in determining the semester season of shows in the Ex. The Ex Coordinator is as an advisor and liaison to all Ex productions, and is called upon for various production responsibilities as dictated by the needs of the shows. The Ex Coordinator is also responsible for organizing the WorkBee at the beginning of each semester, in which representatives from each Loeb show clean and organize the theater space.
5) The Publicity Coordinator is in charge of publicity for the HRDC season and for the club as a whole. S/he creates the season brochure and the Mainstage banner. S/he also maintains the website, updating as needed. The publicity coordinator is also in charge of publicizing any HRDC sponsored or run workshops or special projects. S/he is also the go-to person for publicity help/ideas around campus (and should keep a newly updated list of publications that have listings or that sell ads).
6) The Treasurer is in charge of the financial planning of the HRDC. The treasurer manages the HRDC's accounts in the Harvard Student Credit Union and in University Hall. The treasurer also sets the club budget and the season budgets provided by the college (through the ART). The treasurer is responsible for all reimbursements from the club budget and the season budget. In the coming year, the treasurer will be in charge of monitoring and reimbursing all shows' spending. Comfort with managing budgets/current accounts and an interest in financial planning are very helpful. QuickBooks will be used under the new reimbursement system and experience with the program would also be helpful, though it is easy to learn. Additionally, the treasurer is a resource for producers and is responsible for assisting them create budgets when they need help.
7) The Technical Liaison is charged with administering the Tech Requirement, organizing tech theater workshops (which have since been condensed into tech week), and helping to make sure tech on campus proceeds smoothly. In order to make sure tech proceeds smoothly, the Tech Liaison is expected to assist the Loeb Tech Director and College Tech Director in answering questions, directing students towards resources that may help them, and being available to provide advice on design and execution for shows that ask. The Tech Liaison should also work to strengthen the tech community on campus.
8) The Campus Liaison's main responsibility is the organization of Common Casting. This includes running registration, arranging for audition spaces and creating the schedule, planning and leading the Director/Producer meeting, creating the Common Casting booklet, leading the info session for actors, and being in the space throughout the week of Common Casting up to the signing of cast lists. S/he should also try keep in contact with the different theatre groups on campus and with the drama tutors in the houses.
9) The Historian has three major roles: acting as a liaison between the Board and the HRDC community, documenting and maintaining the history of the HRDC, and serving as the coordinator of HRDC alumni relations. The Historian will be responsible for monitoring and compiling membership of the HRDC email list, sending out weekly newsletters detailing upcoming shows and events of import to the membership at large, and alerting community members to important events and updates. In regard to being the custodian of the HRDC's history, the Historian will serve as the primary liaison between the HRDC and the Harvard Theatre Collection, regularly submitting HRDC materials to the Collection for preservation. The Historian will also assist in documenting each show presented in the Loeb directly by means of photographs, obtaining programs and posters, scripts, etc, as well as updating the online Harvard Theatre Database with current cast and staff lists. The Historian will work closely with all persons to make sure that information is not lost that may be valuable to the future members of the HRDC. Regarding alumni relations, the Historian will send an alumni newsletter every semester with articles written by board and community members about the theater being produced that semester. The Historian will also spearhead the organization of two alumni events each year. Finally, the Historian will work with the Treasurer on matters of alumni gifts and donations to the club.
10) In addition all officers shall be assigned to oversee specific productions in the Loeb for the purpose of assisting both the production staff and the actors. In this capacity the officers shall be required to: act as a liaison between the HRDC Executive Board and the production, attend load-in and strike, and ensure that the Loeb Building Manager and the Ticket Office are appropriately appraised of the dates and times of the productions.
11) All HRDC officers shall maintain contact with appropriate Loeb Staff members and be available for consultation with all student organizations on campus.
12) The term for officers shall be one year. Election of officers shall be held annually, in December, at an open meeting of the HRDC. Officers shall assume the duties and privileges of office at the beginning of the following semester. Candidates for office should nominate themselves by submitting a position paper to the current Executive Board at least two days prior to the election. An affirmative majority vote by members of the HRDC present shall be required to elect officers of the HRDC.
13) When resignation, impeachment, unsatisfactory academic standing or other causes disqualify an officer before the natural expiration of the term of his or her office, the Executive Board shall determine the procedure for replacement of the officer.
14) Any officer of the HRDC may be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds of the membership present at an open meeting.
15) The duties of the Executive Board shall be to: select appropriate productions for the Loeb Mainstage, administer the Loeb Experimental Theatre, administer and approve expenditure of all HRDC funds and determine all matters pertaining to the finances of the HRDC, attend as many HRDC and other productions as possible, and make all policy decisions regarding student participation at the Loeb.
16) The Executive Board shall offer assistance in the form of workshops, which the Board may make mandatory for Mainstage and Experimental Theatre production staffs.

ARTICLE IV- Advisors
1) The directors of the Loeb shall be faculty advisors to HRDC.
2) The faculty advisors may attend Executive Board meetings.
3) The advisors shall have no vote on the Executive Board.
4) The advisors should participate in the selection of the Mainstage season.

ARTICLE V- Meetings
1) Only members of the HRDC and other persons individually invited by the President may attend open meetings of the HRDC during each semester.
2) All open meetings of the HRDC shall be called by the President at his or her discretion. However, the President shall be required to call a general meeting when a petition, signed by at least one quarter of the members of the HRDC, requesting a general meeting, is submitter to him or her.
3) The President, or someone appointed by him / her, will govern over and maintain order during the meeting, and at least five of the nine HRDC officers must be present.
4) The Publicity Coordinator will make sure that all open meetings are publicized in a reasonable manner.
5) The Executive Board shall meet at the discretion of the President. The Board shall meet at least twice each month.

ARTICLE VI- Selection and Production of Mainstage Shows
1) The Mainstage selection committee shall consist of all members of the Executive Board except those members who are applying to direct or produce a production on the Mainstage. The selection committee will determine the format and contents for preliminary and final application and make those applications available at least one week before their respective deadlines.
2) Officers from both the current and incoming Boards will constitute the Mainstage selection committee for the spring season.
3) The selection committee shall interview the production staff for each show that submits an application, discussing the proposed play as well as the staff and the state of the application. The selection committee may suggest changes to be made to an application, but those changes must be made with the approval and consultation of the applicants.
4) Directors to be considered for Mainstage productions must have directed at least one play at Harvard and have manifested competence in direction and theatrical skill.
5) The committee shall select directors and plays at the end of each semester, creating a unified one semester season.
6) The Executive Board, in consultation with the directors of the Loeb may elect to invite a professional to direct a Mainstage show.
7) The Executive Board shall oversee all productions chosen by the selection committee for presentation on the Mainstage. The Executive committee shall have final responsibility for all student Mainstage productions.
8) The producer and director of a Mainstage show shall have authority and responsibility for their particular production. The director shall publicly announce and hold open auditions for the production as a part of Common Casting. Both the producer and directors shall, all other factors being equal, give preference to Harvard undergraduates.
9) The producer, director, production staff, and designers of a Mainstage production shall consult with the staff of the Loeb.
10) Sixty percent of the cast of and a majority of the production staff must be Harvard affiliates.
11) The Executive Board reserves the right to accept an application provisionally, and to request additions to the application or the production staff if the acceptance is be finalized. The Executive Board also reserves the right to accept fewer than the maximum number of productions if, in the opinion of the Executive Board, none of the rejected applications is fully qualified for the Mainstage.

ARTICLE VII- Common Casting Week
1) The first week of each term the Campus Liaison shall organize casting for all Loeb productions over a few nights in a common place(s). Productions elsewhere on campus shall be allowed to participate in Common Casting Week at the discretion of the HRDC Board.
2) Producers and Directors of participating productions will be responsible for running their own auditions, providing audition materials within guidelines set forward by the Executive Board, and attending required meetings.
3) Participants shall also conduct callbacks, posting of callback and cast lists, and subsequent casting within the guidelines set forth by the Executive Board.
4) The Campus Liaison shall clearly explain the rules and regulations for Common Casting Week, including the technical theater requirement for actors.

ARTICLE VIII- Funding
1) Funding for the Mainstage and the Experimental Theatre productions shall be provided by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences through the auspices of the Loeb staff who shall authorize and disperse the funds to the producers of the shows.

ARTICLE IX- Amendments
1) Any proposed amendment to this constitution shall be initially introduced, discussed, and drafted at an open meeting of the HRDC, but final voting shall not be held until at least one week after the amendment's initial proposal, following notification of members.
2) Amendments shall be ratified by two-thirds present at an open meeting.

ARTICLE X- Ratification
1) This constitution becomes effective immediately after it is ratified by two-thirds of members present at an open meeting.

ARTICLE XI- Technical Theater Requirement
1) The HRDC Board shall institute a mandatory technical theater requirement for all actors in Loeb shows, the terms and application of which shall be determined by the HRDC Board. Consequences for actors who do not fulfill this technical theater requirement will be determined by the HRDC Board.
2) This technical theater requirement shall be administered by the Technical Liaison.
3) This technical theater requirement shall be made clear by the Campus Liaison at Common Casting.