Constitution of the University of Saint Francis Sometimes Thespians

Mission Statement

to have students use the art of acting and the technical aspects of the stage to bring together and entertain the campus and surrounding community of the university of saint francis through the presentation and promotion of works of theater

ARTICLE I: PURPOSE AND FUNCTION

The interest and commitment of students of the university of saint francis to theater is such that a dedicated group of students, referring to themselves as the "Sometimes Thespians", hereby establish this constitution in order to ensure that all students that may attend the university, now and in the future, can fulfill the mission of the group and succeed in perpetuating, in an organized and responsible manner, the tradition of showcasing the talents of like-minded students through the means of student-directed, student-produced, and student-associated theater.

ARTICLE II: MEMBERS

· Membership is open to all students attending the University of Saint Francis ("School").

· A student shall be considered a member upon successful completion of participation as a member of a stage or production crew or as a member of any cast of a stage production sponsored by, produced ‘in association with’, or otherwise entered into by the Sometimes Thespians ("Thespians"). A stage production may be defined as the presentation of a published work in play form or any other production that serves to showcase the acting abilities of students attending "School".

· A member is extended voting rights if he/she has participated as a member or gained membership in the most recent academic year or in the current academic year. all other members are considered members-at-large.

ARTICLE III: EXECUTIVE BOARD

A. Purpose

· An Executive Board ("Board") shall be created to govern the "Thespians".

· The "Board" shall make all necessary and proper administrative decisions so that members as actors or members as stage and production crew may focus upon stage productions.

· The "Board" shall forward their decisions or recommendations to the membership for notice or approval.

B. Structure

· The "Board" shall be a committee consisting of all elected officers.

· Each officer shall be afforded an equal vote within the "Board".

· A simple majority shall prevail in any vote within the "Board"; in the event of a tie or deadlock, the officers must resolve to compromise in order to reach a majority decision.

· The faculty advisor(s) shall also serve on the "Board" to provide advice and consent but shall not be extended voting privileges.

· The actions of the "Board" are subject to the scrutiny of the faculty advisor(s) and the members of the "Thespians".

ARTICLE IV: MEETINGS

· The "Board" shall meet as a group at least once a week during the academic year and when reasonable.

· The "Board" shall call a meeting of all members at least once a month during the academic year and when reasonable.

· The President may call and chair any additional meetings of the "Board" or members as necessary.

· the "Board" shall make available any/all minutes of any/all meetings that have occurred since the last meeting of all members.

· A simple majority of all eligible voting members shall constitute a quorum.

· In the event of a deadlock or tie in any vote among members, the President shall cast the deciding ballot; exceptions to this are votes to remove an officer, votes to elect an officer, and votes to select a student-director.

ARTICLE V: OFFICERS

A. Purpose

· Officers shall be created so that the administrative responsibilities and obligations of producing and presenting stage productions will be accomplished by delegating specific tasks or areas responsibility to specifically elected individuals from the "Thespians".

B. Officers

PRESIDENT

· Shall be the official representative of the "Thespians" to the student body, faculty, staff, administration and trustees of the "School" and to the general public.

· Shall be charged with setting the tone, tenor, and direction of the "Thespians".

· Shall call and chair any and all meetings of the "Board" and members; in the absence of the President, the next most senior officer – in the order which offices are listed and created – shall call and chair meetings.

· Shall be held accountable for the proper functioning of the "Board".

· Shall be held accountable for ensuring that all administrative and logistical preparations and requirements are fulfilled in connection to any event that is sponsored by, entered into, or produced ‘in association with’ the "Thespians"; that these preparations and requirements are met is with the same professionalism, care, and high standards of quality that characterize the "Thespians".

· Shall be held accountable for approving any publicity including, but not limited to: printed material, written or verbal correspondence or statements that bears or uses the name ‘Sometimes Thespians’ and that is exposed or directed to patrons, the general public, or persons outside the membership of the "Thespians".

· Shall create and maintain a list of all members; any list shall be maintained in written and electronic form.

· Shall create a report, to be presented to the members at the end of each semester, of the activities, progress, successes or failures of the "Thespians".

· Shall take any and all necessary and proper steps to fulfill any and all obligations, responsibilities, and the mission of the group.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

· Shall be charged with creating, organizing, and coordinating any and all general efforts to recruit and retain members.

· Shall see to any task(s) delegated to by the president.

· Shall serve as the custodian of records – shall be charged with preserving this constitution and all records of meetings and productions including, but not limited to: minutes, program guides, photographs, production rehearsal schedules, sample(s) of publicity, and any other related and relevant documents.

· Shall take the minutes of each meeting of the "Board" and each meeting of members.

· Shall create a report, to be presented to the members at the end of each semester, of the activities, progress, successes or failures of the "Thespians".

· Shall take any and all necessary and proper steps to fulfill any and all obligations, responsibilities, and the mission of the group.

VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

· Shall be charged with creating, organizing, and coordinating any and all publicity for any event that is sponsored by or entered into by the "Thespians".

· Shall serve as the representative of the "Thespians" at any meeting of the Student Activity Board ("SAB").

· Shall create, organize and coordinate all efforts related to ‘Club Fair’.

· Shall create a report, to be presented to the members at the end of each semester, of the activities, progress, successes or failures of the "Thespians".

· Shall take any and all necessary and proper steps to fulfill any and all obligations, responsibilities, and the mission of the group.

VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE

· Shall be charged with creating, organizing, and coordinating any fundraising efforts to supplement the "Thespians" budget.

· Shall be charged with maintaining oversight on the "Thespians" budget.

· Shall report once month to the members of the "Board" and to the general members of the "Thespians" the budget balance.

· Shall create, in consultation with the members of the "Board" and the student(s) directing the student-directed show(s), a budget proposal for the following academic year; such a proposal, once approved by a majority vote of the "Thespians", is to be presented to the student government of the "School" for consideration and approval.

· Shall create a report, to be presented to the members at the end of each semester, of the activities, progress, successes or failures of the "Thespians".

· Shall take any and all necessary and proper steps to fulfill any and all obligations, responsibilities, and the mission of the group.

C. Shared responsibilities

· Each officer shall also exercise his/her responsibilities and obligations with regard to any event that is co-sponsored or produced ‘in association with’ the "Thespians".

D. Terms of office

· Officers shall serve from the time they are elected until the next regularly scheduled election in the spring of each academic year unless otherwise removed or otherwise offering his/her resignation.

D. Election process – officer auditions

· Elections for officers shall be in the spring of each academic year; elections are to occur at least two weeks prior to any deadline mandated by the student government of "School" to report the election of such officers.

· Any member is eligible to become an officer if that member has participated in at least two stage productions sponsored by, produced ‘in association with’, or otherwise entered into by the "thespians".

· Only full-time students, attending the entire academic year in which they are to serve, are eligible to serve as an officer.

· An Officer Committee shall be created to supervise and coordinate the auditions. The committee shall consist of at least three members not seeking to audition to become an officer. These members are to be volunteers only and must be non-bias in their conduct.

· An officer-qualifying member must receive the nomination of at least one other member in order to participate in the officer auditions; the nominating member must be voting-eligible.

· A nomination is not necessarily an endorsement by the nominating member, it is the recognition or belief that the nominee may serve the "Thespians" well in a specific capacity and should receive the consideration of the "Thespians" to serve as an officer.

· All nominations must be submitted to the Officer Audition Committee no later than 24 hours prior to auditions; no other nominations will be accepted thereafter.

· The Officer Audition Committee must notify members receiving any nomination(s) but shall not report the identity of the nominating member.

· Any nomination that is made must be to a specific position and must be accepted by the individual being nominated.

· No member may seek to audition for more than one position at a time.

· A nominated, officer-qualifying candidate wishing to audition must present himself/herself to a meeting of voting members and provide a case by which the membership should vote for him/her. All other nominated members seeking to audition shall not be present during another member’s audition.

· Members may pose questions to each officer candidate after his/her audition.

· After all candidates seeking to audition have done so, members may discuss the auditions with one another to be followed by a vote. Members seeking to become officers may vote for themselves and their votes are to be included in any voting tally.

· Officers are elected by a simple majority; in absence of a member receiving a simple majority for a specific office, the two members receiving the most votes for the same office shall compete with one another in a run-off election to be held immediately thereafter.

· if a position does not have more than one nominee, the sole nominee is to be elected to the office by acclimation and shall not audition.

F. Removal of an officer

· An elected officer can be removed from his/her position.

· An elected officer shall be removed only by a simple majority vote of members of the "Thespians" and only if the officer has been impeached.

· The process of impeachment shall be a three step process (unless otherwise specificed):

1. If documented or otherwise verifiable evidence is presented that an officer has defaulted on obligations or responsibilities charged to the specific office to which the officer was elected, the officer’s conduct shall come under review by the other members of the "Board" and the faculty advisor(s). The offending officer shall have an opportunity to respond to the concerns of the faculty advisor(s) and to the other members of the "Board".

2. If documented or otherwise verifiable evidence is presented that an officer continues to default on obligations or responsibilities charged to the specific office to which the officer was elected, the "Board" may move to vote on a finding of fact. A finding of fact is that the officer in question has been found to have defaulted on specific obligations or responsibilities. If a finding of fact is agreed to by a majority of the remaining members of the "Board", the "Board" shall relieve the officer in question of the specific task(s) or area of responsibilities that have been defaulted.

3. If documented or otherwise verifiable evidence is presented that an officer persists to default on obligations or responsibilities charged to the specific office to which the officer was elected, and a second finding of fact is agreed to by a majority of the remaining members of the "Board", the officer is considered impeached.

· An impeached officer has the opportunity to respond to the members of the "Thespians" prior to any vote to remove. The members may discuss the impeachment with one another afterward and prior to the vote. The impeached officer shall not be present during any discussion and vote.

· Exceptions to the impeachment process shall be as follows:

1. If an officer is found to have violated the academic code of conduct of "School" while serving as an officer, the officer is considered impeached. Academic code of conduct refers to those policies or principles outlined by "School" that detail behavior or actions deemed unacceptable for any student attending "School". This may include but is not limited to: academic honesty, plagiarism, cheating, etc.

2. If an officer is found to have violated the university code of conduct of "School" by "School" while serving as an officer, the officer is considered impeached. University code of conduct refers to those policies or principles that detail behavior or actions deemed unacceptable of any member of the university. Such conduct may include but is not limited to: discrimination, harassment, criminally liable behavior, etc.

3. If an officer is found by a court to have committed a felony in any jurisdiction within the United States and its territories while serving as an officer, the officer is considered impeached.

· In the event that any officer position is vacated, because of removal or resignation, the other members of the "Board" shall assume the responsibilities and obligations of the office vacated. If the office of President is vacated, the executive vice president shall become president and shall serve out the remainder of any such term entered into.

ARTICLE VI. STUDENT-DIRECTED PRODUCTIONS

A. SELECTION PROCESS – DIRECTOR AUDITIONS

· any member that qualifies to serve as an officer may audition to direct the student-directed production(s); alumni may also seek to direct and are exempt from meeting such qualifications. alumni are defined as members-at-large that have graduated or otherwise left the "School" and are in good standing with the members of the "Thespians".

· A member may seek to direct the student-directed production(s) alone or with other members as a team; all persons must be officer-qualifying. Alumni must always direct with at least one (1) currently attending, officer-qualifying student member.

· Member(s) wishing to audition to direct must present a proposal for a stage production to the membership in a specific and separate meeting prior to the next regularly scheduled election for officers.

· A Stage Proposal Committee of at least three members not seeking to direct must supervise and coordinate the auditions for student-director(s). These members are to be volunteers only and must be non-bias in their conduct.

· After each audition, members may pose questions to the individual(s) seeking to direct.

· All proposals are to be presented to the membership in the absence of all other members seeking to audition.

· After all members wishing to audition have done so, members may discuss the auditions with one another to be followed by a vote; members that have auditioned to direct may not be present during discussion and vote.

· A simple majority shall select the student-director(s); in the absence of a single proposal receiving a simple majority, the two proposals receiving the most votes shall compete with one another in a run-off election to be held immediately thereafter.

· members seeking to direct may vote for themselves and their votes are to be included in the vote tally.

· In order to select the member(s) to direct the student-directed production(s), members may consider the following:

1. The quality of the script – this may include the plot and the characters of the play.

2. Genre – comedy, drama, historical, topical, etc.

3. ‘Vision’ of the director(s) – the way in which the director(s) intends to bring the script to life through the use of actors, sets, props, costumes, sound, etc.

4. Experience of director(s) – this includes the overall theater experience of the member(s) [outside "school" and "thespians"] as well as theater history with the "thespians".

5. Likelihood of success – a member may take into account if the proposal as presented would have a fair chance to succeed.

· If only one proposal is presented to the membership, the individual(s) seeking to direct are to be elected by acclimation and shall not audition.

B. SUPERVISING PRODUCER

· The "Board" shall appoint a member to oversee the student-directed production(s) as supervising producer; such an appointed member will be a member of the "thespians" having equal or greater theater experience than the director(s). the supervising producer shall provide guidance and assistance to the student director(s) where appropriate and if necessary.

· If any member(s) of the "Board" is selected to direct, they shall not be extended a vote to select a supervising producer for that production.

· The supervising producer shall report from time to time to the "board" on the progress of the student-directed production. Due respect is to be given to the experience and assistance of the supervising producer by the director(s). Creative control for the student-directed production(s) shall remain with the director(s).

· If there is more than one student-directed production scheduled in an academic year, different members are to be selected to direct each production and different supervising producers are to be appointed for each production.

C. ACCOUNTABILITY OF DIRECTORS

· The director(s) answer to and can be held accountable by the "Board" and to the members respectively. The "Board" and members can take any and all actions where appropriate and if necessary to see that the director(s) conform to the professionalism, care, and high standards of quality that characterize the "Thespians".

· Any member(s) of the "Board" serving as director(s) cannot vote in any oversight actions regarding his/her/their own stage production.

· If the position of the director(s) of any student-directed production is vacated, the "Board" may ask the supervising producer to serve as director in order that the production may be completed and the mission and will of the group be fulfilled.

ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION

· This constitution shall be considered ratified if approved a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of all eligible voting members.

· Upon ratification, this constitution shall be effective immediately.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDING THE CONSTITUTION

· This constitution may be amended only by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of all eligible voting members.

· Only voting-eligible members may propose any change(s) to this constitution.

ARTICLE VIII. AMENDMENTS