mission statement. To foster interdisciplinary spirit, to make participation in theatre more accessible to the student body, & to build appreciation for the collaborative nature of theatre.
activities. Redeye Theatre Project (RTP) is a 24-hour play club. What that means is that, within the space of a 24-hour period, the members of RTP collaborate to write, rehearse, & perform a small festival of world premieres. Members are assigned one of the following roles for each performance based on preference, necessity, & expertise:
Roles are assigned during organizational meetings.
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membership requirements. Any University of Pittsburgh student may join. Appreciation for interdisciplinary endeavors is RTP’s primary focus, so students of any major(s) will be welcomed & encouraged to seek membership. No hazing or illegal discrimination will be used as a condition of membership in RTP.
financial obligations of members. There are no financial requirements for membership.
associate membership. Faculty, staff & alumni of the University, & non-University persons, may participate in RTP’s meetings & activities, but may not vote, hold office, or serve in formal leadership positions. The requirements for maintenance of associate membership status are the same as those for standard membership.
membership procedures. Eligible persons may join RTP at any time.
recruitment. Members are recruited on an ongoing basis throughout the year, including but not limited to the following times & by the following methods:
method of selection or approval. There is none. Membership is open. However, members who do not meet the minimum conditions for maintaining membership as stated below will be made inactive.
privileges of membership. All members (associate & standard both) may attend any or all meetings & fill the role of playwright &/or director or actor during a performance. Standard members may also vote, run for office, & hold leadership positions.
conditions for maintaining membership. how members are made inactive or removed. Members who are consistently unruly & disruptive during meetings, or who attend meetings under the influence of drugs &/or alcohol, may, after being issued a minimum of two warnings, have their membership terminated or their privilege revoked by majority vote of the officers. The only other conditions are attendance requirements, as follows:
Exceptions may be made when circumstances are deemed extenuating.
reinstatement of inactive or removed members. These persons may reclaim full active membership status at the beginning of the next school year.
voting privileges. Voting privileges are limited to active student members (standard members) in good standing with the organization. Any student who meets the conditions for maintaining membership as stated above at the time a vote is to be conducted may vote.
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officers. duties. requirements. [n.b. All officers must attend all four yearly RTP performances.] In addition to the specific requirements listed below, it is understood that only active standard members may run for/hold office. There are five offices, as follows:
president (producer). Master of Ceremonies at all meetings/performances. In charge of publicity. Must meet at least one of requirements that apply to playwright-in-residence, artistic director, &/or vice president.
vice president (casting director). Co-producer. Timekeeper. Organizes auditions & casts the plays for each performance. Must be Theatre major/minor, have appeared in a non-RTP production in a speaking role, or have received a B or better in Acting 1; or must have been an actor for at least one past RTP performance.
business manager. SGB liaison. Handles money (funding & box office). Works box office. Requirements same as those for president.
playwright-in-residence. Responsible for upholding highest literary standards possible within RTP’s time frame. Must be EngLit/EngWrt major/minor, published author, produced playwright (non-RTP), or have received a B or better in Playwriting 1; or must have been a playwright for at least one past RTP performance.
artistic director. Responsible for maintaining arc throughout each RTP performance – supervises other directors when possible & sets order that plays will be performed in for each performance. Must be Theatre major/minor, have directed a non-RTP production, or have received a B or better in Directing 1; or must have been a director for at least one past RTP performance.
election of officers. Elections are held at the organizational meeting during spring semester. All officer appointments are by election.
nomination procedure. Nominations will be taken during the election meeting. Members may self-nominate. Presidential incumbent may request that a nominee provide proof of qualification for office.
eligibility requirements for officers. See above section on officers, duties, & requirements.
election process. Voting is by secret ballot. Results are tallied by the president, confirmed by the vice president, & announced by the presidential incumbent at the election meeting.
eligibility requirements for voting. Any active standard member may vote.
vote required to elect an officer. A simple majority of votes cast.
holding multiple offices during the same year. An officer may hold more than one office in a year, provided that he/she holds no more than one office from each of the following two groups: 1. president/vice president/business manager, 2. playwright-in-residence/artistic director.
absentee/proxy ballots. Absentee ballots are permitted. Proxy ballots are not.
terms of office. Incumbents hold offices from first non-performance meeting of fall semester through final performance of spring semester.
removal of officers. An officer may be removed only by a 2/3 majority of votes cast by eligible members. Such a vote may be held in any of the following instances:
The request that a vote for the removal of an officer be held may only be submitted during an organizational (non-performance) meeting. In the event that a sufficient majority of votes to remove the officer is cast, the officer must step down immediately & the procedure for filling vacancies, as outlined below, must be followed.
voting powers of officers. All officers except the presidential incumbent vote during elections; the presidential incumbent votes in case of a tie. During a vote to remove an officer, neither the presidential incumbent nor the officer who is the subject of the vote may cast votes; in the event of a tie, the presidential incumbent votes.
vacancies. Any officer vacancy, whether occasioned by vote or resignation, must be filled. In case of a vacancy, an emergency election is held as quickly as possible; it must be held before the next performance meeting after the vacancy occurs. Nomination & voting procedure is the same as during standard elections. The new officer holds office for the remainder of the current term of office. Other offices are not affected.
committees. RTP will not make use of committees.
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meetings. RTP meets six times per academic year, including performances. There are two organizational meetings & four performance meetings.
performance meetings. As the club’s most important functions, these are scheduled first, based on availability of space & members. Performance meetings are held from 6pm on a Friday evening to 8pm the next day, & are immediately followed by a performance, which lasts roughly two hours. Two performance meetings will be scheduled during the fall semester & two during the spring.
organizational meetings. One organizational meeting will be held prior to the start of the fall season & one prior to the start of the spring season. Organizational meetings are as brief as possible & have the following functions: to acquaint new members with the structure of RTP, to schedule performances, & to vote on any necessary issues. During the second organizational meeting, officer elections for the following academic year are held. Organizational meetings are scheduled based on proximity of the next performance meeting & on availability of members.
quorum requirements. An organizational meeting has no quorum requirement. A performance meeting requires enough members to reasonably produce at least four plays for the performance.
special meetings. May be called by any officer; as these meetings will not be mandatory, there is no notice requirement. However, for emergency meetings to fill officer vacancies, members must receive at least four days’ notice, if possible [n.b. that it is non-negotiable that such a meeting must be held before the next performance meeting].
chairperson. The presidential incumbent acts as chairperson. Meetings are informal, but the chair has the right to issue warnings to unruly members, to remove members from meetings after two such warnings have been issued unsuccessfully, to extend a meeting if circumstances demand, & to terminate a meeting early if circumstances permit.
finances. RTP’s primary income is from ticket sales at the four yearly performance meetings. This income is to be spent only on other RTP performances. The business manager has proprietorship over RTP funds, including the responsibility of keeping track of the flow of funds, managing the box office at each performance, & maintaining RTP’s university account.
advisor. The advisor may be as involved as his/her time & inclination permit. Advisor duties may include none, any, or all of the following:
external affiliations. RTP has no external affiliations.
by-laws. The following are intended to provide guidance for the operation of the group in a consistent manner, & are flexible.
roles. assignment of roles. commitment. The available roles are: Playwright. Director. Actor. Stage Manager. Assitant Stage Manager. Lighting Designer. Sound Designer. Special consultant. Roles are assigned with deference to preference, but members must be aware that roles must be balanced (see below), & if there is too great a demand for a particular type of role, some members may have to fill a second-choice role. If a member commits to a role & then, without prior warning, does not show up for the performance he/she is committed to, membership for the remainder of that year will automatically be terminated.
balancing of roles. Each play should have one, two or three playwright(s) & one director, & between two & six actors. The lower limits are considered ideal. In addition, the plays written for each performance will ideally be between six & eight in number, & 10-15 minutes in length. [n.b. These are only guidelines.]
collaboration. Is vital. Playwrights may co-author plays. Playwrights meet their actors & use them for inspiration before they begin writing. Directors may co-direct. Directors & actors have access to playwrights throughout the process.
typical schedule.
All members will have access to the full constitution & are expected to familiarize themselves with it. At the spring organizational meeting, suggestions for amendments will be solicited. A suggestion must be raised & seconded by active members &/or officers; it must then be approved by a 2/3 majority of active members in attendance. Additionally, amendments may be suggested & seconded during any non-performance meeting throughout the year, at which time they should be immediately voted on & adopted if approved by a 2/3 majority of active members in attendance.
copyright rtp 2005