ACTRA
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is a Canadian labour union representing performers in English-language media. It has 25,000 members working in film, television, radio and all other recorded media.[1]
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Full name | Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists |
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Founded | 1943 |
Members | 25,000 |
Affiliation | CLC, FIA |
Office location | Toronto, Ontario |
Country | Canada |
Website | www |
The organization negotiates, safeguards, and promotes the professional rights of its members. It also works to increase work opportunities for its members and lobbies for policy changes at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.
ACTRA's regional chapters present ACTRA Awards to honour the best in Canadian radio and television performances in their local productions.
Affiliations
ACTRA is affiliated with the Canadian Labour Congress and the International Federation of Actors.
In July, 2005, ACTRA and the United Steelworkers announced that the two unions have entered into a strategic alliance to take on the globalization of the culture industry and to address a range of common issues.[2]
What the acronym means
The earliest form of the organization represented radio performers in Toronto in the 1940s. This organization was called RATS: the Radio Artists of Toronto Society. In 1943, with wider involvement of groups from other Canadian cities, the Association of Canadian Radio Artists (ACRA) was formed.
ACRA over time evolved into the Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists, the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists, the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists and, in 1984, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.
Regional issues led to the creation of the Union of British Columbia Performers, a separate subunit of ACTRA for British Columbia only.
ACTRA awards
Every year, ACTRA branches across the country present the ACTRA Awards, some of which are handed out for performances, while others are given for union-activism and contributions to the industry.
Notable members
ACTRA is composed of professional actors, models (video only), singers, stunt performers, and other television and radio performers. Notable members include:
- Rachel McAdams
- Simu Liu
- Paul Sun-Hyung Lee
- Eugene Levy and son Dan Levy
- Andrea Bang
- Jean Yoon
- Nicole Power
- Andrew Phung
- Meredith MacNeill
- Aurora Browne
- Carolyn Taylor
- Jennifer Whalen
- Catherine Reitman
- Dani Kind
- Olunike Adeliyi
- Ryan Belleville
- Amybeth McNulty
- R.H. Thomson
- Ryan Gosling
- Ryan Reynolds
- Jim Carrey
- Michael J. Fox
- Seth Rogan
- Colin Mochrie
- Ryan Stiles
- Drew Carey
- Wayne Brady
See also
- Union des artistes—its francophone equivalent
- SAG-AFTRA—similar U.S. organization for motion picture, television and radio actors
Further reading
- McQuarrie, Ruth (1985). Face to Face with Talent: Featuring 2400 Members of ACTRA of the Canadian Actors' Equity Association. Toronto: ACTRA. p. 618.
References
- "Jay Baruchel to be Honoured by ACTRA". NorthernStars.ca. 2019-01-12. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
- "13 APRIL 2005 - Steelworkers, ACTRA Join Forces in Strategic Alliance, Service Agreement". Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2006.
External links
- Official website
- Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists fonds (R3600) at Library and Archives Canada