CDC Constitution

Let the following stand as the Official Constitution of the Casting Directors Society of Canada (CDC).

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MEMBERSHIP

 

Membership requirements are as follows:

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1.a/ Two consecutive years as a fully independent Casting Director, functioning independently of all production and film houses etc., being solely hired individually by the producer/director/film house etc.

 

  b/ As a condition of membership, the applicant must supply 2 references, who can be existing member casting directors, producers, directors, or TAMAC members.

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2./ Independent casting must be sustained for the duration of membership within the CDC. If any Casting Director does not or cannot remain gainfully employed as an Independent Casting Director during a two-year period, they must place their membership on hiatus until circumstances dictate or allow their repositioning as an Independent Casting Director. Casting work accepted without pay cannot be considered within the context of this clause.

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** An independent Casting Director shall be defined as a Free Agent receiving payment for their services from the Producer and not the Talent; that payment must be from at least two different sources, they must either operate a completely financially independent office or place of work or have such office supplied by the Producer for the duration of work required and that at no time should they be considered "in-house" or "under contract" solely to one Producer or Group of Producers.

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3./ Becoming a fully functional and financial partner with any established member of the CDC and being such partner for a period of six consecutive months. Application for membership to the CDC can be made at commencement of said Partnership.

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4./ A casting associate is defined as someone who works exclusively on casting in a staff position at an independent production house or who works with a casting director in good standing.  That casting director/production house must be named in the application request.  A casting associate who has worked in that capacity for a minimum of one year may apply for membership as an Associate Member of the CDC.  An associate member is a non-voting member and cannot use the designation “CDC” after his or her name in on air credits, websites or resumes.  In order to apply to become a full member, the associate can be made a full partner by the casting director with whom he or she works, after at least two years as an associate.  OR the associate must be on his or her own and independently working as a casting director for 2 years, like any other applicant for membership, and any projects they get must have been gotten on their own, not as a result of working for a full CDC member.  

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 **Please note that the CDC does not have a category for assistants.

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5./ Initial membership dues for incoming members must be submitted prior to acceptance into the CDC.

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6./ Once accepted, it is the responsibility of the new member to provide the contact information for the website listing.

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7.a/ There will be annual dues payable in the first month of each calendar year. The amount of dues may be reviewed from time to time. Dues not received by the Treasurer by the end of February will result in loss of standing within the CDC which means removal from the CDC website.  If removed, that person can no longer use the designation CDC after their name in on air credits or on a resume.

 

  b/ If a member wants to be reinstated after March 1 of the year, a late fee will be required in addition to the annual dues.

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8.a/ Temporary withdrawals are considered by the executive if someone is undergoing a life change like maternity leave or are under duress, such as having a long illness.

 

  b/ If a member misses paying dues for 1 year, they may be reinstated by paying both for the current year and the missed year to return to being a member in good standing. The onus is then on the returning member to contact the executive to get their contact information replaced on the website.

 

  c/ If a member lets their membership lapse for more than 2 years, they must then re-apply to become a member and the rules of application will be in effect.

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VOTING PROCEDURES

 

9.a/ A unanimous vote of all those present at a general meeting, or by email, is required to pass major issues (if necessary, voting on major issues may go to more than one vote but not more than three votes). All votes may be held as secret ballots. Major issues might include, for example:

i) policy changes

ii) membership

iii) fees, dues, financial matters

iv) contractual negotiations with CPAT, CFTA, ACTRA

 

  b/ A majority vote of 75% of those in attendance at a general meeting is required for passage of all other issues.

 

  c/ Voting by mail/email/proxy made directly to the Chair is acceptable for all issues as long as responses are received within the specified number of days specified.

 

  d/ Proxy votes do not constitute "attendance" at a meeting.

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TEACHING CLASSES

 

10.a/ The CDC advises its members that if they are to accept teaching ‘gigs’, the person or persons hiring the CDC member should be a member of an affiliated Association/Group/Organization within the Industry. I.E.: TAAS Toronto Association of Acting Studios, TAMAC, accredited colleges and universities etc.

 

  b.i/ As a member of the CDC you are entitled to request a copy of the flyer that is being used to advertise your teaching ‘gig’ or ask for the link to any social media used to publicize the class or workshop, and also to request a copy of the contract that the actors are being asked to sign, if such a contract exists.

   

  b.ii/ A Casting office’s current projects must not be advertised, to ensure that the workshop is for instructional purposes only and not a “paid audition.” The workshop must clearly post that taking part in the class you are teaching is not a guarantee of employment.

    

  b.iii/ Sides must be from past projects or material that has already been cast but cannot be from projects currently being cast.

 

**Please note that if a CDC member’s name appears anywhere on a third party contract, your membership in the CDC makes the Association liable if there is any resulting alleged criminal activity or impropriety.

 

**Although all casting directors are free to run workshops or classes, the CDC as an organization will not endorse or promote any individual member’s for-profit endeavour. 

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WITHDRAWAL OF SERVICES

 

When a client is in default of payment to a member of the CDC, withdrawal of services will take place only when the following conditions exist:

 

11.a/ the member wishes to take action against the offending company or individual and has requested intervention on their behalf;

    

  b/ there are no extenuating circumstances or questions of work quality;

    

  c/ the outstanding amount has been deemed as overdue as agreed upon by the original terms and conditions of the contract, deal memo or agreement between the two parties.

               

c.i/ Regarding commercial casting, overdue accounts of more than sixty days from date of invoice may be given a "yellow alert" and notification must be distributed amongst the membership as a warning.

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c.ii/ Regarding film and television casting, because terms and conditions of contracts vary for individual circumstances, the member may ascertain when intervention is appropriate and warranted.

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c.iii/ If an account remains unpaid ninety days from date it is due, the member may request a "Red Alert", which will result in immediate distribution of a Work Withdrawal Notification. All members of the CDC, their associates and assistants, must refuse to accept work from any company under "Red Alert" until such time as all outstanding funds are paid in full.

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c.iv/ Upon receipt of payment in full, it is the responsibility of the member to inform the executive and a notification releasing the Red Alert will be issued accordingly. It is then and only then that any member may accept work from that company.

 

12./ Every member of the CDC must accept and abide by all terms and conditions of the Casting Directors Society of Canada Code of Conduct.

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