BY-LAWS

ARTICLE I

NAME

The name of this non-profit corporation shall be The St. Clair Shores Players, Incorporated, hereafter referred to as the Players.

ARTICLE II

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Players shall be to foster a community interest, knowledge and appreciation of the living theatre through the production and presentation of dramatic art.

ARTICLE III

MEMBERSHIP AND DUES

Section 1

A. Membership in the Players shall be open to residents of St. Clair Shores and persons from surrounding communities interested in furthering the purpose of the Players.

Section 2

A. Individual Membership – Any person 18 years and older, may become a member upon payment of dues and approval of the Membership Chairman.

B. Should there be any contention or problem; the approval can be brought before any general membership meeting for proper sanction.

C. Amount of dues will be designated by the Board of Directors.

Section 3

A. Family Membership – A person may receive a family membership which includes full membership benefits to their married spouse and all their children less than 18 years of age.

B. Should there be any contention or problem; the approval can be brought before any general membership meeting for proper sanction.

C. Amount of dues will be designated by the Board of Directors.

Section 4

A. Dues -The season’s dues shall be payable on or before the first general membership meeting in September.

B. A member shall be considered inactive if their dues are not paid by the November general meeting.

Section 5

A. Rollover Membership – New members joining after the second production (the WINTER production) shall be considered paid members for the entire following season.

B. This rollover membership pertains only to new people joining at this time and does not included inactive members who have failed to pay past dues.

Section 6

A. Persons accepting a role in a play that are not members are required to join the Players within two weeks after the start of rehearsals.

B. All performers must be members in good standing before they are allowed to perform in one of the Players productions.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES

Section 1

A. The Elected Officers shall be:

a. President

b. Vice President

c. Secretary

d. Treasurer

Section 2

A. The Appointed Officers shall be:

a. Executive Producer

b. Publicity Chair

c. House Chair

d. Workshop Chair

e. Ticket Chair

f. Social Chair

g. Newsletter Editor

Section 3

A. Appointed Officers shall be selected by the President from the active membership with the approval of the other Elected Officers.

Section 4

A. President – As chief executive officer, the President, shall direct the functions of the Players and ensure that all orders and resolutions of the membership and the Board of Directors are being carried out.

B. The President shall preside over all meetings, selected appointed officers (subject to the approval of the other elected officers – see ARTICLE IV, Section 3), appoint or approve all committee chairmen not otherwise provided for in these by-laws and be an ex-officio member of all committees.

Section 5

A. Vice President – The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in their absence and automatically succeed to the office of President should that office become vacant.

B. The Vice President shall also act as Membership Chairman, keeping an up-to-date list of all paid up members.

C. The Vice President shall publish a roster of paid up members by no later than February (just after the second show, or WINTER production is cast).

D. The Vice President shall also act as Script Reading Committee Chairman.

a. As Chairman of this committee the Vice President will appoint the members.

i. The committee will be composed of three, four, or five members.

b. The Script Reading committee is required to submit three (3) appropriate plays to the Board of Directors for their consideration after each show closes.

i. Hence three plays must be submitted after the FALL production, after the WINTER production and three weeks before the SPRING production (this allows for next seasons shows to be announced in the SPRING production’s playbill).

ii. The Vice President will submit to the Board of Directors a total of nine (9) plays for consideration by the end of the season.

iii. From the plays submitted, the Board of Directors will select one for production in the following year’s season. The Board will select a play after the close of each production; FALL, WINTER & SPRING.

Section 6

A. Secretary – The Secretary shall keep an accurate record of all General Membership and Board of Directors meetings.

B. The Secretary shall be responsible for any mail correspondence of the Players.

a. The Secretary shall collect the mail from the mail box.

C. The Secretary shall be responsible for ordering the necessary scripts for each production.

Section 7

A. Treasurer – The Treasurer shall have custody of all funds of the Players and will keep books of the Players full and accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements, deposit funds and other valuable affects of the Players in depositories agreed to by the Board of Directors.

B. The Treasurer will collect dues form the Membership Chairman.

C. The Treasurer will disburse funds as directed by the Players and make proper vouchers for cash disbursements.

D. The Treasurer will make a report of his/her transactions and the financial condition of the Players at all meetings.

E. The Treasurer shall, at the end of the season, make out a financial statement chronicling how the Players made out financially for the entire season.

Section 8

A. Executive Producer – The Executive Producer shall appoint a person as Producer for each play.

a. Should a producer not be found, the Executive Producer will act as Producer.

B. The Executive Producer will assist the Producer in seeing that proper individuals and committees carry out their responsibilities toward a successful staging of the production.

C. The Executive Producer shall be an ex-officio member of all production committees

D. The Executive Producer shall provide a financial report of each production after the close of that show to the membership.

E. The Executive Producer shall establish and request the money for the budget of each play.

F. The Executive Producer shall see that the Producer has the necessary funds for disbursement to the correct committees.

Section 9

A. Publicity Chair – The Publicity Chair shall arrange all publicity for the Players by notifying all newspapers, etc.

B. The Publicity Chair may appoint committees, if necessary.

C. The Publicity Chair shall submit a publicity budget for each production in cooperation with the Producer.

D. The Publicity Chair shall be responsible for any favorable public relations necessary for the advancement of the Players purpose.

Section 10

A. House Chair – The House Chair shall arrange all business affairs for each production not covered by the Producer.

a. These may include arrangements for the auditorium, obtaining rooms for rehearsals and meetings at the school, printing programs and any parking issues.

B. The House Chair shall be in charge of refreshments for our patrons during intermissions of the plays.

C. The House Chair may also appoint any committees necessary to fulfill the above duties.

Section 11

A. Workshop Chair – The Workshop Chair shall determine the needs and desires of the membership regarding a workshop program.

a. The workshop program may consist of one-act plays, speakers relating to subjects pertinent to the purpose of the Players, etc.

b. These workshop programs are to be presented to the membership after the conclusion of the normal business at the General Membership meeting.

Section 12

A. Ticket Chair – The Ticket Chair shall act as Box Office, or appoint someone to do so, selling tickets at each performance and keeping a detailed account of money received and total attendance.

B. The Ticket Chair will see that someone is responsible for having tickets printed for each show.

C. The Ticket Chair shall also be responsible for lining up ushers or ticket-takers for each show and notifying the Producer of the same.

D. The Ticket Chair shall also be responsible for dispersing tickets to the cast and members (to be sold), selling season tickets and group sales.

E. The Ticket Chair shall keep a mailing list of patrons and see that flyers are mailed out to them before each production.

F. The Ticket Chair shall make a final financial and attendance report after each show to the membership.

Section 13

A. Social Chair – The Social Chair shall be responsible for lining up social events each month that would be of interest to the membership of the Players.

B. The Social Chair is responsible for informing the membership through the Newsletter or by word of mouth when and where such events will take place.

C. The Social Chair is not necessarily responsible for the Cast Party.

Section 14

A. Newsletter Editor – The Newsletter Editor’s duty is to write and mail to the membership each month a newsletter describing and informing the membership of things of interest happening within the Players.

a. Keeping in mind that 50% of the membership may not be active in each play or with the group, so this is principally their main means of keeping connected with the Players.

B. The By-Laws state that the membership must be notified of upcoming meetings by mail, so the Newsletter serves as that vehicle.

C. The Newsletter Editor must contact the President regarding any article submitted by the membership within one week (7 days) of receipt if that article is of a questionable nature (the Newsletter Editor will use their best judgment regarding what is questionable).

a. The President will then arbitrate the questionable nature of the article and decide on its publication.

b. The President will also contact the articles author to further discuss and clarify the issue.

ARTICLE V

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1

A. All Officers listed in ARTICLE IV, Section 1 & 2 shall comprise the Board of Directors for the Players.

Section 2

A. The Board of Directors shall meet on a monthly basis (with the exception of the month of July).

B. The Board of Directors should meet at least one week before the General membership meeting, but, preferably, the third Tuesday of the month so as to give the Newsletter Editor time enough to include any important news in the Newsletter, unless otherwise directed by a majority of the Board of Directors.

Section 3

A. The Board of Directors shall direct the Treasurer to disburse funds, designate a depository, act upon reports from the Treasurer, act upon a financial plan from the Executive Producer for each production.

B. The Board of Directors shall act upon matters of general policy and exercise on behalf of the membership all of the rights, powers and duties of the Players other than the power to amend or the power to dissolve the Players.

Section 4

A. The Board of Directors shall designate initiation fees and yearly dues for individual and family memberships.

Section 5

A. The Script Reading Committee shall present to the Board of Directors three (3) plays so they can choose one of the three to be presented at that time next year.

a. As an example, choose the FALL play for next season after the close of the FALL play, then the WINTER play for next season right after the close of the WINTER show.

b. The SPRING play, however, shall be chosen earlier so that all three plays for the next season can be published in our final SPRING production playbill.

Section 6

A. The general membership can reverse any decision of the Board of Directors by a 2/3 vote of the members present at a general membership meeting.

ARTICLE VI

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Section 1

A. The annual nomination and election of officers shall be held at the May meeting.

Section 2

A. Nominations for officers shall be made by the Nomination Committee.

B. The Nomination Committee will consist of up to three (3) members, appointed by the President at least one (1) month prior to the election.

C. The Nomination Committee shall report at the election meeting, the name of one or more nominees for each office to be filled.

a. President

b. Vice President

c. Secretary

d. Treasurer

D. The consent of each nominee must be obtained before his/her name is placed on the ballot.

Section 3

A. The election shall be by ballot unless otherwise directed by a majority of members present.

Section 4

A. The election of officers shall be by vote of a majority of active members present and voting.

B. The term of office shall be one (1) year and shall begin at the September general meeting.

Section 5

A. The officers of the Board of Directors shall be installed at the September general membership meeting.

B. The “Obligation of Office” will be administered by a past President.

Section 6

A. No elective officer shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms in the same office.

Section 7

A. Vacancies in the elective offices other than President (which is filled automatically by the Vice President), shall be filled by vote of the membership at the general membership meeting following notice of the vacancy.

ARTICLE VII

MEETNGS & FISCAL YEAR

Section 1

A. General meetings of the Players shall be held on the first Tuesday of each month (with the exception of July & August), unless otherwise directed by the Board of Directors.

Section 2

A. A quorum for the general membership or special called meetings shall consist of 25% of the paid-up membership.

B. In the event that a quorum is not reached, a ¾ vote by those in attendance shall suspend the actual quorum figure and temporarily establish the number in attendance as a quorum.

a. This is to ensure that vital and necessary business is conducted.

Section 3

A. Special meetings of the membership may be called by the President or upon written request by nine (9) regular members.

B. Three (3) days notice is to be given members, stating the reason for such a meeting and no other business is to be transacted.

Section 4

A. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the President or upon the request of four (4) members of the Board at anytime.

B. All members must be notified of these special Board meetings.

Section 5

A. At meetings of the Board of Directors, six (6) members shall constitute a quorum for conducting business.

Section 6

A. The fiscal season of the Players shall end on the 31st day of July each year.

Section 7

A. All members of the Players shall be notified by mail in advance of an ensuing general membership meeting.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENTS

Section 1

A. These By-Laws may be amended at any regular or special meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present and voting, providing the amendment has been submitted to the membership at the previous regular or special meeting.

ARTICLE IX

REMOVAL OF BOARD MEMBERS

Section 1

A. Any Board member who fails to fulfill their duties and/or misses two (2) consecutive Board meetings without excuse may be replaced upon the vote of the majority of the Board of Directors.

B. An elected official (as defined in ARTICLE IV, Section 1) will be replaced in accordance with ARTICLE VI, Section 7.

C. An appointed officer will be replaced by an appointment made by the President and approved by the other elected members of the Board of Directors.

Special Note:

The St. Clair Shores Players were incorporated with the Michigan Securities Commission as the St. Clair Shores Community Players on November 16, 1959.

Or, email us at: scsplayersorg@yahoo.com