The Village Players Policy for Respect of All Members.

(Approved by the Board February 4, 2019)

Note: a Member is defined as anyone who works on a production, in any capacity, during a season.

This policy is published on the Auditions page of the Village Players website. The Board will provide a copy to each Director after their selection to perform a play which is part of our season. The Producer of each play will provide a copy of the policy to each member of the creative and production teams by email, after casting, and as members of the team are recruited.

1. We come together in the love of theatre. We seek to create a space of mutual respect where each participant has the opportunity to contribute their skills in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. This is a shared responsibility of all participants.

2. We will not tolerate any form of harassment, bullying, or other intimidating, hostile or offensive behavior which may undermine the dignity or self-esteem of an individual working in any capacity on our productions. The Village Players supports the spirit of the Ontario Human Rights legislation.

3. The Producer is the Board’s representative on any production and has responsibility to ensure an environment consistent with board policies, and that all members of the creative team and production team, including outside advisors, if any, are familiar with the policy and comply with it.

4. If a production should require that a character be partially clothed or give the illusion of being nude, or engage in intimate physical contact, a description of these elements will be be provided in the audition notice as part of the character description.

5. Directors should describe at auditions the degree of nudity and intimate contact which the play will require and how they intend to address these issues. They are expected to seek the consent of their actors for nudity or intimate contact that has not been specified in the audition notice. A director may not require any display of nudity or intimate contact that has not been specified in the audition notice.

6. The Director is expected to engage in open and respectful conversation with the actors about the physical contact required in a scene. Physical contact should be planned and agreed in consultation among the Director and actors involved, never improvised. Consent should never be assumed.

7. Actors are expected to engage with each other to ensure that they have each other’s consent for physical contact. Physical contact should be planned and agreed in consultation with the Director and actors involved, never improvised. Consent should never be assumed.

8. Useful resources include:
a. Pillars of Safe Intimacy Rehearsal and Performance Practice adopted by Intimacy Directors International.
b. Not in Our Space, a respectful workplace campaign on which Equity and ACT have collaborated, which also provides a number of resources.

9. During the Director selection process, the Director and the Producer (or another designate of the Theatre) will agree on whether the level of intimacy in the production requires the assistance of an intimacy director or choreographer.

10. An Actor should never be requested to rehearse intimate scenes in private.

11. If any member should feel that they have been subjected to inappropriate behaviour, or should see others being subjected to inappropriate behaviour, they should speak to their Producer or Stage Manager, or to the President of Village Players, as appropriate.