REGINA LITTLE THEATRE SOCIETY, INC.
Constitution as revised and amended August 14, 2022
ARTICLE 1 – NAME OF THE SOCIETY
The name of the Society shall be Regina Little Theatre Society, Inc. It shall, from time to time, be referred to as Regina Little Theatre Society, or as Regina Little Theatre, or as RLT in its daily operations and for public identification.
ARTICLE 2 –OBJECTIVES AND SPECIFIC AIMS OF THE SOCIETY
1) OBJECTIVES: The objectives of the Society are the promotion, encouragement, study, and public performance of theatre, stagecraft, and dramatic literature.
2) SPECIFIC AIMS:
A) To foster and encourage community theatre and amateur theatre in Regina and surrounding area.
B) To foster and encourage awareness of all facets of community and amateur theatre production.
C) To foster and encourage artistic and practical development of members through play productions, workshops, playwriting and mentoring.
D) To facilitate and encourage participation by, and representation of, all segments of society, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
E) To collect and make available materials supportive to the development of theatre for the Society and for the use of other like-minded organizations.
F) To stimulate co-operation between the Society and all persons and organizations active in community theatre and amateur theatre, particularly in Saskatchewan, whose objectives are to advance theatre.
ARTICLE 3 – MEMBERSHIP
1) The members of the Society shall consist of Members, Life Members, and Honorary Patrons.
2) The definition, rights, privileges, restrictions, and conditions of membership shall be specified in the bylaws.
3) All members except Honourary Patrons shall be entitled to vote at the Annual General Meeting (hereinafter AGM) of Members, and at each meeting shall be entitled to one vote.
ARTICLE 4 – DIRECTORS OF THE SOCIETY
1) The Directors and Officers of the Society shall be hereinafter referred to as the Board.
2) The Board shall consist of the following Members, of which A) B) C) and D) shall constitute the Executive.
A) The President, who shall be elected by and from the General Membership for a two-year term at the AGM held in even-numbered years (to take effect at the AGM of 2022).
B) The Vice-President, who shall be elected by and from the General Membership for a two-year term at the AGM in odd-numbered years (to take effect at the AGM of 2023).
C) The Treasurer, who shall be elected by and from the General Membership for a two-year term at the AGM in odd-numbered years (to take effect at the AGM of 2023).
D) The Secretary, who shall be elected by and from the General Membership for a two-year term in even-numbered years (to take effect at the AGM of 2022).
E) Eight (8) Members-at-large, who shall be elected by and from the General Membership at the AGM on the following basis:
i. Each year four (4) of the eight (8) Members-at-large shall be elected by and from the
General Membership at the AGM to serve for terms of two years.
ii. If any of the remaining four (4) Members-at-large positions is vacant, then it shall be
filled by election at the AGM for a term of one year.
iii. If a position on the Board, including the Executive, is not filled at the AGM, the
Board may appoint anyone from the General Membership to fill the position.
F) The Past-President, who was the President immediately previous to the current
President.
i. If an individual person who is not the current President is elected at an AGM to the
office of the President, then the current President shall be automatically appointed to the office of Past President effective at the adjournment of the same AGM and for a term of office of not more than one year. During this term, the Past President has the same rights as the Members-at-Large
ii. Once the Past President has completed the term of office, then there shall be no Past President on the Board and that office shall be considered to be vacant until a subsequent AGM at which an individual person who is not the current President is elected to the office of President.
G) In the event that any Board Member other than the Past President is unable to complete his
or her term due to death, resignation, removal from the Board, or disqualification, then a quorum
of the Board shall be empowered to fill the vacant Board position by appointment from
within the General Membership. Any Board Member so appointed shall serve on the Board until
the adjournment of the next AGM.
(H) A Board Member completing a term at an AGM shall be eligible to run for re-election to
the Board at the same AGM.
(I) A resignation of a Board Member becomes effective at the time a written resignation is
sent to the Board, (or an individual Board Member) or at a time specified in the resignation,
whichever is later. A resignation submitted through e-mail or other electronic means shall
be considered to be a written resignation.
i. A Board Member who resigns may retract the resignation within 48 hours of the
submission of that resignation, subject to majority approval by the other Board
Members.
ARTICLE 5 – MEETINGS OF THE SOCIETY
1) The president shall be the chairperson at all General Meetings and Board Meetings of the Society.
A) If the President is unable to attend a meeting, then the Vice-President shall be the chairperson
at the meeting.
B) If both the President and Vice-President are unable to attend a meeting, then that meeting
shall be postponed to a later date at which at least one of them is able to attend.
2) The General Membership shall govern the affairs of the Society at General Meetings, of which there
shall be at least one for each fiscal year.
A) Quorum at a General Meeting shall constitute fifteen (15) of the General Membership, which
shall not include the meeting's chairperson.
B) Each person from the General Membership present at the General Meeting shall have one
vote, except for the chairperson who shall not vote except to cast the deciding vote in the event
of a deadlock.
3) One General Meeting shall be the AGM, which shall be held within five (5) calendar months that follow the end of the Society's fiscal year.
A) The time and place of the General Meeting shall be set by the Executive.
B) Notice of the General Meeting shall be sent to the General Membership and to the
auditor/reviewer of the financial statements, not more than 50 nor less than 15 days before the day on which the meeting is to be held.
C) The agenda for the AGM shall include, but not be limited to the following items:
i. Call to Order
ii. Adoption of the agenda
iii. Approval of the minutes of the last General Meeting
iv. Constitutional and bylaw amendments v. Business arising from the minutes
v. Approval of reviewed or audited Financial Report vii. Reports by Executive Members
vi. Reports by Special Interest Representatives
vii. Election of Executive Members
viii. Awards and Presentations
ix. Notice of next Annual General Meeting
x. Adjournment
4) Between General Meetings, the Board on behalf of the General Membership shall administer the
affairs of the Society. The Board must hold a minimum of ten (10) Board meetings per fiscal year with additional Board meetings as necessary, called by the President or Vice-President.
A) Quorum at a Board Meeting shall constitute six (6) Board Members, which shall not include
the meeting's chairperson.
B) Each Board Member shall have one vote, except the chairperson who shall not vote except to
cast the deciding vote in the event of a deadlock.
5) A special meeting of the General Membership shall be called upon written application by at least ten
(10) of the General Membership. Such written application will clearly state the objective of the special
meeting, and must be received by the President or the Vice-President at least fifteen days, unless there is
a waiver, before the requested date of the special meeting.
ARTICLE 6 – AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE SOCIETY
1) This Constitution may be amended at any General Meeting of the Society by two-thirds majority vote
of the General Membership present under the following conditions:
A) The proposed amendments or a summary thereof, shall be called "Notice of Pending
Amendment", and copies shall be included in the official publication of the Society to the
General Membership not more than fifty (50) nor less than fifteen (15) days before the meeting,
or must be published at least once in each of three consecutive weeks preceding the meeting in a
daily newspaper in Regina. All reasonable efforts should be made to publish the pending
amendments on the Society Website and social media platforms as well.
2) The bylaws may be enacted, repealed or amended by resolution by a simple vote of fifty percent
(50%) plus one of the Board Members present at a Board Meeting, and shall be confirmed, confirmed as
amended or rejected by the General Membership present at the next General Meeting.
A) No bylaw of the Society shall be incompatible with any provision of this constitution.
B) The proposed bylaws or bylaw amendments, or summary thereof, shall be called "Notice of
Motion", and copies sent to the General Membership not more than fifty (50) nor less than
fifteen (15) days before the meeting, in which case ratification shall occur on a simple majority
vote of the General Membership present.
C) If "Notice of Motion" copies are sent to the General Membership more than fifty (50) days or
less than fifteen (15) before the meeting, then ratification shall occur on a two-thirds majority of
the General Membership present.
ARTICLE 7 – DISSOLUTION
- Board Members, or a General Member entitled to vote at an AGM, may make a proposal for the voluntary liquidation and dissolution of the Society, a copy of which will be provided to the General Membership with the Notice of General Meeting. A statement of not more than 200 words in support of the proposal, and the name and address of the proposing member, will also be included.
- The Society may be dissolved:
A) by unanimous resolution of all the Board Members; or
B) by special resolution of the General Membership. Such resolution will require not less than two-thirds of the votes cast by the General Membership in respect to that resolution.
- Such resolution or special resolution shall authorize the Executive to cause the Society to distribute any property or discharge any liabilities by a specified future date. After discharge of all liabilities, the Executive is to distribute the remaining property to registered charities within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada) or other purposes as approved by a General Meeting of the Society and in accordance with legislation.