CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION

The Mimes and Mummers at Fordham University ​

ARTICLE I - NAME: 

The club’s full name is The Mimes and Mummers at

Fordham University

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE: 

We foster students’ artistic and general development by

providing first-hand experience in leadership, organizational management, decision

making, planning, and technology.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP: 

All undergraduate students are eligible to become

members. In order for a student to become an official voting member, they must fully

participate in two set strikes. (A set strike is done immediately after the last performance

of each show. It consists of breaking down the set and restoring the theater and its

properties to their original pre-show conditions. Each individual must be present for

attendance at the beginning and the end of strike and must do productive work

throughout the entire strike. Additionally, the Executive Board can call an alternate strike

to complete any work that is needed to be done in the theater. An alternate strike must

take a minimum of one and one half hours and follow the same attendance rules as a

regular strike.) Once a student has partaken in two set strikes, they are automatically a

member of the Mimes and Mummers. All undergraduate students are welcome to

audition for and technically assist with all shows. Only members who have participated

in two set strikes, however, are eligible to vote. Members should maintain an

appropriate grade point average and class standing. The Mimes and Mummers do not

restrict membership based upon national origin, race, religion, creed, gender, sexual

orientation, age, or physical handicap. The Mimes and Mummers will comply with the

University’s Hazing Policy and will not impose or participate in any form of hazing.

ARTICLE IV - EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICERS The Executive Board of the Mimes

and Mummers at Fordham University consists of eight undergraduate students at

Rose Hill, with at least one officer who must be a non-graduating senior. The

positions and their duties are as follows:

PRESIDENT:

The President oversees the entire executive board, is responsible for the entire club,

and acts as the liaison between the club, the Alumni Association, and the Office of

Student Involvement. The President must maintain a constant presence in the Office of

Student Involvement to oversee space conflicts and facilities issues regarding Collins

Auditorium. The President, together with the Vice President (VP), is responsible for

choosing which directors to interview and ensuring a smooth interview process. The

President with the VP should agree upon dates for each production. Together with the

VP, the President works with the Alumni Association to arrange one alumni event each

year. The President, with the Business Manager, is responsible for keeping the club on

budget and overseeing club finances. The President must arrange general club

meetings for all members at least once per semester. The president must also fulfill one

technical department for each show.

VICE PRESIDENT:

The Vice President works together with the President to assist them in ALL

administrative duties of the presidential position. The VP is responsible for placing the

advertisement in Playbill for the show Directors, and for organizing resumes, picking

candidates to interview with the president, and scheduling interviews with the entire

board. The Vice President is responsible for securing room reservations with the Office

of Student Involvement each semester. The VP must also fulfill a technical department

for each show.

SECRETARY:

The primary responsibility of the Secretary is to obtain rights for upcoming productions.

The Secretary acts as a liaison between the rights organization and the Mimes and

Mummers at Fordham University. The Secretary is required to take minutes at all the

Mimes meetings (general, Board, and show selections). The Secretary is required to

send these minutes out to the entire board. After each show, the Secretary should also

have all Board members fill out an evaluation of the director and musical director, to be

kept by the Secretary for future Board reference. The Secretary is responsible for

maintaining an updated club membership. They are also responsible for the club fair at

the beginning of each semester and keeping track of sign-up lists. They must also fulfill

one technical department for each show.

BUSINESS MANAGER:

The Business Manager is responsible for overseeing all financial aspects of the club.

They are in charge of the writing up and turning in the budget packet, assisting in the

writing of budget appeals, and keeping track of all self-generated and allocated budgets

for the semester. The Business Manager, along with each show producer, is

responsible for dividing up the budget for each show. The Business Manager acts as a

liaison between the Budget Committee and The Mimes and Mummers. The Business

Manager also collects and turns in receipts in accordance with the University

reimbursement policy. The Business Manager is also responsible for ensuring that

each producer processes contracts for directors hired and must follow-up with the

Office of Student Involvement to ensure that the directors get paid. The Business

Manager is NOT responsible for fulfilling a technical department.

SENIOR REPRESENTATIVE:

The Mimes Representative position entails heading a tech department for every show,

assisting with various miscellaneous projects for the theater, interviewing and hiring

directors, assisting in coordinating meetings and events, and in general acting as a

voice on the board. Each rep should take on one project, whether it be working on

website development, community outreach, or coordinating fundraising events with the

Alumni Association. The Senior Rep must be a current junior.

JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVE and SOPHOMORE

REPRESENTATIVE:

The Mimes Rep. positions entail heading a tech department for every show,

assisting with various miscellaneous projects for the theater, interviewing and

hiring directors, assisting in coordinating meetings and events, and in general

acting as a voice on the board. Each rep should take on one project, whether it be

working on website development, community outreach, or coordinating fundraising

events with the Alumni Association. The Junior and Sophomore Reps must be

current or incoming sophomores or juniors.

FRESHMAN REPRESENTATIVE:

The Mimes Rep. position entails heading a tech department for every show, assisting

with various miscellaneous projects for the theater, interviewing and hiring directors,

assisting in coordinating meetings and events, and in general acting as a voice on the

board. Each rep should take on one project, whether it be working on website

development, community outreach, or coordinating fundraising events with the Alumni

Association. The Freshman Rep must be a current freshman.

All representatives must propose their specific project to the board by the start of each

semester.

ARTICLE V - ELECTIONS:

The elections for the new Executive Board are held at the end of the fall semester, after

completion of the fall semester shows, on a date determined by the current Executive

Board. It is the President’s responsibility to contact the general members to inform them

of voting. The President is also responsible for running elections. Two unbiased

members (including the President) are responsible for tallying the votes. Any general

member is eligible to run for the Executive Board. Each position is voted on

independently and in the order of: President, Vice President, Secretary, Business

Manager, Senior Representative, Junior Representative, Sophomore Representative,

Freshman Representative. In order to be considered for the Executive Board, one must

be nominated by two club members. Once the nominee accepts their nomination, they

are asked to speak on their own behalf. Another member of the club must also speak

on behalf of the nominee. Previous Executive Board members may also speak on

behalf of any member running. After all speeches, the President asks the voting

members to write their selection on a secret ballot. The votes are tallied and the

President announces the new board member. If a tie occurs in voting, or a clear

majority is not determined, multiple voting may occur at the discretion of outgoing board

members. If, after multiple voting occurs and there is still a tie, the eight current

Executive Board members have a private meeting, deliberate and then choose between

the two candidates. After the elections are finished, the new Executive Board is trained

by the old Executive Board throughout the first show of the spring semester. During this

period the outgoing and incoming Executive Boards are considered equal board

members. The new Executive Board members take over office after the first show of

the spring semester is completed in March. The new Executive Board is in office prior

to the submission of the operations and budget papers to the United Student

Government and the Office of Student Involvement

ARTICLE VI - MEETINGS:

The Executive Board meets as often as necessary. There are a minimum of six

Executive Board meetings per semester. The quorum for an Executive Board meeting

is six of the eight members, which must include the President. The general board

meets twice a semester: first semester to vote on a new Executive Board, second

semester to vote on shows for the next year, and once a semester for a general club

kick-off meeting. The second-semester show voting meeting will be held near the

conclusion of the school year on a date decided by the Executive Board. It is the

responsibility of the President to inform the members of the meeting. There is no

quorum for a meeting of the general board, but all members must be informed of the

meeting at least one week in advance.

ARTICLE VII - SHOW VOTING:

Show voting occurs at the end of the second semester after the second show of the

year. Any undergrad at Fordham University may submit a show for voting but only

members of the Mimes and Mummers at Fordham University can vote. The President

calls for submissions that must include show title, show description, number of

performers, important technical aspects, why the show is appropriate for the Mimes and

Mummers, and possible difficulties the show presents. All students pitching shows will

be limited to four pitches split between a total of two musicals and two plays per season.

At the meeting, each slot is considered separately. Shows are voted on in order of the

academic year performances: open slot, comedy, musical, and drama. The voting is

facilitated by the President who counts the votes along with at least one other member

of the Executive Board. All shows voted on by club members must be submitted with

backup documentation to OSI for final approval. Should issues arise with show voting,

the vote is directed to the executive Board members.

ARTICLE VIII - SHOW APPROVAL:

Shows with questionable content should require additional communication among

administrators, club leaders, and employees. In order to effectively establish this

communication the following is advised: meetings between the director, musical

director, choreographer, technical team, executive board and an administrator should

be conducted regularly throughout the course of the production depending on the

schedules of all involved; open rehearsals for OSL&CD administrators so they cannot

only insure their expectations are being upheld but also to create a more inclusive

process; outline specific content issues within the show and discuss alternative

methods for performance.

ARTICLE IX - DIRECTORS:

The Executive Board meets to interview and select a director before each

production process. Once a director is hired he/she can not be reconsidered for a

director position until four more shows have passed. This does not apply to the

position of musical director.

All directors and musical directors must be approved by OSI. They must be fully aware

of their contractual duties, the expectations and policies set down by the administration,

as well as their responsibilities as an employee of the Mimes and Mummers at

Fordham University.

Upon entering into an employed relationship with Fordham University, employees

(directors, musical director, choreographer) should meet with the Office of Student

Involvement outlining their goals, ideas, concepts, and blocking for the production. It

should be established through this meeting the University’s expectations for the

production. The producer of the production should be present for this meeting.

ARTICLE X - Productions:

The Mimes and Mummers will produce four shows a year, as voted on by the general

board. Before each production, the Executive Board will arrange for the legal rights and

contract the director(s) in accordance with the responsibilities of their positions. At least

one member of the Executive Board shall serve as Producer for each individual

production. The Producer must be designated before the hiring of a director. The

Producer is responsible for overseeing the entire production including the director,

rehearsal process, all technical aspects and meetings and the budget of the show with

the Business Manager. During the course of a show all Executive Board members are

responsible for heading a specific technical aspect of the production. Auditions for

shows are open to all undergraduate students at Fordham University, excluding Lincoln

Center theater majors, and are scheduled by the Producer. Auditions are run at the

discretion of the director, in accordance with all club and University policies. Once a

show is cast, the producer must inform the cast of their responsibilities, which will

include attending all rehearsals, doing a set number of hours of work on technical

aspects of the show, and conducting themselves in accordance with all University

policies. If a member of the cast fails to do the specified amount of hours of technical

work, that person may not audition or be cast in the next show and the show in the

parallel slot of the show they are cast in, the following year. A certain amount of the

technical hours for each show must be designated to the set design department. If a

cast member does not fully participate in the strike of the show they cannot audition for

or be cast in the next four productions. The producer must oversee the cast and make

judgments in cases of dispute over the responsibilities. All cast members will be

informed when they have violated policy.

ARTICLE XI - CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS:

Any amendment to the constitution must be proposed at a general board meeting. The

amendment must be made available for review by the general board membership. The

amendment shall be voted on at the meeting of the general board and must pass with

at least a 2/3 vote of the voting membership. All amendment additions or deletions 

must be filed with OSI within one week of adoption, and any and all chances must be

approved by the Operations Committee prior to adoption.

ARTICLE XI - SAFETY

If at any point a participant in the Mimes and Mummers brings to the attention of a

member of the executive board of the club a matter concerning the safety of

themselves or another participant in activities hosted by the club, the Mimes and

Mummers executive board has the responsibility to work towards ensuring the safety

issue be resolved to the best of their capacity. In order to ensure the safety of all who

participate in its programming, the executive board of the Mimes and Mummers may

remove individuals from programs when they deem fit, require changes to tech,

blocking, or other elements of shows, or reach out to relevant authorities with the

safety concern so that they can properly remedy the situation.

ARTICLE XIII - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

The Mimes and Mummers at Fordham University realize the responsibilities we take on

as set forth in our purpose, and we will abide by the Constitution of the United States

Government and the University policy and regulations as stated in the Student

Handbook. The views of the Mimes and Mummers at Fordham University are

independent, and do not necessarily represent those of the University.