Due to the efforts of Tibor Egavari, the programme committee, and the Executive, the Ottawa meeting went extremely well; everything ran on schedule and we all benefitted from an exciting slate of great papers. As with all such conferences, what happens after the formal sessions during those times in the beer tent, is just as important: we get to ask the questions we didn't think of, become re- acquainted with old friends and make new connections. I hope a lot of that happened.
Another important function of the annual conference is that we get to attend meetings and deal with the business of the organization. The AGM was well attended, and as you can see from the minutes, much was accomplished. One important piece of business was the creation of a special interest group of heads/chairs of drama programmes across the country. It is our hope that such a group will provide a forum for people to debate issues related to curriculum as well as the effect of the new financial landscape on drama and theatre in post secondary institutions.
It seems that the most persistent problem we have is attracting new members and holding on to some of those we have on the roster already. We're doing our best and have managed to keep the membership numbers steady. However, we would appreciate your help in spreading the word. In the meantime I would welcome any ideas you might have about how to make ACTR better known in the academic and professional theatre world.
Thank you very much for allowing me to serve as President for another year. And thank you to the 1998/99 Executive for all your work in running this very important association.
See you at Sherbrooke and Bishop's
Sincerely
Ches Skinner
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