Tufts University's Torn Ticket II

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THE CONSTITUTION

Article I: Name
Henceforth, the name of this organization will be Torn Ticket II created through the merger of Top Hat and Tails, and Torn Ticket in May 1982.

Article II: Statement of Purpose
Section 1. To produce musical theater at Tufts University
Section 2. To give each participating member an opportunity to learn and be involved in the production of musical theater
Section 3. To produce a minimum of three (3) shows per year, including two (2) major productions and one (1) Orientation production.
Section 4. To maintain positive relations with Pen, Paint and Pretzels, the Department of Drama and Dance, the Music Department, and Office of Student Activities.

Article III: Membership
Section 1. General Membership
Anyone who has participated in any capacity in a Torn Ticket II production or attended a general meeting shall be considered a general member of the organization. These members are encouraged to attend meetings and to participate in present and future productions.
Section 2. Voting Membership
A. Voting membership will be determined immediately before any voting process. Requirements must be fulfilled each and every year to maintain voting membership. Voting membership may be held over Spring to Spring or Fall to Fall. Students who go abroad have the semester before they leave and the semester upon return to fulfill the voting requirements.
B. Requirements:
  1. Members must be undergraduates paying the student activities fee.
  2. Attendance at 60% of the general meetings in the current semester.
  3. One commitment to Torn Ticket II in the current semester.
   i. A commitment to the organization shall be defined as any activity for the organization above and beyond the attendance to an organization’s activities and/or any position that the student is paid for (including ushering).
  4. It is the sole responsibility of the member to submit their commitments at the time designated by the Secretary.
C. New Members
  1. Any first time members (including freshman) will be considered New Members. In order to vote in their first semester, New Members must:

i. Attend 60% of meetings in that semester.

ii. Complete a total of two commitments. At least one must be a major commitment, and at least one must be to Torn Ticket II.

iii. A major commitment is defined as any commitment that involves a significant time commitment. For example, being in a cast, crew or pstaff of a show, serving on the executive board, or anything else that the board deems appropriate.

2. It is the sole responsibility of the member to submit their commitments at the time designated by the Secretary.

Article IV: Voting Procedures
Section 1. Votes
A. All votes will be passed by a simple majority (50% plus one of the voting
members present, not including abstentions) and by ballot, unless otherwise
noted in the Constitution.
B. Each Executive Board position must be filled in order for a vote on any
production to occur.
Section 2. Quorums
A. A quorum consists of a simple majority of the entire voting membership
unless otherwise specified.
B. Votes regarding the election and removal of Executive Board Officers, and
major show proposals may not be taken without a quorum of two-thirds (2/3)
of the entire voting membership.
Section 3. Coming to a Decision
A. If at any point in a voting procedure the Executive Board unanimously
decides discussion has ceased progressing they can initiate a vote.
B. If the first vote is a tie, further discussion may be (changed from “is”)
necessary. If the second vote is a tie, then the Executive Board will cast
the final decision with no abstentions allowed.

Article V: Election of Executive Board Officers
Section 1. Eligibility
A Executive Board Officers shall be able to serve from June to June concurrent
with the normal academic year.
Section 2. Policy
A Elections will be held by the first week of April.
B In the event that a seat is vacated during the term, an election will be
held at the following scheduled meeting.
Section 3. Procedure
A Positions will be elected in the following order: President, Vice-President,
Secretary, Treasurer, Librarian-Historian, Costume Administrator, and
Technical Administrator. Each position will be filled according to the
following procedure:
1. All positions must be nominated. Self-nomination is acceptable.
2. All nominations must be seconded.
3. Nominations must be accepted or declined in person, or in writing. If
accepted, all candidates will have an opportunity to present themselves to
the organization after all nominations have ended. Nominees not present may submit a presentation.
4. Members then will have the opportunity to question the candidates.
5. Once the discussion is closed, candidates will leave the room while the
remaining members discuss the candidates’ qualifications.
6. Once the discussion has ended, the nominees may return, and a vote will
occur.
7. If more than two candidates are nominated for a position, and no candidate
receives a simple majority of votes, a second vote will occur between the
two candidates that received the most votes, according to standard voting
procedures.

Article VI: Removal of Executive Board Officers
Section 1. Determining Legitimate Reason
A To remove an officer from his or her position, the following procedure must
be followed:
1. A written list of reasons for removal must be presented by the Board to the
voting membership at a general meeting.
2. After reading the proposal, a simple majority vote will be taken to decide
whether there is a legitimate reason for an impeachment proceeding.
3. The impeachment proceeding must take place within the next two meetings.
Section 2. The Impeachment Proceedings
A A two-thirds quorum of voting members must be present.
B The arguments for and against removal will be presented to the voting
membership at a general meeting.
C There will be no discussion after the arguments.
D Following the arguments, a vote will occur.
E A two-thirds (2/3) majority is needed to remove any Executive Board Officer.

Article VII: Duties of the Executive Board
Section 1. President
A. To be responsible for all actions of Torn Ticket II as an organization.
B. To coordinate all actions of Torn Ticket II and to preside over all meetings.
C. To act as a liaison between the general membership, the administration, and faculty of Tufts University.
D. To call emergency meetings when necessary.
E. To oversee the Treasurer in financial planning for Torn Ticket II.
F. To stay in close communication with the Treasurer before, during and after
each production.
G. To nominate a qualified member to maintain and support all organizational
Internet resources (Online Coordinator). This nomination must be accepted
by a majority vote of the Executive Board.
H. To maintain contact with all Executive Board Officers.

Section 2. Vice-President of Department Relations
A. To act as president in the President’s absence.

B. To act as liaison between Torn Ticket II and the music department, particularly to assist in finding musicians for pit orchestras.

C. To act as liaison between Torn Ticket II and the dance department.

D. To aid the President in acting as liaison between Torn Ticket II and the drama department.

E. To act as liaison between Torn Ticket II and other student organizations.
F. To maintain contact with Executive Board Officers, especially the President, and to assist the President as needed.

Section 3. Vice President of Technical Administration
A. To keep the costume storage and shop clean and organized.
B. To keep inventory of costumes, tools, set pieces and props before and after each production.
C. To make all decisions regarding set, props, costume pieces and make-up.
D. To make sure all costumes are cleaned after each production.
E. To advise and assist the set, props make-up and costume designers, and technical director of all productions.
F. To coordinate the use of all technical materials for any and all Torn
Ticket II purposes.
G. To be ultimately responsible for the upkeep and the purchase of new
equipment.
H. To maintain contact with all Executive Board Officers.

Section 4. Secretary
A. To maintain all Torn Ticket II attendance and voting eligibility records.
B. To record all minutes of all general meetings and distribute them to the
membership as well as the Online Coordinator to be posted on the Torn Ticket
II web page.
C. To remind all general members of the meetings, either personally, or in
conjunction with the Online Coordinator and/or the Vice-President.
D. To make a copy of this constitution available to all general members.
E. To maintain contact with all Executive Board Officers.

Section 5. Treasurer
A. To keep a detailed and accurate account of all Torn Ticket II transactions.
B. To be ultimately responsible for all loans, appropriations and official
budgets.
C. To maintain contact with the Student Activities Budget Coordinator, the
Senate Treasurer and the Council V Chairperson of the TCU Senate, and to
understand the procedures of the Senate Treasury.
D. To save a copy of all budgets and final reports for future reference.
E. To give a financial report concerning the organization in conjunction with
the final report of the producer on any production.
F. To advise and assist the producer of each show on budget-related
responsibilities.
G. To maintain contact with all Executive Board Officers.

Section 6. Librarian-Historian
A. To acquire, save and organize programs, budgets, newspaper articles,
posters, photographs, any available scripts and/or scores, and any other
artifacts or memorabilia for each production.
B. To provide the Online Coordinator with programs and photographs for the
purpose of posting them on the Torn Ticket II web page.
C. To act as the curator and librarian of the Torn Ticket II archives and
library.
D. To act as the agent through which all members of the Tufts community may
borrow library and archive files.
E. To actively acquire and keep records of all Torn Ticket II alumni
information and maintain contact with them using any medium, at least once a semester.
F. To maintain contact with all Executive Board Officers.

G. To be responsible for all organizational publicity.

H. To be responsible for updating sources of advertisement in order to aid in
the publicity of future productions and of the organization.

Section 8. General Executive Board Duties
B. The Executive Board has the responsibility to make executive decision in the
event of an emergency. Five of the six Executive Board Officers
must be present to make any such decision.

Section 2. Minor/Experimental Production Proposals
A. Proposal Requirements
1. A minor production must include a director, producer, musical director, stage manager, and technical director. The Executive Board must approve any deviation from this proposed production staff due to the experimental nature
of a specific show.
2. A proposal must include a written statement including, but not limited to, a
description of the show and the production staff’s qualifications.
3. A show is ineligible for production by Torn Ticket II if it has been produced within the last five (5) years except by permission of the Executive Board.
B. The proposal procedure will be held in one meeting.
1. Directors will have up to fifteen (15) minutes to present their proposal.
2. If possible, a sample of the music should be played.
3. After the presentation, ten (10) minutes will be allowed per show for questions.
4. The director(s) then must leave and a discussion will ensue.
5. The show must pass Executive Board and General Membership approval.
C. Up to two (2) minors may be produced in a semester.

Article VIII: Finances
Section 1. Torn Ticket II Organizational Budget
A. Torn Ticket II shall be a TCU Senate-funded organization. Every spring, a
budget will be submitted to the Allocations Board (ALBO).
B. The budget will be drafted by the Treasurer and will be approved by a
unanimous vote of the Executive Board before submission to ALBO.
C. The budget will, but not exclusively, include an organizational budget for
the year and funding for:
1. the rights, rentals, and advertising for the major productions;
2. minor/experimental productions;
3. stock upkeep
4. organized field trips to professional and amateur productions off-campus.
Section 2. Minor/Experimental/Orientation Production Budgets
A. The Executive will maintain final approval as to the specific amount
of funding that will be allocated.
B. The budget for the Orientation production will be provided by the
Administration.
Section 3. Payment of Cast or Crew of a Show.
No money will be paid to performers or staff except by special arrangement
with the voting membership, and the consultation with the Student Activities
Budget Coordinator and the TCU treasurer.
Section 4. Complimentary Tickets
The producer(s) of each show will set their own complimentary ticket policies .
Section 5. Reimbursement of Personal Funds
A. In order to be reimbursed for money spent on a production, itemized receipts must be given to the producer of each show.
B. The producer will give the receipts to the Torn Ticket II Treasurer after keeping their own records for the show.
C. The treasurer will bring all receipts to the Senate within a reasonable time.
D. In no case will a member of the organization bring receipts directly to the Senate Treasury.
E. Any receipts not given to the Torn Ticket II Treasurer by the end of the semester shall be considered null and void, and will not be paid.
Section 6. The President and the Treasurer will hold signatory power for
the organization.

Article IX: Guidelines for Major Proposals

Section 1. Proposal Requirements
A. A proposal must include a director, musical director (both orchestral and vocal director), producer, stage manager, and technical director.
B. Either the director or stage manager will have previously worked on a Torn Ticket II production in any capacity therefore showing interest in the organization.
C. A proposal must contain a written statement, including, but not limited to a basic explanation of the show and the qualifications of the production staff.
D. The proposal must include at least two (2) songs from the show.
E. A show in ineligible for production by Torn Ticket II if it has been produced within the last five (5) years.

Section 2. Proposal Procedure
A. The proposal process will be divided into two meetings.
B. Prior to either meeting, written proposals may be handed out to the membership during a general meeting.
C. At the first meeting, each proposal will have fifteen (15) minutes to make a presentation to the membership.
D. Following all presentations, there will ten (10) minutes per proposal for questions. Any general member may ask questions.
E. After the final question or the expiration of the allotted time, whichever is first, all directors and/or proposers will be asked to leave the room, before discussion can begin.
F. The Executive Board shall determine the length of the discussion.
G. Any director and/or proposer may be called back in for further questions at any point.
H. Following the completion of discussion the meeting will be adjourned.
I. The following week, each director and/or proposer will be allowed time to announce any updates to their proposal.
J. Five (5) minutes will then be allotted for questions of any proposal.
K. After the completion of all questions or the expiration of the time, whichever is first, a vote will be taken. Voting members may vote for any proposal, abstain or for ‘none of the above.’ A simple majority vote is needed to determine which show will be produced.
L. If there are more than two proposals, and no one proposal receives a simple majority of votes, a second vote will occur between the two proposals that received the most votes.
M. If any vote results in a tie, a re-vote will occur. If the vote remains a tie, the Executive Board will vote and must reach a decision (excluding any member of the Executive Board who is proposing.)

Section 3. Board Shows
A. If no proposals are presented or accepted, the Executive Board has the responsibility to select a show and a production staff.
B. The Executive Board will ask for self-nominations for directors.
C. The board will pick a director and four possible show to produce.
D. The director will choose two shows of the four that he or she would like to direct.
E. The director and the board will collaborate to find a production staff.
F. The director will then present the 2 shows and production staffs to the
voting membership for voting under normal voting procedures.

Article X: Other Productions

Section 1. Orientation Production Proposals
A. A proposal must include a director, musical director, producer, stage manager, and technical director.
B. A proposal must include a written statement including, but not limited to, a
description of the show and the production staff’s qualifications.
C. The proposal procedure will be held in one meeting.
1. Directors will have up to fifteen (15) minutes to present their proposal.
2. If possible, a sample of the music should be played.
3. After the presentation, ten (10) minutes will be allowed per show for questions.
4. The director(s) then must leave and a discussion will ensue.
5. Voting procedures will be the same as for major productions.
D. An Orientation production should be a one-act musical, or a two-act musical
that can be shortened to be approximately one (1) hour in length. Attention
should be paid to small cast and low-tech shows.
E. After approval by Torn Ticket II, the Orientation committee must also approve the show. If they reject the proposal, Torn Ticket II will select another production by the same procedures.
F. If no one proposes an Orientation production, the same procedure will be followed for a Board Show as for the major production. An Orientation production must be produced.
G. A show is ineligible for production by Torn Ticket II if it has been produced within the last five (5) years unless by permission of the Executive Board.

Section 2. Minor/Experimental Production Proposals
A. Proposal Requirements
1. A minor production must include a director, producer, musical director, stage manager, and technical director. The Executive Board must approve any deviation from this proposed production staff due to the experimental nature
of a specific show.
2. A proposal must include a written statement including, but not limited to, a
description of the show and the production staff’s qualifications.
3. A show is ineligible for production by Torn Ticket II if it has been produced within the last five (5) years except by permission of the Executive Board.
B. The proposal procedure will be held in one meeting.
1. Directors will have up to fifteen (15) minutes to present their proposal.
2. If possible, a sample of the music should be played.
3. After the presentation, ten (10) minutes will be allowed per show for questions.
4. The director(s) then must leave and a discussion will ensue.
5. The show must pass Executive Board and General Membership approval.
C. More than one (1) minor may be produced in a semester. Therefore, there is
no reason to choose between proposals. Each proposal is judged on its own
merit and feasibility.

Article XI: Auditions
Section 1. Auditions will be held at a time determined by the production
staff, with consideration given to any other scheduled theatrical auditions.
Section 2. Auditions are open to any active member of the Tufts Community.

Article XII: Amendments
Section 1. This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.
Section 2. An amendment must be presented in writing to the voting membership in a general meeting at least one week prior to when a vote will take place.
Section 3. All amendments must first be approved by the TCU Judiciary.