CET Booster Club General Meeting

Minutes, January 16, 2025, Approved April 8, 2025

Present: There were eight people plus four members of the Booster Board (Trudy Gates, Sascha Matish, Margie Morris, and Alisse Portnoy) and CET’s director (Emily Wilson Tobin) in attendance.

The meeting was called to order by Emily Wilson-Tobin at 6:32 pm, with introductions around the circle.

  1. Emily Wilson-Tobin welcomed everyone and summarized Curtains, a traditional musical from the late 1990s, a comedic murder mystery). Emily mentioned some problematic language, racism, sexism, and violence (played for laughs) in the show that students, Emily, and other advisors are adjusting and/or discussing, and explained protocols around props such as a fake gun.

  2. Emily announced student board organized activities, fun stuff to help the cast and crew bond. That includes a game afternoon on February 1, as well as some traditional activities during performance weekend such as NYPD and Pinball Pete’s. They are great activities but are completely optional and not formally supervised. Emily asked family members to check about transportation and other logistics if their student plans to attend, and reiterated that CET provides gift cards if money is a concern.

  3. Sascha Matish, CET Booster Club Board President, explained that the Board supports Emily and the kids in a variety of ways, including securing volunteers, running errands, sewing, and orchestrating meals for the kids during tech week (folks will be asked to provide some food if possible, and perhaps help serve one of the meals if that’s doable). The Board also runs the concession stand during performances, manages the dues process and ticket sales. Sign ups for things including volunteering for meals and concession sales will come over email. 

    1. Dues are $75 for one show and $140 for two shows (fall play and spring musical; Just Desserts does not require dues). There also is an option to pay less, or to pay nothing. No one will be turned away. Payments can be made on the website. 

    2. Tickets are available online a couple of weeks before the show and sell out quickly. There is an online ticket “exchange” in case you are looking for tickets or want to “change” your tickets. 

    3. Bus Tokens: Students receive a free bus pass to AATA public transit buses, but they only are good during the week. If students are taking public transportation to crew meetings, cast rehearsals, etc., CET can provide tokens. Just let Emily know. 

  4. Margie Morris, CET Producer and Booster Board Member, reported that CET is transitioning from mainly business ads in performance programs to mainly family ads. Family ads are encouraged but not required, and if a family wants to place a family ad but cannot allocate the funds, CET will cover the cost.

  5. Emily reviewed CET’s attendance policies. 

    1. Cast and crew members submitted their conflicts with rehearsals on their registration forms. The stage managers have created a spreadsheet to track conflicts. We know unexpected things come up. What is most important is that students communicate with the appropriate people. Contact information for relevant people (e.g., stage managers, crew leaders) are at the top of the production schedule. 

    2. Attendance should be prioritized as CET gets closer to Tech Week. Attendance is required for Tech Week. 

  6. There were no questions. People were invited to stay for the Booster Club Board Meeting immediately following the General Meeting. After some general conversation, the meeting adjourned. 

The meeting was adjourned at 6:54 pm. 

Respectfully submitted,

Alisse Portnoy, Secretary