Comedy Rights Crusader Sandra Battaglini Steps Down from Canada’s First Comedian Collective
Comedian Sandra Battaglini, a founding member of the Canadian Association of Stand-Up Comedians (CASC), who spearheaded a movement to lobby for comedians rights has been serving as Executive Director and President since the inception of CASC in 2017.
This week, Battaglini announced her decision to step down in December 2020 to pursue other projects. Monty Scott, Juno-Award nominated comedian and current CASC Treasurer, has been named President of the Board.
Since Sandra’s time with CASC, the organization has continuously campaigned for rights and recognition for Canadian comedians, including labour mobility, COVID related job losses, arts grants, and the ongoing threat to Canadian culture. Sandra will continue her advocacy work with special projects for CASC namely implementing a strategy to export Canadian comedians around the world, and with The Foundation for Canadian Comedy (CANCOM) which bolsters the creation of Canadian comedy intellectual property for presentation and distribution in Canada and the global digital media market.
“Sandra has made invaluable contributions to the community, building CASC from scratch,” said Monty Scott. “While advocating for Canadian comedians she has lead our small team through the good and the bad these past four years, and has changed the trajectory of the Canadian comedy industry with her tireless dedication.”
Born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Monty Scott has been leaving audiences in stitches from coast to coast with appearances on the Comedy Network, MTV, and SiriusXM. His comedy album The Abyss Stares Back received a nomination for Comedy Album of the Year at the 2020 Juno Awards.
The Canadian Association of Stand-up Comedians (CASC) was formed in 2017 to represent the first-ever unified voice for stand-up comics in Canada. CASC now works for professional stand-up, sketch and improv comedians and producers in Canada to have comedy recognized as an art form. CASC’s mission is to build a thriving and dynamic comedy industry through advocacy, career opportunity, as well as professional development, improved labour mobility across international borders and workplace rights.
For more information, please visit: canadianstandup.ca
