Minutes: 28th May 2012

Minutes of STaG Board Meeting 28^th May 2012

The STaG Room, 62 Oakfield Avenue 5:30-6:45pm

In attendance were A. Cameron, N. Donald, C. Goldstone, E. Igelström, S. Linsley, A. McCallum, A. Rutherford, Z. Williams

Apologies from H. Allan, A. Ciupka, W. Foote, M. Godden, D. Hahn

To approve the Minutes of the previous meeting of 20^th May 2012

One amendment was noted regarding the dates of Freshers’ Week.  All else was approved as a true and correct record.

Pending actions from previous Minutes

3. j)  M. Godden

4. b)  W. Foote

4. e)  A. Ciupka

7. C. Goldstone

1. Ball
2. WHBIT
3. Bristol
4. NTN
5. MS1
6. Freshers’
7. Membership Fees
8. Board ‘Uniform’
9. Glasgay
10. Exec Update
11. Any Other Business (AOB)

1.  Ball Update

1. Financial Report - currently not much feedback can be given due to outstanding receipts - for example the completely unclaimed budget of £100 for decorations - however it is apparent that the Ball will have made a profit nonetheless.  E. Igelström expressed a wish to be included in the Facebook Group to follow up on receipts, which S. Linsley will sort out [ACTION: Sinead].  Donal bought most of the gear so E. Igelström should approach him [ACTION: Erik], there having been no particular budget discussions in the Ball Committee.  The current figure however stands at £433 profit, with 56 people attending.
2. Report from Donal - to be given after the Summer.  Positive comments were given by the Board, although it was suggested that for future events there should be more of a schedule laid out for the photographer.

2.  WHBIT Update

1. Accommodation - this has still not yet been found.
2. Finance - the fundraising at the Ball after-party was very successful and the total raised is now £502.  To make up the remaining £300 over the Summer, suggestions included face-painting, a gala or setting each cast member a goal of raising £50 each - A. Rutherford will email Cerne to discuss ideas [ACTION: Aidan].  Overall everything is on track, and assuming all goes as planned the Fringe will make a pleasant loss of approximately £1372.
3. Press - developments are slow, however a press list will be compiled by the end of the week.

3.  Bristol Update

Preparations recommence on the 12^th June.  Nothing about finances has been heard yet from Bristol.  The design for the website banner has been started.

4.  NTN Update

1. Directors - so far one director has come forward; the call for directors should be reiterated again in this week’s newsletter [ACTION: Harriet].  
2. Venue - A. Rutherford will book the venue this week [ACTION: Aidan].

5.  MS1 Update

1. Finance - estimated figures from the budget meeting suggest £35 profit, with a total of £900 made if each night sells out.  The budget is effectively less than previous years but it should be plenty for this year’s plans.
2. Press - The hunt for a designer continues, although S. Linsley has approached a graphic designer to make contacts.  500 business cards can be bought for £3; some could be teasers, simply black with quotes, and others with information about the performance.  These are more handy than larger flyers, and cast members could each have a stack to distribute.
3. Auditions - scripts have already been prepared, and auditions timetabled and planned.

6.  Freshers’ Update

There is no set budget for Freshers’, although this is being investigated and S. Linsley has emailed Izzy for information and is also talking to W. Foote about preparations, which are going well with 6 Freshers’ volunteers already - this item should remain in the newsletter [ACTION: Harriet].  W. Foote is also emailing the SRC and is creating a Facebook Group for an ideas pool.

7.  Membership Fees

1. Requirements for groups - it was suggested that for non-show involvement in STaG the membership fee should be implemented but lowered, and even though participants of the Writing/Reading Groups e.g. tend to come and go, they could be charged on repeated visits, although this creates an amount of administration work.  As every group does effectively lead towards performing in a show, however, a vote decided that the fee will remain for participation in a show only, as many group members would probably like to show support in becoming a member anyway.  It was also noted that receiving the newsletter does not require membership.
2. Raising the membership fee - a vote replaced £5/£3 (Freshers’ reduction) with £8/£4.  Calculations show that with these changes, approximately £350 extra would have been available this year.  The Freshers’ discount was retained as an incentive to commit and a way to remember signing up, also providing a useful selling point.
3. ‘Gold Membership’ - a higher tier of audience-targeted membership was proposed as spectatorship is an important part of theatre besides performance.  

• Overview - Gold would provide invitations to special performances, Early-Bird tickets for MS, half-price on Festival Passes and 20% off all shows.  An initial idea was also free entry to NMS, however this was decided against as the entry fee is already ‘suggested donation’.  A ‘Studio’ membership has actually been implemented in the past.
•  Price - this is hard to calculate as it would have to be trial and error, based on the estimated popularity of the scheme.  Assuming the sum would be relatively intimidating regarding a student budget, payment in installments was suggested, although this would intervene with buying tickets.  A different sum could also be implemented for non-students.  
• Sales - the alternative membership could be sold up until the first performance (NTN), at Freshers’ and through the newsletter, as Freshers’ alone probably does not create much audience-only interest; it was pointed out though that most audience figures come from participating STaG members throughout the entire year anyway.  Relevant university departments could be offered the deal, however this seems over-complicated and unnecessary.
• Gold vs normal membership - the Gold scheme could replace the normal fee, be paid in addition as an ‘upgrade’, or membership types could be split into involvement vs spectatorship.  This adds complications regarding a member’s shift in interaction with STaG; for example a member could pay for Gold, starting more as an audience member, but then participate in shows and therefore have no need to pay entrance fees, but still have to possibly pay normal membership to be in a performance, if Gold were treated more as a ticket scheme.  A discount on the membership fee was consequently suggested.
• Estimates - tickets for MS1, MS2, Festivals and 3 NMS comes to a total of £53.  The proposed discounts would provide a saving of £18.40, which would be 35% off STaG.  If the fee for Gold membership was therefore £15, this would be a total saving of £3.40.
• Conclusion - the Board voted for the idea to be pursued.  E. Igelström will continue working with figures and report back at the next meeting [ACTION: Erik].

8.  Board ‘Uniform’

An alternative to the orange T-Shirts, a new ‘uniform’ could be used in more formal situations and gives an air of professionalism when representing STaG.  The Board in attendance voted on having both names and positions embroidered on polo shirts, the colours chosen by individuals but then agreed by the Board.  Any final voting was postponed until the whole Board was present, prices had been investigated online and W. Foote had been contacted about previous uniform purchases [ACTION: both Sinead].  Regarding prices, the Board member could pay the cost with a supplement from STaG funds.

9.  Glasgay

A vote was taken on applying for this, which requires 10 minutes of theatre for a festival slot.  The deadline for submissions is 30^th June, so the STaG deadline is the 22^nd June [DEADLINE: STaG submissions, 22/6/12; Glasgay 30/6/12].  A. Cameron will write a blurb for the newsletter [ACTION: Amy Cameron] and shall forward any emails from the festival itself.

10.  Exec Update

A meeting shall probably take place on Thursday at about 7:30pm, however A. Rutherford shall confirm this and remind the Board about submissions by Wednesday night [ACTION: Aidan].

11.  Any Other Business (AOB)

Designers needed for HB should be advertised in the newsletter [ACTION: Harriet].

This was the last meeting before the Summer.  The date of the next meeting is Monday 3^rd September, 5:30pm in the STaG Room.

Meeting adjourned.