Minutes of STaG board meeting
Monday, 5th September 2011.
Submitted by Erik Igelstrom, 11th September 2011.
In attendance: C. Felstead, S. Gregson, E. Igelstrom, I. McArthur, T. Pennock, A. Rutherford, L. Taylor.
Also in attendance: S. MacDonald, C. Willoughby
Apologies: H. Allan, G. Bennett-Lurie, C. Goldstone, D. Keenan, L. Monkman, D. Di Rollo.
1. A Stone’s Throw post mortem
The meeting was opened up to directors S. MacDonald and C. Willoughby.
The directors expressed their concern about the email that was sent to them on behalf of the board on the 30th of August.
It was agreed that the board had failed to take into account how the email would be perceived, given that no information was given on the other points that had been discussed, and that some of the points raised should not have been conveyed via email, but rather brought up in the present meeting. Although the email had been intended specifically to cover the background of the budget overspending in preparation for the post mortem, this was not made clear enough.
S. MacDonald and C. Willoughby requested a written apology from the board for failing to consider the full impact of the email, and for certain wordings used in it. It was agreed that an apology will be sent via email. I. McArthur will write a draft.
On request from S. MacDonald, C. Felstead gave an account of the board’s previous discussion regarding the budget overspending.
There was substantial miscommunication regarding responsibility for the budget. Both production managers were away and unable to fulfil their duties. It had been tacitly assumed that the directors would take over the responsibility of overseeing the budget, but this was never explicitly made clear. Normally, the production manager is responsible for keeping track of the budget; when this cannot be done, the task must be delegated more clearly. In the future, the Financial Secretary should also have a more active role throughout the production, keeping in touch with the cast and crew.
The potential consequences of overspending must be made clearer. Directors should be explicitly informed that STaG is only obliged to reimburse costs within the budget, and if any more money is spent without a prior meeting to adjust the budget, STaG will not reimburse it.
Directors need to be informed of what actions to take if they feel that the budget needs to be extended: i.e., a meeting must be held where changes to the budget can be requested and approved at the discretion of the Financial Secretary. It needs to be clarified how fundraising relates to the budget, and that additional fundraising cannot be tacitly assumed to cover for increased expenditure; rather, increases must be agreed upon in advance. In general, clear and explicit communication is key.
The additional performance opportunities before the Fringe (at the Solas Festival and the Arches) were very valuable for developing the show, as well as for publicity and networking. This should be kept in mind for next year, and possibly budgeted in.
S. MacDonald pointed out that networking more with other student companies at the Fringe could be useful. She also suggested putting more energy into writing to schools, and similar publicity efforts, in advance of the run.
The website worked very well. Being able to maintain a list to reviews on the website was also very helpful, as the Edfringe.com listings are not always up-to-date. The ‘banner trading’ arrangement with the website of another children’s show was very effective, judging by the hit statistics. This technique should be investigated more thoroughly in the future.
Flyering arrangements were discussed. Anonymous feedback was ambivalent regarding whether flyering in groups or individually would be preferable. Group flyering in this case sometimes resulted in individuals on the Royal Mile complaining about being approached multiple times. With this production, though, an unusually narrow audience (families with children) was targeted. With a more broadly aimed show, this problem is less likely to occur. Locations for flyering should also be investigated more widely. The Book Festival and the International Festival, for instance, could be targeted.
S. Gregson suggested that the Publicity Manager next year organise a meeting before the Fringe with the entire cast and crew, to explain the importance of flyering, as well as teach effective flyering technique.
The policy for getting days off from flyering needs to be made clear from the start. There was some confusion about this which may have created tension. It was generally agreed that days off should only be given when it is necessary for specific reasons.
The issue of keeping morale up was mentioned, although this is difficult to do anything about. I. McArthur mentioned that people might not know what to expect from the Fringe, and suggested a pre-Fringe briefing for the entire team, to make sure everyone is prepared for the difficulties and build morale.
C. Willoughby mentioned that since people’s roles inevitably change somewhat once the run begins, crew should be briefed on what responsibilities they have not only during the summer, but also specifically during the run.
The directors were happy with the venue, although a larger space would have been good. Zoo was generally a good venue to deal with. The community atmosphere is very good, partly perhaps because the staff are largely volunteers, although this also leads to some problems. The diagrams on the website were sometimes unclear or inaccurate, and although the services they offered were very useful, they did not always work smoothly. Overall, though, people were largely happy with Zoo.
A. Rutherford suggested that Fringe shows should always have a board rep who is actually on the board, even if this means changing board rep during the production. (The board rep for this show was D. Hahn, who was VP New Works on the previous board but is not on the current board.) It was mentioned that the board rep should be impartial and thus not involved with the production, but on the other hand, without being at the Fringe it would be difficult to know the details of any issues that arise. C. Felstead pointed out that the board rep system in general needs overseeing; no conclusion was reached.
S. MacDonald and C. Willoughby will update the Fringe pack. S. Gregson will make a Fringe venues pack, since he has experience of several Fringe runs in different venues.
The board thanked S. MacDonald and C. Willoughby for their presence, commended them for their hard work, and congratulated them on a successful show.
2. Freshers’ Week
I. McArthur showed the preliminary design for the flyer. Dates and times for events need to be confirmed before it can be finalised.
The first social after Freshers’ Week should be planned so that it can be followed by a club night in some suitable place. This will have an impact on the date chosen. Some possibilities were discussed, but no conclusion reached.
It was confirmed that auditions for New Talent Nights will be on Sunday, 18 September, from 2pm to 7pm (but advertised as ‘2pm onwards’, without a finishing time). I. McArthur will find and print suitable dialogues for the audition.
Membership cards still need to be designed by S. Gregson. I. McArthur is working a poster for the Shifty Bear Hunt.
The improv workshop was to be held in the GUU, but according to the GUU it has not been booked. The workshop will be held in the STaG Room instead. The performance workshop will still be in the QMU.
The STaG poster and Bear Hunt poster should be put up before Freshers’ Week. It will be done on Friday.
Postering at other campuses was discussed. E. Igelstrom will find out when other universities’ first weeks occur, so that posters can be put up in time. He will also look into which colleges have courses relevant to STaG, and what locations should be targeted.
Photos and posters need to be prepared for the Freshers’ Fair stall.
3. New Talent Nights poster
I. McArthur showed the poster design for New Talent Nights. The board approved. I. McArthur will send it to the print shop tomorrow.
4. Mark Westbrook workshop
Mark Westbrook has agreed to reduce the price of his series of workshops from £85 to £75, bringing the price for members to £55, after a £20 subsidy from STaG. Mark wants to do two classes per week, both capped at 10 attendants. This means that STaG would pay £400 in subsidies, given full attendance. The board agreed that this would be too much. The following options were agreed on: Either STaG’s contribution of £20 can be kept, but only one class held, or the contribution can be decreased to £10 and two classes held – both would mean a maximum cost of £200, which was agreed to be reasonable. C. Felstead will contact Mark Westbrook and ask which option he would prefer.
5. Much Ado About Nothing venue
The studio at the Glasgow Acting Academy is being investigated as a venue for Much Ado About Nothing. L. Taylor has inquired about availability, but not received any conclusive answers yet.
6. STaG Studio
The plan of turning the STaG Room into a studio space was discussed. This would involve, among other things, purchasing rostra, drapes, and scaffolding. STaG should apply for grants from Creative Scotland and from the SRC. I. McArthur will find forms for both grants. Full specifications need to be made. A. Rutherford will work on this after the website is done. Drafting of the applications can begin before the specifications are done.
7. G12
Anselm still has not replied. S. Gregson will email him again.
8. Storage IKEA trip
A trip to IKEA in L. Taylor’s car to buy things for the storage room had been planned on the 6th. Due to L. Taylor’s illness it was postponed indefinitely.
9. Website
Work on the website is on schedule so far. There will be a meeting after it goes live to go through the workings of the new website with the board.
10. Play-reading group
The idea of a play-reading group has been brought up before. A number of people have expressed a desire to join such a group if it existed, but nobody has volunteered to lead it. I. McArthur will write an advertisement for the newsletter asking for people interested in leading it.
11. Cecilians using stag room
The Cecilian Society has asked to use the STaG Room for building set for the four days 22-25 September. It was decided that STaG will offer them the weekend, 24-25 (half the requested time), as the room should be made available for New Talent Nights rehearsals in the week. It was mentioned that the Cecilians have previously failed to clean the STaG Room after borrowing it. C. Felstead will contact them about the dates, as well as stress the importance of leaving the room in a good condition.
AOB
A. Rutherford has begun investigating insurance for STaG, which would be needed for shows in the STaG Room. The two main options are freelance insurance for a particular person who will be involved in every show (i.e. A. Rutherford), or company insurance for STaG itself. The latter would be preferable, but it is unclear whether audience members who are members of STaG would count as third parties or as ‘employees’ of STaG – in the latter case, they would not be covered. Exact quotes also need to be obtained. It seems that equipment insurance would not be desirable due to high excess, so only liability insurance will be looked into. A. Rutherford will continue his investigations.
