Minutes: 19th November 2012

Minutes of STaG Board Meeting, 19th November 2012

The STaG Room, 62 Oakfield Avenue 5:35-6:25pm

In attendance were H. Allan, A. Cameron, Jack Cameron, A. Ciupka, N. Donald, W. Foote, M. Godden, C. Goldstone, S. Linsley, A. McCallum, Sophie McCormack-Gow, A. Rutherford, R. Tildesley, Z. Williams debs
Apologies from  

Pending actions from previous Minutes

• NSDF budget - looks viable, exact numbers required
• Trip cheque - to be sorted tonight
• SWG3 website - already on website
• Secret Santa - to be done tonight

Agenda

1. FS Proposals
2. SN
3. HB
4. Improv
5. NW
6. Publicity
7. Social
8. External Events
9. Trip
10. Secret Santa
11. AOB

1.  Found Spaces Proposals

1. One Proposal - dealing with the trauma of being an Holocaust survivor.  A gallery space would be ideal, but a studio space (not stag room) would also be suitable.  The actors would be introduced to the topic and asked the do some research on the historical circumstances behind the play.  The venue could possibly be The Citizens' Theatre, which M. Godden has already scoped, or else there's a gallery in Partick.  Lighting and installation involves four projectors, hopefully lighting the whole room.  The audience would move around the space, which would be laid out like four exhibitions involving dialogues and then monologues in front, with 12 actors.  However the set-up is very flexible and, as with the excerpts chosen, dependent on the venue; M. Godden would be happy to find a venue before Christmas, with help from A. Cameron [ACTION: Mabs & Amy].  Various Board Members suggested asking acquaintances for photos and information from trips to Auschwitz.  To reiterate, the dates are 28-29th January, although a 3-night run would be preferred for smaller audience sizes.
2. A vote securing this production as the first FS was unanimous.
3. Board Rep - A. Cameron [ACTION: Amy].  S. Gow also took up the post of SM.
4. The current lack of movement regarding the MainStage (and the two NMS productions) is slightly concerning; these shall be plugged more, for example in the Writing Group [ACTION: Catherine].

2.  STaG Nights

1. This went exceedingly well, and the Post-Mortem is to be held in two weeks' time.
2. Anonymous Feedback - A. Cameron is to send the form to cast and crew, after having received it from A. Rutherford [ACTION: Aidan & Amy].
3. Money - to be collected from A. Rutherford's abode [ACTION: Rob].
4. Newsletter - all belongings/items are to be cleared from the STaG Room and cupboard by Wednesday, in anticipation for the next social [ACTION: Harriet].
5. Wood glue is required to fix R. M. Barbour's wooden hand; S. Gow kindly offered to bring some in [ACTION: Sophie & Zoë].

3.  History Boys

1. Full run-throughs are now in progress, and mostly just practising and polishing is now required; it seems very promising.  The Tech is on Sunday, and props are now being used.
2. Venue - some of the play has been re-blocked, but not much more can be done until a venue trip.
3. Tech - sorted, and K. Milligan has also joined the team.  £175 was spent on the P.A. system, etc., however no lighting gear is needing to be purchased.
4. Door Rota - this has been sorted.
5. Tickets - everyone please book!  So far we have sold half of Tuesday, four fifths of Wednesday and all of Thursday.
6. Chairs - more chairs were suggested to expand capacity.  However it was suggested that as currently with 100 chairs there are several obscured viewpoints, the likelihood of returns at the door should be plugged instead.
7. Rehearsal Rooms - mostly due to Thanksgiving, there seem to be very few available spaces!  M. Godden shall look into The Wellington Church (fee required), the Kings Theatre (free student rehearsal spaces), the performance studio at the university, at the Conservatoire or at all events in A. Ciupka's sitting room [ACTION: Mabs].

4.  Improv

1. Performance this week; come along!
2. Entry Fee - being in the QMU, it seems that we cannot charge an entry fee, however a suggested donation of £3 is to be implemented.  This should be confirmed by a phonecall to T. Pennock [ACTION: Sinead].  However as STaG is not spending anything on it, it would be more a good fundraising opportunity than requiring to cover its costs.

5.  New Works

1. Emailing has commenced; 2 judges confirmed, Rob Drummond has given no reply as yet, and S. Gow shall forward Kieran Hurley's contact details (as First-Year Theatre students still receive his university email address) [ACTION: Sophie].  Douglas Maxwell also expressed an interest last year but was unavailable; a new batch of potential judges shall be contacted soon.
2. Blurb for Newsletter - to be sent to H. Allan [ACTION: Catherine].

6.  Publicity

1. HB - the director did a huge amount of postering last week; nevertheless, please may Board Members take some to distribute elsewhere, for example in the Round Reading Room and Charles Wilson Building [ACTION: All].
2. HB - Tuesday is the day above all to be pushing, as the most tickets are left then; this show is shaping up to be a great one, so it deserves to be well-plugged!  It seems like the active publication of STaG Nights on Facebook was a central part of its popularity; please continue sharing [ACTION: All].  There is no trailer.
3. Cover Photo - A. Rutherford is to send S. Linsley the original photo [ACTION: Aidan].
4. Schools - this email is to be forwarded to A. Cameron, Z. Williams and M. Godden [ACTION: Sinead].

7.  Social

1. Refreshments - to be bought before the social on Friday by M. Godden and W. Foote [ACTION: Mabs & William].  M. Godden suggested bringing some homemade mulled wine to share at the Christmas Social [ACTION: Mabs].
2. Christmas Social, Santa Costume - to be dug out of the cupboard.
3. Tree - S. Gow is able to bring a small one, otherwise Zoë or J. Gilvear may be able to contribute [ACTION: Sophie, Zoë, Jenny].
4. Fancy Dress - Christmas-themed if willing!
5. Decorations - volunteers at 6.30pm on Friday to help set up would be much appreciated; W. Foote is to send a text as a reminder [ACTION: William; All].
6. HB Fundraiser - 8pm on Wednesday [EVENT].  W. Foote and R. Tildesley should come early with the moneybox [ACTION: William & Rob].
7. Basin - after throwing out the item left from the previous social, A. Rutherford kindly volunteered to buy a new basin for I. McArthur.

8.  External Events

1. Inter-Uni Competition - 3 SN plays were selected by the Board to be potential candidates for York; each director shall be emailed if they would be interested [ACTION: Amy]; if all agree, then they will be asked to re-propose and a vote shall decide.  The selected play may need to be extended to fulfil the whole 45 minutes required.  The dates again are the 10th December (deadline) and the week of 11th March (performance) [EVENT: Inter-Uni].
2. NSDF - SN plays again would make good candidates, as this runs too close in timing to NW, MS2 and 'The Investigation' (FS).  One of the other pre-suggested titles should attend; A. Cameron is also to mention this opportunity in her correspondence [ACTION: Amy].  The date for a performance to be judged is 15th February, 2 weeks after the proposal deadline, and the performance itself is 23-29th March [EVENTS: NSDF].  The judging performance would be opened up as a standalone event open to the public, as opposed to taking the place of a NMS.

9.  Trip

1. A. Cameron to take the minibus test next week; H. Allan shall book one [ACTION: Harriet] and E. Igelström shall be chased [ACTION: Aidan].
2. Cheque - required tonight for the housekeeping costs [ACTION: Rob].

10.  Secret Santa

1. This was administered and partners chosen.  The limit of gift cost is £5 [ACTION: Santa].
2. M. Godden is to give D. Hahn her name [ACTION: Mabs].

11.  AOB

1. Signatures - change after HB.
2. QMU Review - of HB has been queried, although they would like a complimentary ticket.  A. Ciupka is to forward S. Linsley's email address [ACTION: Alex].

Due to HB rehearsals, there will not be enough members available for a meeting next week; therefore the date of the next meeting is Monday 3rd December, 5:30pm in the STaG Room.

Meeting adjourned.

Minutes: 12th November 2012

Minutes of STaG Board Meeting, 5th December 2012

Cooper's Bar, 499 Great Western Road 5:45-6:30pm

In attendance were A. Cameron, Jack Cameron, N. Donald, W. Foote, M. Godden, C. Goldstone, S. Linsley, A. McCallum, Sophie McCormack-Gow, A. Rutherford, R. Tildesley, Z. Williams
Apologies from H. Allan, A. Ciupka, D. Hahn
Also present was E. Igelström (previous FinSec), for the transition in the position.

Pending actions from previous Minutes

• All (& Zoë) - Clean-Up after SN
• All - Share on Facebook for SN, put up posters and book tickets.  There will be tickets at the door.

Agenda

1. SN
2. HB
3. NW
4. Publicity
5. External Events
6. Social
7. Venues
8. Exec
9. AOB

1.  STaG Nights

1. Starts tomorrow - all is going well; programmes are almost done, tech/dress rehearsals are on the day, and chairs are prepared for tomorrow morning.  Anyone's help at 10:30pm tomorrow morning to move chairs into the van would be appreciated [ACTION: All].  [*E. Igelström entered.]  
2. No afterparty venue as yet - somewhere needed urgently!  Any suggestions to be forwarded [ACTION: All].
3. Storytelling instructions - to be given with tickets.  
4. Band - turn up at six for a soundcheck.  
5. Door Duty - from 6:45pm (remember to print off booking sheets after 5pm; check Facebook for rota again - Sophie, Jack, Alex, William, Aidan & Sinead).  Especially if on the doors but for all the Board, please wear all black and/or STaG T-shirts [ACTION: All].
6. Conflicting opening times were circulated; officially at 7:30pm the doors open, with plays starting at 8pm. 
7. Shows - are going well.  A. Cameron spoke to all the directors today, and all are happy with what is happening.  
8. Memberising - the email should be sent out [ACTION: Amy/Aidan].  E. Igelström to go to the venue to collect money from D. Mackay.

2.  History Boys

1. Grant form - received by R. Tildesley; to be sent off tomorrow after figures located [ACTION: Erik/Rob].
2. Fundraiser - to be blurbed in this and the next weeks' newsletters [ACTION: Aidan].
3. Rehearsals are going very well,  from next Sunday the whole show is being run [ACTION: rehearsal, 11:30pm, Zoe and Adam, Chaplaincy (tbc)].  
4. Venue visit - several issues include it being too small, the audience can see into the wings, it's noisy and echoey, trains pass overhead, and there is a height issue on stage.  Some scenes are being re-blocked and everything shall come together again.  
5. Posters - out today, S. Linsley shall go around the university tomorrow.

3.  New Works

1. Venue - booked.
2. Panel - two judges have been booked.  Ideal remaining judges are to be emailed, such as Rob Drummond and Kieran Hurley.  S. Linsley also mentioned a Glasgow writer, or there's Katie in the Theatre Department; two people are to be emailed at a time, in stages.  
3. Newsletter - blurb from next week [ACTION: Catherine].

4.  Publicity

1. SN - we know people are coming, however tickets are not being booked and it's only half-full for the first night.
2. HB - posters done.  A letter has been drafted to local schools with the possibility of workshops.  Perhaps this should be held over until other CommProj workshops, and amalgamated into this.
3. Finance - a 10% discount for schoolkids is to be implemented, as it should bring in 20+ people.  The whole letter is to be sent to the 'Grammar Nazis' [ACTION: Sinead; Zoë, Harriet, Nogs, (Erik)].
4. S. Linsley is to add text to the SRC image, which shall be sorted by A. Rutherford [ACTION: Sinead & Aidan].  The images are on the uni web service.  We should also send it to the English Lit. and Philosophy departments [ACTION: Sinead, Zoë?], and Sarah in the Music Dept. [ACTION: Nogs].
5. A banner for website with proposal deadlines is required [ACTION: Sinead].

5.  External Events

1. Inter-Uni Competition - the same thing as in Bristol last year is to happen in York on March 11th.  December 10th is the deadline - perhaps expand a SN act to 50 minutes; everyone is to keep an eye out for any suitable plays during SN.  To York it is about £15 on the train (or even cheaper by minibus).  The Board voted on going ahead with this engagement (it is a month after NW, and MS2 is at the end of March).
2. NSDF - lots of festivals.  They need to see a performance - perhaps MS2, 29th March?  The viability of its financial requirements should be investigated on the website [ACTION: Rob].  For next week, a budget of some sort should be drawn up [ACTION: Erik].  The Board also voted that they were happy to proceed with this.

6.  Social

1. Meal - 6th December at D. Hahn's flat [EVENT: Board Christmas Dinner].  
2. Next week a Secret Santa is to be drawn [ACTION: Sinead] and the food arrangements sorted; it would be particularly useful if nobody was to miss next week's meeting for this reason! 
3. Trip - Amy has booked her minibus test.  E. Igelström is to practise and do it again - he shall book his test this week [ACTION: Erik].  S. Linsley is to share the address and other information [ACTION: Sinead].  If H. Allan is also to sit the test, then 3 people have a license and hopefully 2 out of 3 can attend the trip (E. Igelström is possibly otherwise engaged).

7.  Venues

1. Ball - GUU bookings become complicated after Christmas with The Hive being shut.  The date for the Ball shall be the 20th May [EVENT: STaG Ball, GUU Debates Chamber].  M. Godden is to book for the whole day, and also the bar [ACTION: Mabs].
2. STaG Room - MSA has a new President.  The cleaner tidied up the mess after the Hallowe’en Party; next time we should leave a sign up saying that she doesn't have to.  However M. Godden has already kindly spoken to her and bought her chocs.

8.  Exec

1. Next meeting - just after the Mainstage.  
2. Minutes - to be circulated [ACTION: Nogs].  
3. Content - not much discussed, new writing deadlines and general management; all seems to be going well.
4. Email action points every week [ACTION: Nogs].

9.  AOB

1. Rehearsal schedule for all of STaG Nights is to be sent to M. Godden for booking [ACTION: Amy & all directors].  
2. SN P.A.s and Tech - Stereo is providing us with 3 microphones through the P.A. system.  Acoustic and bass guitars go through the amps.
3. Christmas Social - a trailer goes live tonight; please enjoy and share.
4. SWG3 - S. Linsley is to contact John the Programmer about publicity on their website [ACTION: Sinead].
5. SN - Sk[in] title - to be fixed on the website.  On blurb it also says that the performances are to be performed simultaneously, which is not actually happening.  Instructions shall also be sent detailing how to tackle the website ourselves [ACTION: all Aidan].
6. SN - the money box shall be provided [ACTION: Erik & Rob], and instructions for the booking sheet shall be forwarded [ACTION: Aidan].  On the door, wait until it is only 5 mins until the performance before letting in the waiting list.  Festival passes shall be available to sell on the door; and remember to rigorously note names on a waiting list for allowing some extra folk in.

The date of the next meeting is Monday 19th November, 5:30pm in the STaG Room.

Meeting adjourned.

Executive Minutes: 8th November 2012

Minutes of STaG Executive Meeting 8th November 2012

Stravaigin, Gibson Street 5:20pm

In attendance were A. Cameron, N. Donald, C. Goldstone, E. Igelström, A. Rutherford, R. Tildesley

              A.  Finance

              B.  The Board

              C.  STaG Overall

              D.  AOB

A.  Finance

1. Changeover (The second half of the handover from E. Igelström to R. Tildesley is the Board Meeting next Monday.)

• Cheque Book - the names for this shall be altered after SN [ACTION].
• Budget Meeting - this shall be needed for MS1 to bring Rob up to date [ACTION].
• R. Tildesley has received all the relevant paperwork and is slowly getting his head round the works; he was reminded that E. Igelström is always available for support, as is the rest of the Board.

 

     2.  Current Affairs

• Annual Budget - an annual budget plan has not yet been made, as there seems no point in setting anything explicit: every show changes the year's finance and depends on too many variable factors.  Therefore the year is worth keeping in mind, but not something we can schedule.
• Current situation - so far we have made a profit on everything and have a very secure nest in the bank.  The venue situation for HB is a gamble, in that the fee is greater but so is the capacity, but this is perhaps something to explore, such as a larger publicity campaign for MS2 or NW: what would the effect be with advertisement in the subway, for example?  [ACTION: Board Agenda].
• Grants - to be looked at soon.  The SRC Grant in particular needs to be applied for before HB, once the blurb is received [ACTION: Rob].

B.  The Board

1. Morale - there seems to be no tension, feuds, chaos nor cliques, and no opposing ideologies; everyone is enjoying themselves and getting on splendidly.
2. Tasks - it was pointed out that tasks are often slipping deadlines, and we should endeavour to be more efficient at completing things which we've been allocated [ACTION: Board Agenda].  To help reinforce this, action points shall be emailed every week after the Board Meeting [ACTION: Nogs].

C.  STaG Overall

1. Venues - M. Godden is looking into alternative venues such as the Tron, Lansdowne and Tramway (which is very reasonably priced and an amazing space, just a bit far away), especially as Cottiers is taking down its theatre space soon.  
2. Performance Arts (PerfA) - shall be scoped for soon, taking the place of the Writing Group [ACTION: Amy].  
3. Upcoming Events - the next newsletter maybe should detail all of the events next semester to get them in perspective; if anything a fundamental issue is just not getting enough proposals for STaG to put its weight behind.  A better blurb is to be written for NMS [ACTION: Aidan]. 

 

D.  AOB

1. A Dada Mail pack is required [ACTION: Aidan].
2. Membership - H. Allan should go along to SN tech/dress rehearsals to ensure that as many people are memberised as possible; D. Mackay shall be met by A. Cameron and E. Igelström to finally pay the last installment from the Fringe and membership; as a whole any unmemberised performers are by the Constitution not eligible to get on stage [ACTION: Harriet], emails on this matter shall be sent to those involved in SN [ACTION: Amy].  The membership generally seems low this year, however it is still early days.
3. Paperwork - requests shall be sent for an Exec Pack, Door Duty Pack, Minutes Template [ACTIONS: Nogs], Drinks and MD Packs [ACTION: Nogs email relevant parties], Wordpress and Webmaster Packs [ACTION: Aidan/Tom Pennock?], Rejection Template [ACTION: Amy], Election Pack [ACTION: volunteer(s)?] and the Writing Group [ACTION: Catherine].
4. Uniform - Board members should dress distinctively for events, especially if on the door, in the orange T-shirts and black [ACTION: Board Agenda].
5. GUU Bookings - due to the Hive shutting down, bookings need to be in before Christmas for the rest of the year, meaning that the Ball needs to be booked now [ACTION: Board Agenda].

The next meeting shall take place after MS1.

Meeting adjourned.

Minutes: 5th November 2012

Minutes of STaG Board Meeting, 5th December 2012

The STaG Room, 62 Oakfield Avenue 5:35-6:10pm

In attendance were H. Allan, Jack Cameron, A. Ciupka, N. Donald, W. Foote, C. Goldstone, D. Hahn, S. Linsley, A. McCallum, Sophie McCormack-Gow, A. Rutherford, R. Tildesley, Z. Williams
Apologies from M. Godden, A. Cameron
Also present was E. Igelström (previous FinSec), for the transition in the position.

Pending actions from previous Minutes

• Mabs - Clean-Up needs organising
• Zoë - Wall Planner
• Zoë - Cupboard Clean-Up

Agenda

1. FinSec
2. SN
3. Publicity
4. Social
5. OrdBoards
6. Venues
7. Internet
8. AOB

1.  FinSec

The Board introduced themselves and welcomed the new FinSec R. Tildesley.

2.  SN

1. Please share the link on Facebook [ACTION: All] and use the cover photo (with Sinead, Jack version for the website).
2. Most backstage preparations are sorted and everything is mostly going well.  There were some issues with the 'Hatty' SM but this has been sorted.  
3. Launch Night is on Friday [EVENT], please come and dress up in your best Romanian Tombstone costume.  A rehearsal needs to be shifted [ACTION: Aidan].
4. Tech Meeting is to be confirmed.  
5. SN Fundraiser went very well.  Before the next one, as usual refreshments need to be bought - A. Ciupka & J. Cameron volunteered for Thursday evening (to contact A. Rutherford beforehand).

3.  Publicity

1. The SN posters were a week behind due to a broken laptop and poster and printer mishaps, but all finally fixed.  Please share the event on Facebook and help with circulating posters [ACTION: All] - currently all of the university, Gibson Street, up to the Halt and Ashton Lane are covered.  Tomorrow S. Linsley shall be out putting up more.
2. HB posters currently at the printers.  Business cards are printed, although some needed redoing.  Again, please grab some posters and start booking tickets (for both productions) [ACTION: All].  All is well within budget, although it shouldn't be forgotten that this is extra money spent by STaG for re-printing.  S. Linsley also emailed GUM and the Journal, material is doing the rounds on the TV circuit, an acquaintance at the Skinny has been contacted, and a review is to be done by those involved with Glasgow Girls.

4.  Social 

1. The Friday before HB is to be the Christmas Social [EVENT: 23rd November].  A trip to the pantomime, e.g. shall be researched soon [ACTION: William].  
2. Last week's Hallowe'en Social went really well and was very enjoyable.  Some money for decorations is to be reimbursed [ACTION: Erik].  

5.  OrdBoards
Further to last week's suggestion, OrdBoards should contact SMs for the relevant productions.


6.  Venues

1. The Cupboard Clean-Up shall commence at 2pm on Wednesday, then if necessary again at 2pm on Thursday [EVENT].  
2. Newsletter blurb about room booking shall be submitted by M. Godden for the next issue [ACTION: Mabs].  Zoe is to email current SMs about the issue with booking rooms [ACTION: Zoë].  The members able to book rooms will be A. Rutherford, M. Godden and S. Gow.
3. There was a suggestion that there should be a policy on having rehearsals in peoples' flats; it was decided that no formal policy is needed, but any issues can always be brought to the Board.

7.  Internet

1. The formatting on the last newsletter seemed slightly squint and may need looking at - H. Allan is to send A. Rutherford the access link [ACTION: Harriet & Aidan].  
2. Board Emails - these have also been playing up, so please double check that any emails have actually sent [ACTION: All].

8.  AOB

1. There was a reminder that proposals for the NMS are due in soon.
2. Exec Meeting is to take place at 5pm on Thursday at Stravaigin [ACTION: Aidan, Amy, Catherine, Nogs, Rob & Erik].
3. Ironic Hive Trip - to take place after the Improv performance on the 22nd November [EVENT: Hive].
4. Improv - how it is organised and likely to continue was breached.  T. Pennock is stepping down at Christmas, with E. Igelström perhaps following soon thereafter, which leaves only C. MacAskill and A. Ahlinder in the planning committee.  Suggested ways of making sure it survived strong included approaching people to help run it, or putting it in the newsletter; Improv does seem to keep a low profile and seems more distant than other aspects of STaG.   The Committee shall talk first to the people in Improv about the issue.
5. Writing Group - likewise, should this be the responsibility of VPNW?  It was agreed that this should probably depend on the individual.
6. H. Allan is unavailable when the newsletter is due out on Tuesday, and shall forward the material  [ACTION: Harriet & Erik].
7. Christmas Dinner - to be confirmed next week once the exam timetable is out.
8. Board Trip - a cheque is being sent to Sinead's uncle, and by train the trip costs about £15 return.  H. Allan may be unable to come, which may impact on the minibus, but it would be useful if she took the test anyway for future outings [ACTION: Harriet].  The dates are confirmed as the 15-18th December [EVENT: Board Trip to Northumberland].

The date of the next meeting is Monday 12th November, 5:30pm in the STaG Room.

Meeting adjourned.