Minutes: 25th February 2013

Minutes of STaG Board Meeting, 25th February 2013

Coopers', 499 Great Western Road 5:45-6pm

In attendance were A. Cameron, J. Cameron, A. Ciupka, N. Donald, W. Foote, M. Godden, S. Gow, D. Hahn, A. McCallum, A. Rutherford, Z. Williams
Apologies from H. Allan, C. Goldstone, S. Linsley, R. Tildesley

Agenda

1. Taming
2. Monsters
3. LIPP
4. Venues
5. InterUni
6. Social
7. Publicity
8. AOB

1.  Taming

1. Recent Changes - W. Foote has been cast in the show as the SM, so N. Donald has taken over the position of BRep.  S. Linsley has also gone home, so C. MacAskill has been cast in her stead.  N. Donald has been to a rehearsal, and has been forwarded a copy of the rehearsal schedule and posted on Facebook.  Due to venue specifications, some scenes may need to be re-blocked.  There was a very enjoyable social at the weekend.
2. Fundraiser - D. May and R. Tildesley are hopefully to meet this week [ACTION: Rob].  A. Cameron spoke to D. May about changing the fundraiser into a comedy/scratch night, as there are no comedians.  Something is needed for the newsletter this week [ACTION: Amy].  
3. Progress - once the venue is confirmed, everything will happen quickly.  A Tech Meeting will be required [ACTION: Aidan] or liaisons initiated if using the Citz, as they do their own tech.  M. Godden is calling the Citz tomorrow; she will talk to L. Gasson before making any changes [ACTION: Mabs].

2.  Monsters

1. D. Hahn (BRep) went to the rehearsal on Friday, and it is looking good.  She suggested providing chairs, instead of the audience standing, as parents in particular might appreciate this.
2. Everything seems to be going fine regarding room booking.
3. Venue - the Old Hairdressers' is not replying, and M. Godden is to chase them up [ACTION: Mabs].  The provisional date would be 20-21st March.
4. A. Cameron has met with A. Parkerclare about publicity.

3.  Love in the Past Participle (LIPP)

1. Venue - an application to Bedlam has been submitted.  There will be a meeting with J. May about other possible venues; we are also looking at Udderbelly, Zoo and potentially the Baillie Room at Assembly [ACTION: Catherine].  Pleasance was decided against.  M. Godden will talk to her friend at Bedlam about the possibility [ACTION: Mabs].
2. Publicity - there will be a meeting about this after the venue is confirmed [ACTION: Amy/Sinead].
3. Fundraiser - this needs to be organised as soon as possible [ACTION: Catherine]. 

4.  Venues

1. S. Gow is taking on all the Taming rehearsals, which seems to be working well.  Due to time constraints, however, room bookings are now to be managed by S. Gow and N. Harrison.  
2. Taming Venue - the Citz will be contacted tomorrow.
3. Next Year - now that the MS is (soon to be) covered, research should be embarked on next year's MS1 for booking in advance, and suggestions emailed out to the Board [ACTION: Mabs].  When hunting for Taming, several offers for our next show were made, such as the Mitchell Library for £400/night, which has a capacity of 350, although the acoustics and tech spec are not great.  The Cecilians and the Dance Society have put shows on there in the past.  The Tron is also a possibility; Kings seems too complicated.  Details are to be passed on once these are sorted.
4. STaG Room - a Google calendar will be linked to the website so that everyone has immediate access to booking the rooms [ACTION: Aidan], and it will be more efficient as M. Godden doesn't have to gallop to the notice board with every text message.   An explanatory sign should be put on the noticeboard instead [ACTION: Mabs/Zoë].

5.  InterUni

1. There has been no meeting as yet about a fundraiser [ACTION: Aidan].
2. As we are going ahead, blurbs for the programme, for example, should be sent off, and finance needs to be estimated [ACTION: Aidan, Rob].
3. GIFT - Gateshead International Festival Theatre (Newcastle) used to be integrated with Newcastle City Council, which cut 100% of its arts funding, whereas Gateshead added more funds.  Therefore their festival this year is bigger than usual and they are introducing a programme aimed at students and graduates.  It would be useful perhaps to pilot the Fringe show there.  More details shall come, shared on Facebook; the deadline is the 8th of March, so we need to move quickly [ACTION: Amy, Aidan].

6.  Social
February Social on Wednesday [EVENT: Wed, Social].  W. Foote is planning to buy provisions during the day beforehand, and shall text round for help [ACTION: Will, All].  Please come in comfortable clothes (pyjamas even!) and all Board members were asked to come especially early to fill the room up, as there is no theme [ACTION: All].  S. Gow will reiterate the social at the preceding Taming rehearsal [ACTION: Soph].

7.  Publicity

1. As S. Linsley is unwell, A. Cameron is covering Publicity for now.  
2. Taming - she is meeting with L. Gasson to discuss plans, and the Taming poster designer emailed her today.  A. Cameron is looking at the poster: it only needs the venue name before being sent to the printers.
3. Monsters - A. Cameron also met with A. Parkerclare and had the photoshoot.  The title and venue name then just need to be added.  Both of these projects are within the two-week deadline.  The poster will be forwarded to A. Rutherford to add logos and text, which will then be sent on the Z. Williams for grammar [ACTION: Amy, Aidan, Zoë].
4. As A. Cameron's show is on Friday, A. Ciupka is to go to the printers on Friday - any problems and she can drop A. Rutherford an email; even a cast member could be volunteered [ACTION: Alex, Aidan/Soph].
5. Mockumentary - T. Troes is starting tonight.  For short segments with the whole Board, W. Foote shall text to arrange when everyone is free.  T. Troes has a flexible timetable [ACTION: Will, All].

8.  AOB

1. Student Initiative Grant - a university scheme, this fund is for undergraduate arts students and has previously funded personal development or amateur theatre projects.  It was suggested we apply for Taming - R. Tildesley shall submit an application, with details forwarded by S. Gow [ACTION: Soph, Rob].

The date of the next meeting is Monday 4th January at 5.30pm in the STaG Room.

Meeting adjourned.