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NOTTINGHAM AND NOTTINGHAMSHIRE DRAMA ASSOCIATION

Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Council held on Tuesday 8th March 2011 at Ruddington

Present: Joan Wildgust (Chairman), Christine Davison (Secretary), Mike Stewart, Mel Reynolds, Linda Whitehurst, Bob Wildgust, Roy Ainscough, Madeline Lord

1 Apologies for absence were received from Jack Barrett, Tony Vokes, Neil Mackintosh, Sonya Oates, Howard Whitehurst.

2 Minutes and matters arising. - The minutes of the previous Council Meeting held on Tuesday 15th February had been circulated and these were signed as a correct record.
There were no matters arising.
.
3 Hon Treasurer's report - as at 8/03/2011

Balance = £4981.62
NS&I = £2268.59
Current = £2580.03
On hand = £133.00
INCREASE = £177.41

SINCE LAST MEETING
Income
Play of the Year
Entries 3 @ £60 each = £180.00
OPERATIONS
Subscriptions -
Group membership - 1 @ £25.00 each = £25.00

EXPENDITURE
OPERATIONS
Secretary's expenses = £27.59

4 FESTIVALS

a) Play of the Year 10/11 and Dinner
Joan reported that there had been 12 entries so far, with a possible three more to come from 8 or 9 groups. The Lacemarket Youth group were entering 'Oliver'. Positive adjudications from Gordon Parsons have been returned promptly.

Dinner - Linda Whitehurst said she was hoping to meet the dinner organiser from the Welbeck hotel soon, when she would find out the cost and confirm the menu.

b) One Act Festival - Bob Wildgust said there was little more to report. He confirmed there would be three entries and he had revised the booking at the Olympia Arts Theatre, Chilwell. The venue had been booked from 5.00pm until 10.00pm, which should allow ample time for the staging of the three plays and the adjudication. The adjudicator had been advised of the arrangements.
The collection of the trophies from last year was in hand and the bar and restaurant facilities had been booked. There would be two intervals so he would be sending out an appeal for volunteers. The following had agreed to help:-
Stage Manager - Peter Davison
Tickets - Bob will contact Sonya Oates
Staging - Mike Stewart
Programme - Chris Davison
Refreshments - Madeline, Joan and Chris will purchase these.
Bob confirmed that each participating group would be allocated a maximum of 16 free tickets for cast and crew members. Tickets would cost £5.
Mike Stewart said that, learning from last year's festival, we should allow ample time for staging and lighting and liaise with staff at Chilwell. Participating groups should be invited to look at the venue the Thursday before (March 31st)

c) Youth Festival - Sonya Oates and Jean Lebeter will be getting together soon to make arrangements. Four groups had expressed interest; there could be a minimum of four and a maximum of 8 plays, but there was nothing definite yet. It was suggested that representatives from these groups be invited to the Chilwell venue to view the facilities, possibly March 31st (see above).
Joan mentioned that she had attended a meeting of the Youth Theatre Network based at the Nottingham Playhouse, an organisation including schools and youth drama groups.

d) Playwriting competition
Roy Ainscough introduced this topic. There were two possibilities:-
Proceed as before and hold the competition for amateur playwrights from all over the UK.
Apply for an Arts Council grant for up to £10K; NANDA would have to put up 10% of the amount applied for. This would enable us to hold a more ambitious competition or allow us, if we wanted, to commission a play from a professional playwright.
A discussion followed on the various alternatives. It was agreed that one major problem was involving NANDA groups in performing the short listed plays. A successful grant application would mean groups could be offered some financial help with presenting the shortlisted plays. It was decided that Roy should proceed with an application for a grant from the Arts Council. As the original timescale was tight , the competition should be scheduled for July 2013 and should be for amateur playwrights nationwide.

5 Theatre Luncheon
Jack Barrett had nothing to report. He would wait until the autumn programme for the Theatre Royal was published before attempting to secure another luncheon speaker.

6 Newsletter/Website
Newsletter - Joan congratulated Howard on the latest edition of the Newsletter, which had recently been emailed to member groups.
Website
Jack reported that the Lacemarket Theatre now had a link to the NANDA website.

7 Correspondence/Amendments to membership - None

8 AOB .
Roy noted that Meredith Lawrence (Colwick Theatre Club) had emailed an enquiry about insurance for under 5's and those over 75 in drama groups. He thought that this question was relevant to most if not all member groups, and would contact NANDA's insurance provider and ask for clarification on this matter. He will report back on this at the next meeting.

Linda reported on the Bonington Theatre Action Group. They are still waiting for a meeting with Councillor Spencer and for a reply from the Theatre Trust. They had visited the alternative venues suggested by the Council, but none was satisfactory. Howard Whitehurst had sent letters to the Post and one had been published. A show is being planned for 27th March, to raise both awareness and funds for the campaign. As matters stood, they could only be certain of being able to put on productions until next January. Letters will be written by NANDA in support when the group thinks it is appropriate.

9 Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be at 7.00pm on Tuesday 19th April (note change of date) at Nuthall

The meeting ended at 8.50pm