Maltby Amateur Operatic Society

Constitution and Rules

CONSTITUTION

1. TITLE

   The Society shall be called "Maltby Amateur Operatic Society".

2. OBJECTIVES

   The object of the Society is to educate the public in the dramatic and operatic arts to further the development of public appreciation and taste in the said arts (to assist and further such charitable institutions and charitable purposes as the Committee shall from time to time determine); and in furtherance of this object but not otherwise, the Society, through its Management Committee shall have the following powers:-

   1. To promote plays, dramas, comedies, operas, operettas and other dramatic and operatic works of educational value.
   2. To purchase, acquire and obtain interests in the copyright of, or the right to perform or show, any such dramatic or operatic works.
   3. To purchase or otherwise acquire plant, machinery, furniture, fittings, scenery and other necessary effects.
   4. To raise funds and invite and receive contributions from any person or persons whatsoever by way of subscription, donation and otherwise; provided that the Society shall not undertake any permanent trading activities in raising funds.
   5. To carry out such activities as shall further and promote the objectives of the society.
   6. To promote and encourage the development of music and drama among the youth of the community.

3. MEMBERSHIP

   The Society shall consist of Acting and Non-Acting Members and may also include as Life Members such other persons as shall have rendered special services to the Society.

4. MANAGEMENT

   The Society shall be run by a Management Committee.

5. DISSOLUTION OF SOCIETY

   1. The Society shall be dissolved by resolution passed by a majority of at least 85% of the members present and entitled to vote at a Special General Meeting called for the purposes of considering such a resolution.
   2. In the event of dissolution any balance of cash remaining in hand after the realisation of assets and payment of debts shall be applied for such charitable purposes, similar to those of the Society, or be paid, distributed or transferred to such charitable institutions having objectives similar to the objectives of the Society as the meeting decides.

6. FINANCE

   1. The funds of the Society shall be applied solely to the stated objects of the Society.
   2. All monies due and owing to the Society shall be recoverable at law in the name of the Secretary.
   3. The financial Year for the Society shall be May to April.
   4. The accounts shall be audited annually.

7. BANK ACCOUNTS

   The Society shall maintain bank accounts in the name of "Maltby Amateur Operatic Society".

8. CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION

   1. Proposals for amendments to the Constitution must be forwarded to the Secretary in the form of a written requisition signed by at least fifteen members at least three weeks prior to the Annual General Meeting.
   2. The proposal for changing the Constitution shall be included as an agenda item to be discussed and a vote taken at the Annual General Meeting. Voting will be by secret ballot and must have 85% of the votes properly recorded at the meeting of those attending and entitled to vote.

RULES

1. MANAGEMENT

   1. The Society shall be managed by a committee consisting of the following Officers appointed by the Society at the Annual General Meeting:- Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Business Manager, Publicity Manager, Social Secretary, and six other members of which a minimum of two shall be under thirty by March 1st following the AGM at which elected.
   2. The first meeting of the MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE shall be called by the Secretary and held within 21 days of the AGM. All subsequent meetings of the Management Committee shall be called by the secretary in accordance with any resolution at the discretion of the Chairman and Secretary. Seven shall form a quorum.

   3. Powers of the Management Committee

      1. The Management Committee shall have the power to administer the affairs of the Society in accordance with these Rules and its Members at all times. The Management Committee shall have the power to co-opt additional members as and when necessary.
      2. The Management Committee shall have the power to form sub committees and delegate to such sub committees functions as the Management Committee sees fit in order to assist in conducting and developing the business of the Society.
      3. The privileges of Non-Acting Members, other than the right to attend and vote at General Meetings of the Society shall be determined from time to time by the Management Committee.
      4. The Management Committee shall have the power to decide any questions arising out of these Rules and all other matters connected with the Society (other than and except those which can only be dealt with by the Society in General Meeting) and make and maintain public all necessary orders, regulations and bye-laws in connection therewith.
      5. The Management Committee shall have the power to nominate the bank where the Society shall maintain its accounts and the authority is given for cheques to be signed by any two of the following officers:- Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Business Manager.
      6. The Management Committee shall have the power to invest any surplus funds in a Bank or Building Society high interest account.
      7. The Management Committee shall have the power to fix honoraria and travel rates, where appropriate, for the following officers :- Producer/Director, Musical Director, Choreographer, Accompanist, and Stage Manager.

2. MEMBERSHIP

   1. Membership shall be open to anyone who will have reached their 14th birthday by the opening night of show week.
   2. Membership shall be subject to application being made on the official form submitted via the Registrar to the Management Committee and shall be for Acting or Non-Acting membership. Applicants will be asked to state relevant experience.
   3. Acting membership applicants will be subject to a simple audition by a member of the Casting Committee.
   4. At its discretion the Management Committee has the power to request a re-audition of any Acting members at any time.
   5. The acceptance and expulsion of members, other than Life Members shall rest entirely with the Management Committee. The voting of the Management Committee on each decision must carry at least two thirds of the Management Committee personally present at the meeting considering these issues.
   6. Acting and Non-Acting members may attend and vote at General Meetings.
   7. Any existing members not making an appearance or sending representation before the third rehearsal of the new season, will be considered to have resigned their membership.
   8. The Management Committee shall have the power to fix a maximum number of members for each production, without prejudice to the previous production's members.
   9. All new members shall be issued with a copy of the Rules and sign to say that they acknowledge receipt and agree to abide by them. Should there be any amendments to the Rules, a copy of the new rules must be issued to all members.
   10. Non members wishing to audition for a part must pay an audition fee equal to half the annual subscription, which becomes part of the Annual Subscription if they remain in the Society

3. OFFICIALS

   The Society shall appoint the following at the Annual General Meeting:-

   1. Production Team

      Producer/Director, Musical Director, Choreographer, Accompanist

   2. Other Delegated Roles

      Wardrobe Manager, Properties Manager, Make-up, Continuity, Registrar, Librarian and Auditor

   3. Honorary Positions

      President and Vice Presidents

4. CASTING COMMITTEE

   1. The Casting Committee shall consist of Producer/Director, Musical Director, Choreographer plus one member of the MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE nominated by that committee.
   2. The Casting Committee shall have the power to revise the cast from time to time, if any playing members to whom a character has been assigned, shall, in its opinion, prove unsuitable for the part for whatever reason.
   3. Should the Casting Committee have any difficulties in casting any part from the membership of the Society, the problem should be referred to the MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE.

5. SUBSCRIPTIONS

   1. The annual subscription to the Society shall be decided by the Society annually after having considered recommendations from the Management Committee; any further amendments that may be necessary to the subscriptions to be decided by a bare majority of the votes properly recorded at the meeting and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
   2. Annual subscriptions shall become due on the first rehearsal of the new season but can be paid weekly, provided that the total subscription be paid two months before the date of the production.
   3. The Management Committee shall have the power to suspend any member whose subscription remains unpaid after this date, from exercising all or any of their rights of membership until the subscription is paid, or at the discretion of the Management Committee terminate the membership of that person and erase their name from the register of members.

6. LIFE MEMBERS

   Life members may, on nomination or recommendation of the Management Committee, be elected on such terms as the members of the Society at a General Meeting may decide.

7. ANNUAL AND GENERAL MEETINGS

   1. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held within two months after the show.
   2. A printed notice of every General Meeting shall be sent to each member at least fourteen days in advance of the date fixed for such a meeting.
   3. The Management Committee and any other committees (including the Officers) shall retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election.
   4. The report of the Management Committee and the accounts for the past year shall be presented; the Officers, other members of the Management Committee for the ensuing year and life members, if any, shall be elected and all general business transacted.
   5. The names for candidates for the positions of Officers and Management Committee shall be accepted before and at the Annual General Meeting and each position shall be filled by election.
   6. Except where otherwise provided by these Rules all resolutions brought forward to a General Meeting shall be decided by a bare majority of votes properly recorded at such a meeting. The Chairman shall not vote, but in the event of a tie shall have a casting vote.
   7. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society may be called, at any time, at the discretion of the Management Committee or following the receipt of a requisition in writing to that effect signed by at least twelve Acting members. Every such requisition shall specify the detail the business for which the meeting is to be convened and no other business shall be transacted at such a meeting.
      The meeting shall be called within fourteen days after the receipt of the requisition.

   8. Quorum

      No business other than the formal adjournment of the meeting shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum be present, such a quorum shall consist of a minimum of one third of the membership of the Society.

   9. Rule Changes

      1. When rule changes are to be considered at a General Meeting, fourteen days notice shall be given to the secretary who will give fourteen days notice of the suggested amendments.
      2. For rules to be changed a simple majority is required of those present and entitled to vote.

8. REHEARSALS

   1. Acting members shall, to the best of their ability, play the part assigned to them, whether principal or chorus, and obey the directions given to them at all rehearsals and performances.
   2. The Musical Director shall conduct and control all music rehearsals and the Stage Manager shall control all stage rehearsals and performances, at all times working under the direction of the Producer/Director.
   3. A record of attendance of Acting Members at rehearsals and performances shall be taken by the Registrar, and the Management Committee shall have the power to prohibit any member whose attendance at rehearsals shall have been irregular, from taking part in the performance of the work in preparation. Acting Members absenting themselves without apology from two consecutive rehearsals or more than half the singing rehearsals, may, at the discretion of the Management Committee, be deemed to have resigned their parts in the work then in rehearsal.
   4. The Management Committee, may remove from the list of Acting Members the name of any Member who has persistently neglected the work undertaken by the Society and the name of any member whose conduct they consider likely to endanger the welfare of the Society.

9. CHOICE OF SHOW

   1. At the beginning of the new term of the Management Committee, a sub-committee of three shall be appointed, from the Management Committee, to search for potential shows and shall be known as the Show Selection Committee (SSC).
   2. The Management Committee shall brief the SSC with respect to , for example: type of show, budget etc.
   3. The SSC shall be able and encouraged to co-opt interested members from outside the Management Committee to assist in the research process.
   4. Publications, magazines, information on shows shall be made available to the SSC via the Management Committee.
   5. The whole Society shall be invited to submit suggestions for shows to be performed. This invitation is to be made early in the new term of the Management Committee.
   6. The SSC shall have the authority to research shows additional to those suggested by Society Members.
   7. The views of the current Production Team shall be sought for inclusion in the show research reports.
   8. Written reports on up to a maximum of five researched shows shall be presented to the Management Committee by the end of October.
   9. The Management Committee shall select a short-list of up to three shows to be presented to the Society for final selection.
   10. The short-list selection shall be carried out by the Management Committee at a meeting specially set aside for this sole purpose, ensuring that all the short-listed shows will meet the needs of the Society at that time in its development.
   11. The final selection of the show shall be made by the Society voting on the short- list of shows presented to them at a General Meeting specifically convened for this purpose.
   12. The General Meeting for choice of show shall be held before 31st December of the year of the current production.
   13. The Management Committee shall be responsible for the provision of a short synopsis of each short-listed show to be issued to all members when the General Meeting is called.
   14. VOTING shall be by the exhaustive voting system as follows :-
       1. Each voting member shall cast one vote in respect of the complete shortlist.
       2. The show receiving least votes shall be discarded.
       3. This procedure shall be repeated until only one show remains, this being the Society's choice for the ensuing year.
       4. Should one show have a simple majority of votes greater than the sum of the others then it shall be the Society's choice for the ensuing year.
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10. PRODUCTION MATERIAL

    1. The Society will make available to members Vocal Scores and Libretti for purchase and/or hire.
    2. Members are responsible for the safe keeping and return by the end of Show Week of Vocal Scores and Libretti hired on their behalf. Failure to comply requires the full replacement cost of the book to be met by the member concerned.

11. PAYMENT

    1. No member of the Society shall receive payment directly or indirectly for services to the Society unless on the list of Honoraria as defined in rule 1) c) vii), or for legitimate expenses incurred in its work.