**Annual Report of Bispham CastAways CIO RCN - 1182404 Address - 40 Cavendish Road, Bispham, Blackpool, FY2 9JR** **FINANCIAL YEAR July 2019 - July 2020** **TRUSTEE REPORTING PERIOD July 2019 - May 2021** **TRUSTEES Susan Hope Angela Crossley Hayley Price Debbie Flavell Martin Thompson Colin Maycock Suzanne McEachran Mark Marsden (retired January 2020) Siânan Conroy (voted in but unable to take up position)** ## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT** Bispham CastAways CIO is governed by a Constitution (date) together with a set of policies including Safeguarding, Social Media and Public Benefit policies. Each member has also been given a copy of (and signed their agreement to on joining the group) our Member Code of Conduct, Privacy Notice and Netiqette Policy. At the moment, we do not have any policies or procedures for induction or training of trustees. However, we are looking at this for the future, especially as we are hoping to have our second AGM when the lifting of lockdown and our hunt for a new hone has been completed. ## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES** The charitable purposes of Bispham CastAways CIO are: - (a) the advancement of arts, culture and heritage, particularly relating to theatre and performance, through the presentation of theatre performances and other performance arts for the public benefit and by providing opportunities for people to learn about, participate and engage in theatre, in particular but not exclusively for those people living in Bispham and the surrounding areas. - (b) the relief of those in need by reason of youth, age, ill-health and disability through, but not exclusively, the provision of theatre performances, outreach and awareness programs, for the public benefit, with a view to improving the conditions of life for such people living in Bispham and the surrounding areas. What this actually means is as follows. Firstly, that we take anyone from the area who wants to become a member of Bispham CastAways and experience the benefit of participating in theatre, no matter age (as long as 16+), gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, past experience or confidence in their own ability. Secondly, that we strive to perform as many different, high quality shows throughout the year for the public in the Bispham and Blackpool areas, so they can engage with good theatre at as low a cost as possible. Finally, that through “going on the road”, developing relationships and programmes with social prescribers and other charitable organisations that we can help those in need in the area, especially to help those with mental health issues. Page 2 Our Public Benefit Policy is followed at all times and any monies made are funnelled back into the objectives of Bispham CastAways with all Trustees and members being volunteers, with zero employees. ## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE** ## **(Including future plans)** Our policies and dedicated board of trustees have allowed us to grow a diverse range of members of Bispham CastAways from the Bispham and Blackpool area. We have helped many of them to use theatre to grow in confidence. Participation in our group has supplied essential support to several members who have had a difficult time and the Trustees have received reports that simply ensuring a Christmas card got to each member during lockdown and an organised group card and flowers to a bereaved member has meant a lot for their mental health. Through a recent member survey, we found from the responses to a question about how missing Bispham CastAways meetings during lockdown had affected them, 100% missed the social aspect, 32% said it affected their mental health, 37% said they felt more isolated and 74% missed the creative outlet the meetings give them. We feel that shows our activities have improved the lives of our members. In the future, we plan to make regular member surveys to track any changes in their thoughts on our activities. From July 2019 to February 2020, we produced four vastly different productions for the public in the Bispham and Blackpool areas; - A murder mystery, “Brutal Biology”, in August and September 2019 - A set of three historically important short plays under the title, “Dramatic Tales From History”, in September 2019 - A family pantomime, “Cinderella”, in December 2019 - A group of three comedic short plays under the title, “Comedy New Year”, in February 2020 From the response from our audiences and increasing/steady audience numbers, we believe this has met our purpose of engaging people from the area in theatre and the performance arts. Our positive reviews from the National Operatic and Dramatic Association, plus our nominations in their local awards for both Brutal Biology and Page 3 Cinderella for performances given, means we have advanced theatre and performance within our area. In 2019, we also participated in Pride Blackpool, Bispham Gala and a Halloween event at Marsh Mill in Thornton-Cleveleys in order to strengthen our links within the community. Using literature, plus talking to the public in speeches and individually at events, we sought to engage as many people as possible in order to explain the benefits of participation in theatre and performance. Currently, from March 2020 to April 2021, we have been unable to meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, other than twice, socially distanced, during September 2020. As of June 2020, we do not have a fixed home base due to losing the use of the Bispham United Reformed Church Hall as it is being sold. Together, this caused all our activities to cease and a complete rethink on the future activities of Bispham CastAways. We have now reopened (starting in April 2021), through the dedicated planning of our trustees, to plan and produce an outdoor project for the Summer 2021, taking our performance out to the public in the local area, including care homes to help those in need. Although we contacted several local leaders in social prescribing, nothing has come of this, other than a single member joining, who only attended for a few months but did seem to gain in confidence during their time with us. In the future, when we have secured a new home, we hope to look into this further and look at having regular activities for those who are not directly involved in the current production to boost member engagement and attendance. We have also struggled, during the reporting period, to collate important data to further back up our claims of our impact within our local area. The trustees admit that the attempted use of Audience Finder to collect and analyse this data was a mistake as it would only work for organisations much bigger than ours with much, much bigger audiences. In the future, so we have more actual data on our local impact, we plan to use paper surveys of audience members at each performance run by the front of house team, regular Survey Monkey self-written digital surveys of members and elicited statements from audience members, other groups worked with and the community following performances and events. Page 4 ## **PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT** We have a current Public Benefit Statement that has not been changed within the reporting period. Please see attached. Page 5 ## **Public Benefit Statement for Charitable Purposes of Bispham CastAways** ## **The benefit that flows from the purposes:** Promoting the enjoyment and better understanding of the arts, culture, heritage and science, in particular those relating to theatre and performance, through exposure to and participation in (either as audience member or physical participant) the art and culture of theatre and performance. Independent research (although gaps have been identified in their data) has found that exposure to cultural experiences and participation in the arts, can have deep value to the individual and the wider community. _(See the table below taken from ” Understanding the Value and Impacts of Cultural Experiences - A Literature Review” prepared for Arts Council England by John D. Carnwath and Alan S. Brown for the value which the arts, culture, heritage and science can have.)_ |**CONCURRENT**
**IMPACTS**
_(Those that occur during_
_the experience)_|**EXPERIENCED**
**IMPACTS**
_(Observed post-event,_
_hours or days later)_|**EXTENDED AND**
**CUMULATIVE IMPACTS**
_(Lifelong engagement/_
_memory, weeks or years_
_later)_| |---|---|---| |Unconscious psycho-
physical responses and
states, such as:
- Physiological response
(heart rate, skin
conductance)
- Pre-cognitive response
(arousal)
- Captivation (flow, awe,
absorption,
concentration)
- Energy and tension|Short-term experienced
impacts, such as:
- Emotional affect and
meaning
- Spiritual uplift
- Learning and critical
reflection
- Social connectedness
- Aesthetic enrichment
and creative activation
_These impacts can occur_
_before, during and after_
_experiences, but are_
_typically measured_
_afterwards._|Delayed impacts of
individual events and
impacts that accrue
through repeated
engagement in cultural
activities over time, such
as:
- Memory of event
- Sense of social
belonging
- Increased cultural
capacity
- Increased capacity for
empathy
- Expanded worldview
- Health benefits
- Subjective well-being| ## **These benefits will be evidenced through:** - Photo and video documentation. - Regular internal and external qualitative assessment. - Regular collation of quantitative data on charitable activities, audiences and participation. - Regular collation of qualitative data on charitable activities using surveys _(some based on those used in independent research into the value of cultural experiences)_ of the general public in Bispham and the surrounding areas, Page 6 audience members and participants, some targeted to specific groups of the general public if the need arises. - Regular reporting of charitable activities and financial performance in annual trustee reports, audited annual accounts and other reports where necessary. ## **The beneficiaries are:** The beneficiaries are the general public, in particular but not exclusively those living in Bispham and the surrounding areas. However, some projects may address the needs of specific sections of society, for example access to a one act play festival targeting young people to increase their confidence, social connectedness, exposure to cultural experiences, health and wellbeing, etc. ## **The possibility of harm:** The possibility of harm, for example by physical or emotional injury incurred through participation in or experiencing of theatre performances or workshops, are outweighed by the benefits. The risks are significantly reduced by the policies and procedures in place to address them, such as the health and safety policy, rules and safeguarding policies. ## **The possibility of private benefit:** Any private benefit gained, for example through rental or improvement of rehearsal space, exposure of and payment for specific artists’ works, advertisement of or increased use of goods and services from the local area, are ancillary to the charitable purposes and is greatly outweighed by the public benefit. No trustee or member of the CIO, nor any connected person to them, will make a financial gain from it’s activities. _(See the Constitution for further detail on this.)_ ## **Provision for the poor** The CIO will charge for membership and performances, so to ensure we have made provision for people who are financially struggling to benefit from our services, we may: - Regularly review the cost of our membership and tickets. - Membership fees will be broken into four instalment payments. - Offer concessionary ticket prices. - Offer free or reduced price membership, where needed. - Offer additional free or low cost performances of a play or event, for example a dress rehearsal performance. - Offer family tickets. - Perform in other venues like state schools and other community facilities. Page 7 BISPHAM CASTAWAYS BALANCE SHEET FROM 0110912019 TO 3110812020 INCOME EXPENDITURE Production 1515.2 Rent 1250 Memberships 710 Set & Props 414 other 1092.5 Costune 50 Catering 415 Other 1155 Total 3317.7 3284 B/F 327 3317.7 -3284 Income Expenditure Total on hand 360.7 Bank Cash £171.50 £189.20 360.70 Angela Crossley Financial Manager Bispham Castaways Community Theatre Group CIO 000 m r4 C￿00 p4 Ln o o Ln