2023-07-31-accounts

Annual Report of Bispham CastAways CIO RCN - 1182404 Address - 40 Cavendish Road, Bispham, Blackpool, FY2 9JR

FINANCIAL YEAR September 2022 - August 2023

TRUSTEE REPORTING PERIOD August 2022 - July 2023

TRUSTEES Susan Hope Angela Crossley Hayley Price Debbie Flavell Martin Thompson Suzanne McEachran Henry “Harry” Chambers Ian Dodd - Took post January 2023

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Bispham CastAways CIO is governed by a Constitution together with a set of policies including Safeguarding, Social Media and Public Benefit policies. Each member has also been given a copy of (and on joining the group signed their agreement to) 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. We believe that as we are such a small charity and have a stable group of trustees, this is not a priority at the present time. During this period we were just coming out of lockdown and have continued to deal with the effects of COVID on our practices and audiences.

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. We use our Artistic Merit policy to ensure we are not solely relying on “in-house” or unpublished scriptwriters, also maintaining NODA membership to ensure with included independent reviews of productions to make sure we are creating quality, varied theatre, within our means. Finally, that through “going on the road”, developing relationships and programmes with social

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prescribers and other charitable organisations, that we can help those in need in the area, especially to help those with mental health issues.

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

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, providing support through bereavement, as well as medical issues. Through conversations with members, the Trustees feel that our productions and activities have improved the lives and mental health of our members. We have ensured that any vulnerable members are set up to succeed, utilising our safeguarding policies. Our group chats are regularly utilised to keep members in touch with each other and we are often quoted as being very supportive. An annual member survey will start on December 2024 (delayed by a year due to illness) before the regular AGM, to check that our activities are still appropriate and having the effect on members that the trustees envisage. This included a group trip to Lancaster to watch the Summer outdoor theatre production of “The Jungle Book” and an in-house Christmas party. We also changed our season timings to make things clearer by moving the AGM to January 2023, so our season runs from January to December. The Trustees felt that during this reporting period the ability of the group to keep up with four productions and community outreach throughout the year has caused undue stress on members and particularly the trustees, so will be looking at reducing the number of productions to three across a year starting from January 2024.

During the reporting period, we have continued to work with Holy Family RC Church to ensure that we are adding value to the community where we have our theatre home, helping with maintenance and ensuring we use the facilities with care and consideration. The on-site garage that we rent has become invaluable but has added to our group costs. Luckily we have had some donations from the

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Freemasons and members to help cover this cost. We will be looking at getting a grant from the local council for a laptop and virus protection, as we have been using a member’s own laptop to run the sound desk which is starting to break and show it’s age.

Our first production of the reporting period was ‘Missing The Mark” a comedy by Michael Maxwell. This was one of our most affordable bought-in scripts to date and led to NODA District 2 award nominations for the 2022 season, showing that we are hitting the mark when it comes to Artistic Merit. It also brought in another new member and many favourable comments.

We then moved onto our family pantomime, “The Wicked Witches Of Oz” by Peter Nuttall and directed by Harry Chambers. We continue to keep ticket prices as low as we can to make sure that as many in the local community as possible can access live theatre performances. Following our outdoor mini-pantomime in June 2022 at Glen Tanar care home, we decided as trustees that our major long term funding aim would be to collect money for a wireless mic system and license to make our outdoor community performances accessible to those who are hard of hearing. We started working on this during the pantomime performances by approaching our local

amusement arcade, Hart’s Amusements on Red Bank Road, for help. We decided to make the performances a true community event by using the amazing prizes donated by Hart’s Amusements and having cast and crew run some carnival like stalls in our side room. This worked a great apart from the first evening performance being a bit of a rush setting up, so we will be

continuing this at the next family pantomime.

We completed 2022 with an in house Christmas Party with games arranged by the trustees. January brought our AGM, a new trustee and focus on the following year, plus celebration of the multiple NODA District 2 award nominations we received - a staggering 11 nominations. Attending the awards dinner, members had a great time

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and we celebrated our first district winner, Hayley Price for her leading performance in a pantomime as Toto.

Back to producing affordable theatre, we gave local writer and member, Linda McKenzie, her debut as a playwright when her play “Memories Are Made Of This” became Bispham CastAways first production of 2023. The play kept audiences guessing and received a very good review.

We rounded off this reporting period with the production of the interactive murder mystery, “Camp Cutthroat” by Belldonna Mysteries and directed by Debbie Flavell. A true community feel built up around this with a great photoshoot from our brilliant photographer, Abbie Dodd of Abbie’s photography, in the Jubilee Gardens near Gynn Square.

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The hotpot supper and apple pie that was sourced from the local business, The Carousel Cafe, was raved about by all. We were particularly pleased with the review from our NODA district rep which celebrated our inclusivity and ensured we are continuing to produce top quality, affordable live theatre events.

“The cast were of differing acting experience and abilities, which made the night ever so more charming; everyone was unpretentiously committed to each moment of the show. I was particularly impressed with the commitment to characterisation through the interrogations, each actor remained to their character and narrative through the improvisation. After the show, I was delighted to learn that this cast was fully inclusive, including members who were partially deaf, and members who have Aspergers and Cerebral Palsy. The society made accommodations to support any accessibility requirements (for example, the prompt was asked to speak louder when needed.) Diversity and Inclusion is a subject matter close to my heart and I believe it should be celebrated and noted, so my heartfelt thanks for being such a welcoming and inclusive society, theatre has many purposes, but it is well and truly for all!’

Nathan Benson - District 2 NODA Rep

Looking to the future, we are aiming to produce a Christmas community event at two local care homes in December 2023 and looking at participating in our local community gala, Claremont Gala, in Summer 2024, as well as investigating other ways to get live theatre out into the community. We also plan to continue to look at things to do socially as a group and continue to support vulnerable members.

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PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT

We have a current Public Benefit Statement that has not been changed within the reporting period. Please see attached.

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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.

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• 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, 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.

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Accounts BISPHAM CASTAWAYS FINANCIAL STATEMENT 0110912022- 31/0812023 Income Ex enditure 3072. 00- productions. 1650.00- rent 570.00- memberships. 83.23- set 650.00- caterin 150.00- printing 154.00- royalties 2687.23 b/f. 87.50 3642.00 3729.50 Less 2687.23 Total c/f 1042.27 Page 10