BISHOP AUCKLAND THEATRE SOCIETY (CIO) 1197045 TRUSTEE’S REPORT 2022/23 info@bishopaucklandtheatresociety.co.uk 12 Grey Street Bishop Auckland Co. Durham DL14 7BQ This document covers the period of: 20 July 2022 19 July 2023 ## A note from our Chair, Josh Railton The 2023 AGM already? Where does the time go? I’d like to begin by taking the opportunity to welcome our many new members who have joined us in the last year and I hope you enjoy your time with us. Additionally, I’d like to take the opportunity whilst we’re all gathered together and take a moment to remember our friend, a woman who believed in the Society, its endeavours, but most importantly, in the people of the society. She may now be gone but she’ll forever be a member of BATS – Mrs. Jean Hill. On to the last twelve months; and what a year we’ve had: two pantomimes, two murder mysteries, a play and our first ever musical – busy feels like quite the understatement. All of our shows received the highest praise possible from our community and some pretty good write ups from NODA too! As with the last… however many years I’ve been chair for now, I once again am very proud to say I’m a member of Bishop Auckland Theatre Society. I’d also like to show my appreciation for Emma who was kind enough to take on many of my duties for a few months whilst also taking on a leading role in 9 To 5. Moving forward in to our 2023/24 season, whilst I am certain of the quality of any productions we choose to stage, we are presented once again with a familiar but worsening conundrum; the cost of the Town Hall. The new rates are in and to the best of my calculations its’ looking like £8500 per year will now be spent on hall hire alone. I believe this will be the major focus of the committee this year and the members as a whole are encouraged to offer their insights. That’s the chair’s address done. Thank you! Page 1 – Our Trustees (2022 2023) Josh Railton Chair & Business Manager Emma Westwood-Fulcher Vice Chair Kayleigh Adams Secretary Ritchie Ballard Treasurer Charley Stamp Publicity Manager Judith Taylor Box Office Manager Jade Carney Social Secretary Brenna Finn Ellie Pettit Mr. Railton and Miss. Stamp took a leave of absence from March to June for medical related reasons. All other trustees have served for the whole reporting period. Page 2 ## The Aims & Objectives of Bishop Auckland Theatre Society Our aim continues to be: For the public appreciation of the arts, in particular the art of community-based theatre by providing training in theatrical skills and staging a variety of theatrical works in and around Bishop Auckland. ## Achieving Our Aims in 2021/22 In this reporting period, we performed our first musical to further extend our reach in to our community. 9 To 5 was successful and bodes well for staging future musicals. We also performed: - After Eleanor Died, written and directed by member, Malcolm Stamp. - Treasure Island, written and directed by member, Josh Railton - Two murder mysteries, both written by member Charley Stamp with one being directed by Charley and one by Emma Westwood-Fulcher. - Jack & The Beanstalk, written by Josh Railton and directed collectively by the actors, Ruth Stapleton, Lydia May & Sharon Cook for community outreach in Evenwood. Through NODA we were lucky enough to win Best Panto 2022 at their annual awards and we have further been notified that we have been nominated for best play for Bouncers & Shakers from our 2021/22 season. Opening ourselves up to musicals has greatly swelled our numbers to include 48 members by years end. Page 3 ## Financial Statement for July 20th 2022 to July 19th 2023 Year Beginning: £16,790.76 Year End: £19,801.69 Profit/Loss: + £3010.93 ## Productions - 9 To 5: The Musical +£444.39 - (Please note, the bill from the Town Hall has not yet been sent out but is expected to be approximately £1600.00. Therefore, it has not been calculated in the above figure and this will be paid in the next financial year.) - Murder & Matrimony +£1091.47 - Treasure Island +£2031.85 - Jack & The Beanstalk -£20.48 - Murder In St. Moritz +£916.72 - After Eleanor Died +502.01 In total, our productions have made a profit of £4965.96 (£3,365.96 when adjusted for expected Town Hall cost). ## Society income & Expenditure In this section, income is exclusively membership subscriptions and grants, with expenditures being anything that the club bought that wasn’t explicitly bought for the use of one particular show, for example a new black backcloth was bought during After Eleanor Died but was not specifically for that production and therefore is a society expense, not a production expense. Overall, the society spent considerably more than it gained through membership subscriptions and grants; and considerably more than in previous years. This is due mostly to a few large purchases and the necessity of moving to a new storage location. Page 4 Society income/expenses for the 2022/23 financial year work out at – £1940.03 Our income from membership subscriptions totalled £438.75 which includes pro-rata fees, student discounts and some outstanding fees from the previous financial year; and our income from grants totalled £500.00 for an overall total of £938.75. This year, our storage needs changed with our agreement with Mr. Williams ending due to the building receiving storm damage and subsequently bought out. This necessitated a move to a storage unit which costs us £80.00 per month and we paid £118.81 for a van to transport our items between sites; in the process of moving, we also spent £129.00 on new storage boxes. The move also gave us chance for a clear out and the rubbish transportation costs were £300.00. We, additionally, still paid our annual invoice to Mr. Williams totalling £240.00. This year storage needs have cost us a total of £1187.79. In 2022/23, we invested in a black backcloth for £277.00 and a set of three flight cases to securely house our moving lights at a cost of £372.00 after the original cardboard boxes fell apart. This year our NODA fee was £135.00 and we moved to NODA Insurance to receive their discount which made our new insurance total £256.74. We also upgraded Front Of House with a new till system for taking card payments. This cost £178.80. The remainder of the costs are miscellaneous items such as key cutting and thank you gifts along with outgoing s and reimbursements for theatre shows and events. Page 5