CONSTITUTION & RULES

CONSTITUTION

A. The name of the Society shall be BROMLEY PLAYERS.

B. The objects of the Society are to educate and entertain the public in the musical and dramatic arts and to further the development of public appreciation and taste in the arts.

C. In pursuit of these objects the Society through its Committee shall have the following powers:
i) To produce musical and dramatic works;
ii) To do such things as necessary to enable the Society to produce such works;
iii) To raise funds in any manner that the committee shall deem appropriate other than by way of trading on a permanent basis.

D. The Society shall consist of Members as follows:
i) Full Membership shall include the right to audition to take part in the Society’s productions and shall be at the discretion of the Committee;
ii) Honorary Membership shall consist of Members who have rendered special service to the Society and shall be given at the discretion of the Committee. Honorary Members shall continue to be considered as Full Members in regard to all entitlements and voting rights.

All Full Members shall be required to pay an annual subscription the amounts of which having been agreed by a majority of Full Members at the previous Annual General Meeting. No formal subscription fee shall be payable by Honorary Members.

E. The Committee shall appoint an Honorary President at their discretion.

F. The affairs of the Society shall be conducted by a Committee consisting of three Officers, namely Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, and other Committee Members and all posts shall be elected by the voting Members in General Meeting. The Committee shall serve until completion of the Annual General Meeting following that, or the Extraordinary General Meeting, in which they were elected. All Members of the Committee shall retire prior to the next AGM but shall be eligible for re-election. No salaried employee of the Society shall be eligible to sit on the Committee.

G. The Committee shall have full responsibility for achieving the objects of the Society.

H. The Committee shall be responsible for the financial control of the Society and Accounts shall be prepared at each financial year-end. Cheques drawn on the Society’s bank account shall be signed by two of the authorised signatories.

I. All properties of the Society shall be vested in the name of the Society.

J. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall be held once in each calendar year and a Notice of Meeting shall be sent to all Members in writing at least three weeks prior to the AGM. Nominations for the Officers and Members of the Committee shall be made to the Secretary at least seven days prior to the meeting using the form attached to the Notice and shall include the signed consent of the Nominee, to signify willingness to serve, and the signatures of the Nominator and a Seconder. Any required voting shall be on a majority of voting Members and if a vote is tied the Chairperson of the Meeting may give a casting vote.

K. An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) may be called by the Committee or at the written request of ten Full / Honorary Members of the Society to the Secretary. Notice, voting, etc… shall be as for the AGM and a quorum shall be 25% of the Full / Honorary Members.

L. The Society may only be dissolved by a majority of the voting Members present at a special Meeting duly convened for that purpose. The Committee shall be responsible for the realisation of the assets of the Society and payment of its liabilities. In the event of there being a surplus of funds, the apportion of this surplus shall be decided by a majority of the voting Members present at the final General Meeting.

M. Alterations to this Constitution shall receive the assent of a majority of the voting Members at an AGM or EGM. A resolution for the alteration of the Constitution shall be received by the Secretary at least three weeks prior to the meeting at which the resolution is to be brought forward.

RULES

1. MEMBERSHIP

1.1. A FULL MEMBER is one who comes within the categories below and is eligible to vote:
1.1.1. A person aged 16 years or over who has paid the subscription fee set at the AGM;
1.1.2. An Honorary Member is a Member who has rendered special service to the Society and is appointed at the discretion of the Committee with no formal subscription fee payable.

1.2. A FULL MEMBER of the Society:
1.2.1. Will receive a Welcome Pack containing a copy of the Constitution and Rules;
1.2.2. Is entitled to audition to take part in all productions;
1.2.3. Is entitled to receive Newsletters;
1.2.4. Will be informed of the date of the AGM, or any EGM, and is entitled to take part fully in the business of the meeting;
1.2.5. Is deemed to have lapsed Membership if the subscription fee for the current year is not paid prior to the start of the AGM.

2. APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

2.1. Applicants will complete a Membership Application Form:
2.1.1. Membership Application Forms for Applicants under the age of 18 must be signed by a Parent or Guardian to indicate consent.
2.2. For prospective performing members, an audition is required before a panel of between 4 and 6 Committee Members:
2.2.1. Content of the audition will be set by the Committee;
2.2.2. Applicants will be notified as soon as possible of the result of the audition.
2.3. Membership commences on receipt of the subscription fee set at the AGM.

3. AUDITIONS FOR PRODUCTIONS

3.1. The Production Team and the Audition Panel will be set by the Committee.
3.2. Audition pieces will be set by the Production Team.
3.3. Only Full or Honorary Members will be eligible to Audition before the Audition Panel:
3.3.1. A Member must complete an Audition Form and sign consent to the Casting Terms;
3.3.2. A Member must return the Audition Form to the designated person at least seven days prior to the audition date.
3.4. Only Society Members are able to attend the Auditions.
3.5. In the event of any part remaining uncast, a date for Open Auditions will be notified.
3.6. As per the Casting Terms, all Members cast in a Production will be required to pay the amount set as a Show Fee for this Production by the Committee, due on casting and no later than 1 month at least half of the specified fee with any balance to be paid one month before the first performance.
3.6.1. Any non-Member within the Cast will be encouraged to pay the Show Fee, depending on circumstances, or part thereof, as a temporary Membership for the duration of the Production only.

4. ELECTION TO THE COMMITTEE

4.1. To be nominated as a Committee Member, the nominee needs to be a current Member who has completed the prior year as a Full or Honorary Member and has been active within the Society in that year.
4.2. To be nominated as an Officer, the nominee must be a Member who has completed a full year as a Committee Member within the last five years.
4.3. Full and Honorary Members are eligible to nominate and second any Member meeting the requirements.
4.4. Full and Honorary Members are entitled to notification at least four days prior to the meeting of all nominations for the Committee and will be eligible to vote in writing through the Secretary if unable to attend.
4.5. The Committee has the right to identify specific posts for election as a Committee Member at the AGM.
4.6. A Committee Member is required to attend Committee meetings and an absence from 3 consecutive meetings without prior notification of a suitable reason will be deemed as having withdrawn from the Committee.

5. EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY

5.1 Racism, transphobia, homophobia in any form by our members will not be tolerated. This will not only include behaviour at rehearsals but also how our members conduct themselves outside of rehearsals, including on social media.
5.2 Conduct not conducive with this should be brought to the attention of the committee in writing and the committee will subsequently meet in order to discuss the further action to be taken.
5.3. This may result in the sanctions as noted in section 6.

6. SANCTIONS

6.1. The Committee reserves the right to withdraw Membership from any Member who is deemed to be acting against the best interests of the Society or in a manner likely to bring the Society into disrepute. Prior written warning will be given by the Committee.
6.2. The Officers reserve the right to withdraw Membership from any Committee Member who is deemed to be acting against the best interests of the Society or in a manner likely to bring the Society into disrepute. Prior written warning will be given by the Officers.
6.3. A record of attendance of Performing Members at rehearsals will be kept. At the discretion of the Committee, a Performing Member being absent from rehearsal without prior notification of a suitable reason may be deemed to have withdrawn from the current production.
6.4. The audition panel may have regard for rehearsal attendance in previous productions in casting decisions.

7. MANAGEMENT

7.1. The Committee reserves the right to adjust these rules in exceptional circumstances for the good of the Society, with Members being informed of any such changes as soon as possible.
7.2. Alterations to the Rules will receive the assent of a majority of the voting Members at an AGM or EGM. A resolution for the alteration of the Rules shall be received by the Secretary at least three weeks prior to the meeting at which the resolution is to be brought forward.