Society Rules and Regulations
Society Rules and Regulations
1) The Society shall be called the "Weston-super-Mare Operatic Society".
2) OBJECTS
The object of the society is to further educate the public in the dramatic and operatic arts and to further the development of the public appreciation and taste in the said arts; and in furtherance of this object but not otherwise the Society through its Management Committee shall have the following powers:-
(a) to promote plays, dramas, comedies, operas, operettas and other dramatic and operatic works of educative value or parts thereof and music connected thereto;
(b) to purchase, acquire and obtain interest in the copyright of or the right to perform or show any such dramatic or operatic works;
(c) to purchase or otherwise acquire property, plant, machinery, furniture, fixtures and fittings, scenery and all other necessary effects to facilitate such productions;
(d) to raise funds and invite and receive contributions from any person or persons whatsoever by way of subscription, donation or otherwise, provided that the Society shall not undertake any permanent trading activities in raising funds;
(e) to obtain such Licenses as required for the sale of intoxicating liquor for supply at any of the aforementioned activities;
(f) to do all such other things as shall further the objects of the Society.
3) CONSTITUTION
(a) The Society shall consist of Acting and Non-acting members, student members (in full time education), Life members and Vice-Presidents, together with Associate (non-voting) Members and may also include as Life Members such other persons as shall have rendered special services to the Society.
(b) The Society shall also have the power to elect Affiliated Members for a specified period who shall have no voting rights.
(c) Members of the 200 Club shall be deemed to be Affiliated Members of the Society as in (b) above.
(d) Associate Members shall be deemed to be any person who has paid a reduced subscription to be an Acting or Non-acting Member of the Junior Groups of the Society but has not been accepted into the main Society.
4) MANAGEMENT
(a) The Society shall be managed by a General Purposes Committee to be as follows:
Chairman
Vice-Chairman
Treasurer
Secretary (non-voting)
and six elected ordinary members. All according to voting (which, if necessary, shall be by secret ballot) will serve for one year. For the purposes of a meeting of the above Committee, five voting members shall form a quorum.
(b) Members intending to stand for election to the General Purposes committee as ordinary members must be proposed, seconded and signed their agreement at least 7 days before the date of the Annual General Meeting. No member of the Society shall serve as an ordinary member of the General Purposes Committee for more than three consecutive years. At the termination of the third consecutive year, that member shall not be eligible for re-election to the Committee as an ordinary member for a further period of one year.
(c) The Annual General Meeting shall elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman annually. Members will be eligible for these offices if they have served a minimum period of one year as an ordinary member or co-opted member of the General Purposes Committee. Any member elected to the position of Vice-Chairman is eligible to serve a maximum of three years in this position but can then be consecutively elected as Chairman for a further maximum of three years. On vacating the position of Chairman or Vice-Chairman (except on the consecutive to Chairman as above) no member can serve on the General Purposes Committee until the lapse of one year after having such
office but can be re-elected to any office or as an ordinary elected member after such time.
(d) The Treasurer, Secretary and Assistant Secretary will be elected annually by the Annual General Meeting and are permanently eligible for re-election.
(e) A Business Manager shall be co-opted annually by the General Purposes Committee and attend Committee meetings but shall be non-voting.
(f) A Publicity Manager shall be co-opted annually by the General Purposes Committee and attend Committee Meetings but shall be non-voting.
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5) PRODUCTION COMMITTEE
The Production Committee for each Society Production shall consist of the Chairman of the General Purposes Committee and the following members:
Publicity Manager
Wardrobe Mistress / Master
Business Manager
Secretary / Assistant Secretary
together with the Musical Director, Stage Manager, Director and Choreographer. This Committee will deal with matters directly related to the Society’s production, excluding financial matters and issues of health and safety which shall be referred back to the General Purposes Committee. The Production Committee shall have
power to co-opt.
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6) ACCOMPANIST
The post of Accompanist(s) will be filled by invitation of the General Purposes Committee annually.
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7) ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to all those having sympathy with the objects of the Society desiring actively to further them and to pay the annual subscription prescribed by these rules. No person under the age of sixteen years may be elected as a full member of the Society.
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8) APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
(a) Application for Acting, Non-acting membership or Vice-Presidency shall be made in writing, signed by the applicant, to the Secretary who shall submit the same to the General Purposes Committee for its decision.
(b) All candidates for Acting membership shall perform a satisfactory audition to an auditioning panel appointed by the General Purposes Committee and the panel's recommendation submitted to the General Purposes Committee for a decision.
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9) LIFE MEMBERSHIP
Life Members may, on the nomination and recommendation of the General Purposes Committee only, be elected unanimously by the members of the Society at an Annual General Meeting.
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10) EXPULSION OF MEMBERS
(a) Any member of the Society who, in the opinion of the General Purposes Committee confirmed by a 75% majority of a Special General Meeting of the Society shall be guilty of, by his or her actions, misusing the privileges of the
Society or of otherwise bringing the Society into contempt or dispute or whose conduct they consider to endanger the welfare of the Society may be suspended or expelled from the Society.
(b) The General Purposes Committee may, by a unanimous vote, remove from a production any member who has unreasonably neglected the work undertaken or being currently undertaken by the Society.
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11) RESIGNATION OF MEMBERS
Members resigning shall notify the Secretary in writing.
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12) SUBSCRIPTIONS
The Annual Subscription for all classes of membership shall be fixed by the Members at the Annual General Meeting and become payable on January 1st of the ensuing year. Members not having paid the current subscription by the due date each year will be considered to have resigned from the Society and shall be required to seek to re-apply.
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13) DUTIES OF OFFICERS
The Stage Manager shall be responsible for the action of all staged works during the course of any performance and shall possess absolute authority on the stage, and backstage areas. The Business Manager shall be responsible for the arrangement of all business connected with the front of house, of which he/she shall have sole control during the course of the performance, in conjunction with the venue Front of House manager where appropriate. He/she shall account to the Treasurer for all tickets issued and all monies received by him/her. The Secretary shall be responsible for all secretarial work and the calling of all meetings. The Assistant Secretary may attend meetings and take over the duties of Secretary if required. The Treasurer shall be responsible for all monies received or paid by him/her into all accounts with the Society's Bankers, to be known as the "Weston-super-Mare Operatic Society Account(s)" and shall prepare the Annual Statements of Accounts which will be independently examined by some responsible person or firm being annually elected by the Society. All payments from the Society’s Banking Account must be authorized by any two of the following: Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer / Chairman / Secretary, Vice-
Chairman. Payments of £250 or above will be reported to the GPC retrospectively in the Finance Reports.
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14) PAYMENTS TO TRUSTEES
Members of the GPC are the trustees of the charity and are entitles to claim for out- of-pocket expenses and for the reimbursement of products and services bought on behalf of the GPC, subject to the production of detailed invoices and receipts. In addition, a trustee who is acting in a non-trustee role e.g. Director, Musical Director Choreographer etc. may be paid a fee for that specific role, provided they are not involved in the decision-making process for the appointment of that that role and that the payment is in the Weston Operatic Society’s best interests and reasonable for the services provided. Wherever possible other interested persons should have the opportunity to apply for that role and the GPC decision to appoint should be clearly recorded in GPC minutes. Likewise, payments to connect persons to include a trustee’s spouse or partner, siblings, a brother-or sister-in-law, parents, business partners or businesses connected to trustees would only be allowed subject to the conditions outlined above.
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15) FINANCIAL YEAR
The financial year of the Society shall commence on the 1st January of each year and an annual profit and loss account and balance sheet shall be prepared and submitted to the General Purposes Committee within three months of this date.
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16) ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
(a) The Annual General Meetings shall be held, if possible, before the 30thApril each year and the Secretary shall send to all members a notice convening the meeting together with the Agenda and a copy of the Accounts. These documents shall be sent with 14 days notice by email.
(b) The meeting shall deal with:
(i) Presentation of Accounts.
(ii) Election of Officers and General Purposes Committee.
(iii) Any business as set in the Agenda.
(iv)Any special matters which the Committee desire to bring before the members.
(v) Suggestions from the members for consideration by the Committee under Any Other Business.
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17) SPECIAL GENERAL MEETING
(a) A Special General Meeting of the Society may be called at any time by the General Purposes Committee or after the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing to that effect and signed by at least 12 members. Every such requisition shall specify the business for which the meeting is to be called, and no other business shall be transacted at such a meeting.
b) A copy of the said requisition together with a notice of Special General Meeting shall be sent to all members with 21 days notice by email prior to the date of the Special General meeting, such date to be fixed by the General Purposes Committee. This date will not be unreasonably delayed.
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18) QUORUM AT GENERAL MEETINGS
No business other than the formal adjournment of the meeting shall be transacted at the General Meeting unless a quorum is present; such quorum shall consist of not fewer than 25 voting members.
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19) RESOLUTION AT GENERAL MEETINGS
Unless otherwise provided by these rules all resolutions brought forward at the General Meeting shall be decided by a bare majority of the votes properly recorded at such meeting and in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
20) APPOINTMENT OF SUB-COMMITTEES
(a) The General Purposes Committee shall have power to appoint such sub- committees as they shall think necessary to carry out such specific work as they decide and may delegate to such sub-committees all or any of its powers and such sub-committees shall continue to hold office until such work has been completed or until the next AGM. All sub-committees shall report to the General Purposes Committee for endorsement at its next meeting. No decision may be acted upon without such endorsement.
(b) All monies held by sub-committees to be in the control of the society.
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21) SELECTION AND REVISION OF COMPANY
The company for any production shall be selected by the General Purposes Committee or their delegated representatives who shall have power to revise the company. Selection may be based on previous attendance records and previous support of the Society.
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22) ATTENDANCE AT REHEARSALS AND PERFORMANCES
Members absenting themselves without reasonable cause from rehearsals may, at the discretion of the General Purposes Committee, be deemed to have resigned their parts whether as principal or chorus in the work then in rehearsal and may be prohibited from taking part in the performance of the work in preparation.
23) SELECTION OF WORKS TO BE PERFORMED
The General Purposes Committee shall select the works to be produced by the Society but shall give utmost consideration to suggestions made by the members.
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24) PRODUCTION AND TICKET MONEY
All monies due from members or received by them on behalf of the Society in connection with the performance and production of any work, shall be accounted for and paid to the Treasurer within 7 days after the conclusion of the final performance. Any money outstanding shall be recoverable at Law in the name of the Treasurer.
25) REHEARSALS
No visitors shall be permitted to attend any rehearsals without the previous consent of the official or officials in charge of such rehearsals.
26) CONTINGENCIES
The General Purposes Committee shall have the power to deal with any contingencies not provided for in these rules and their decision in all cases shall be final.
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27) DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY
The Society shall only be dissolved by resolution passed by a majority of at least five-sixths of the Members present and voting at a Special General Meeting called for the purpose of considering such dissolution. In the event of dissolution any balance of cash remaining in hand after the realisation of assets and payment of debts shall not be distributed among the Members of the Society but shall be applied for such charitable purposes similar to those of the Society or be paid, distributed or transferred to such charitable institutions having objects similar to the objects of the Society as the Committee with the consent of the meeting shall determine.
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28) ALTERATIONS TO THE RULES
(a) No alterations to these rules shall be made except at a General Meeting or unless 21 days prior to such a meeting a written notice of proposed alteration or of one substantially to the like effect shall have been given to the Secretary who shall give 21 days notice by email which will then be deemed to be delivered to the members and the resolution embodying such proposed alteration should be carried by a majority of at least two thirds of votes
recorded therein at the meeting.
(b) No alteration may be made to Rules 2, 27 and 28 without the approval of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales or other authority having charitable jurisdiction from time to time.
These Rules and Regulations were confirmed by the Members at a
Special General Meeting held on the 17th April 2024