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STRATHCLYDE THEATRE GROUP IS A CHARITABLE BODY, REGISTERED IN SCOTLAND (SC042388)

AUGUST 2011 NEWSLETTERTHE BIG STG REBOOT!

Strathclyde Theatre Group is gearing up for the new season and things have never been

more exciting! Over the last few months the Board and the Future Productions Committee

have been working hard to ensure that our first year as a touring company is a roaring

success. With a major production of Arthur Millers The Crucible booked for November at

The Cottiers Theatre and high hopes of progressing in the Sky Arts Stage Struck

competition, we intend to start the season with a bang! In addition, we have lots of other

irons in the fire and lots of exciting projects still to come including Still Game, our a la carte

productions, New Playwrights Initiative and our RSC Open Stages production of

Coriolanus.

But the main news is that were back, were all new and rebooted, and we aim to make this a

year to remember.

OUR NEW STG PATRON

Were extremely honoured to announce that Lost star

Henry Ian Cusick has agreed to be an official patron ofSTG. Ian has very kindly filmed a couple of small

testimonials for us, which will be uploaded to our website

shortly, and will do various publicity inserts for us in

future. We are very grateful for the time he is prepared to

give to our group, and very honoured to have him on

board.

HenryIainCusick.

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SKY ARTS COMPETITION

Sky Arts, the satellite television channel are running a competition called Stagestruck to find

the best amateur/community theatre group in the UK.

STGs audition video for the competition, has been selected as one of the best twenty videos

from groups around the country. The video is a short scene from Shakespeares Hamlet;

directed by Bruce Downie, featuring Natalie Clark and Barry Ward and filmed/edited by Paul

Darroch.

The twenty videos are now online at the Sky

Arts website. The public now have the

opportunity to vote for their favourite video.

When the voting closes, the top 8 groups will

go forward to the televised rounds. A

different play will be selected for each round,

some rehearsals will be filmed and each

group will get the chance to work with a

mentor a leading figure from the world of

theatre. AstillfromSTGsvideo,featuringBarryWardasHamletandNatalieClarkasOphelia.

It would be a wonderful boost for STG and a great opportunity for members to be involved in

the final stages of the competition.

But we need your vote, please follow this link and vote for STG.

http://www.skyarts.co.uk/theatre-drama/stagestruck/

Ask your friends and family to vote for STG as well please!!!

The voting closes at 6am on Tuesday 30th

August

Thank you in advance for your vote!

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STGS FIRST MAJOR PRODUCTION OF THE YEAR

THE CRUCIBLE by Arthur Miller

Directed by Deborah Mair

(11th-19th November, Cottiers Theatre Glasgow)

This is an enormous production with many opportunities both onstage and backstage. The

Cottiers is an excellent venue for this, and with 180 seats and a run of 8 nights (and the

possibility of 2 matinees) this will be by far the most ambitious production STG have done todate.

A separate email is being sent to members with our first open call for auditions and for

backstage crew. Auditions will be held from Monday 5th to Friday 9th September between

6pm and 10pm. In order to audition, you need to have registered for membership of STG for

season 2011/12 (see How To Register For Membership Of STG below).

STG CLUB NIGHTS

Our first Club night was held on Thursday 25 th August at the Basement Club of the

Brunswick Hotel. The idea is to hold a similar night on the last Thursday of every month.STG Club Nights will include an element of relaxed and informal performance, but this is

also an opportunity for members and friends of STG to meet, socialise, network and

generally catch up on everything thats happening.

If you are a member of STG and would like to propose a performance piece for future Club

Nights, please contact Erica Kate ONeill at ericafirefly@hotmail.com This is a platform to

show off anything youre working on, to try out a monologue/duologue/sketch/scene

basically anything! Our aim is to showcase a few short performances before giving the

evening over to socialising and networking.

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FUTURE PRODUCTIONS

Programming for STG is now the responsibility of the Future Productions Committee. At

present, there are 7 members on this committee Sara Jo Harrison, Erica ONeil, JenniferAnn Watt, Peter Lamb, Mark Coleman, Bruce Downie and Susan Triesman.

The FPC are currently planning the plays and productions up to June next year. Our first

show, The Crucible by Arthur Miller has been confirmed and will be staged in The Cottiers

Theatre in November.

In the next few weeks, we will confirm more details of the programme which will hopefully

include; Still Game, the original stage version of the popular Scottish sit-com, the Scottish

premier of David Mamets Romance, The Peneloppiad by Margaret Atwood and of course

our production of Shakespeares Coriolanus, in association with the Royal Shakespeare

Company. And we are still discussing the possibility of a Christmas show and are looking for

suitable venues to revive our popular a la carte events. We also hope the Club Nights will

become a regular feature on the STG calendar

In addition, if we are lucky enough to progress to the televised rounds of the Stagestruck

competition there will be more projects to be announced.

So, as you can see its an exciting and ambitious year ahead for STG. There will be

opportunities aplenty for everyone to get involved. Join us for the adventure we cant do it

without you!

HOW TO REGISTER FOR MEMBERSHIP OF STG

From Monday the 29th of August, you will be able to follow the link on our website

(www.strathclydetheatregroup.co.uk) to register for membership and for details on how to

pay your annual subscription. Were now gearing up for our first productions for the season.

This is an exciting year for STG and we look forward to seeing our wonderful group go from

strength to strength.

SUBSCRIPTION RATE CHANGES

Having lost all of our basic funding from the University of Strathclyde, it was inevitable that

the subscription rates would have to be increased and this was agreed at the Emergency

General Meeting in March this year. For Season 2011-12 (beginning August 2011 and

ending July 2012) the rates are:

50 per annum for those in full-time employment (payable if required as 2 instalments of 25

over the first 2 months of membership)

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30 per annum concessionary rate for the unemployed, full time students, pensioners,

recipients of income support (payable if required as 2 instalments of 15 over the first 2

months of membership)

We realise that this is a substantial increase from previous years but in this first vital year its

imperative that we generate enough income to put on productions, hire decent venues, payfor performance rights and ensure our long term survival. The amount that can be raised

through fundraising activities is an unknown quantity and so we ask all members to consider

that raising the cost of membership to around 4 (or 2.50 concession) per month will make

a substantial difference to what can be achieved.

WHAT DOES MEMBERSHIP OF STG MEAN?

STG membership carries the following benefits:

(1) Receipt of the monthly newsletter via email detailing all our upcoming activities and

opportunities

(2) Eligibility for members to put themselves forward for auditions, backstage roles, Front of

House duties, membership of committees (STG does not charge for auditions)

(3) Eligibility for members to suggest plays and productions they may wish to direct, for

consideration by the Future Productions Committee

(4) Free entry to the monthly Club Night events

(5) Discounted admission to STG productions

(6) STG discount on all courses run by Strathclyde Universitys Film and Theatre Studio (Art

of Acting 1-4, Art of Directing, Writing for Stage and Screen, etc)

(7) Discounted (or, where possible, free) admission to skill sharing workshops hosted by

STG

CONTACTING STG

To contact STG, please send an e-mail to strathclydetheategroup@hotmail.co.uk

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