Category: Team Meetings

The following text are the minutes from the SMCT Board Meeting on May 30, 2015. Click the link below for a downloadable PDF version.

SMCT December 2015 Meeting Minutes (public)

 

SMCT Board Meeting Minutes – December 2015

December 12th, 2015, 10:00am Benjamin Eddy Building, Foster, RI

Members present (voting members in bold): Dennis Chretien, Laura Giorgianni, Shane Inman, Kaila Rubin, Eric Dubois, Liz Dubois, Chris Brostrup-Jensen

Meeting Begins – 10:10am

Finance

-Box office cutoff has been changed from 2 to 3 hours before show, change will be upheld

Creative

-Chris offered a formal apology for his lack of time management during rehearsals

-Going forward, having a community liaison should address this issue

-Christmas Carol performances have been going well

-Liz asked if there will be a dinner theatre between Christmas Carol and M*A*S*H

-Suggested it would be difficult to fit anything into the short time slot

-Could potentially be done at the proposed chili cook-off (see below)

-Full dinner theatre production would not be viable

-Date of Foster Follies has to be decided, as the usual date would fall in middle of M*A*S*H

-29th of April, 6th and 13th of May will be checked to determine best option

-M*A*S*H

-Dennis anticipates tech issues due to operating room being set up off-stage

-Lighting and seating will have to be adjusted accordingly

-Clarification: first Tuesday after last show is storage cleanup, first Thursday is cast party

-Creative Studio

-Chris expressed concerns about the image presented by CAST-sponsored videos

-Over winter break, more videos will be made

-Long-term archiving of files has to be figured out

-DVDs would not be ideal, online backup service might be best option

Events

-Chili cook-off in late winter

-Eric suggested doing a sneak preview of M*A*S*H, showing one scene

-Original cook-off date was on Easter weekend, has to be changed

-BYOB with corking fee would probably not go over well

-Silent auction could be good addition, but item donations would be needed

-May be safer to choose different event

-Ultimate conclusion: event will need to be investigated and date reworked

-Dennis suggested starting a yearly auction

-Would need at least a few big ticket items to pull people in the door

-Zink Alloy could be hired to play for an hour for a fundraiser with food and silent auction

-Might be better to do in May

-Nikki will be asked about changing cook-off event

Public Relations

-Shane suggested prominent “Buy Tickets” button be added to website

-New web platform still under construction, will hopefully be done before M*A*S*H

-Dennis suggested creating Swamp Meadow filter on Instagram for additional publicity

Fundraising

-Meryn will determine if Foster has any intentions regarding new community building grant

-Dennis suggested SMCT could step into the gap left by the departure of Fostering Arts

Facilities

-Futon will be removed from storage unit by original owner and given to Savers

-Could large swathes of fabric in storage unit be sold on Ebay?

-Unlikely to ever be used

-Some fabrics could be kept, such as more specialized materials

-Old tech equipment should be posted on Ebay

Communications

-Shane hopes to get all board members on Slack before next board meeting

-Will compile email to illustrate benefits of platform and attempt to encourage adoption

Meeting adjourned – 12:02pm

The following text are the minutes from the SMCT Board Meeting on May 30, 2015. Click the link below for a downloadable PDF version.

(public) SMCT Board Meeting Minutes 14 November 2015

 

SMCT Board Meeting Minutes – November 2015

Nobember 14th, 2015, 10:00am Benjamin Eddy Building, Foster, RI

Members present (voting members in bold): Shane Inman, Kaila Rubin, Leslie Carter, Eric Dubois, Artie Robillard, Carol Mauro, Rachel Stevens, Bob Hollis, Chris Brostrup-Jensen

Meeting Begins – 10:15am

Sub-committee meetings

-Behavior policy has not yet been written

-Notes from producer/stage manager meeting have been sent out

-Progress was made on delineating roles

-Next meeting must be scheduled and topic decided

-Chris put forth use of rehearsals to build SMCT culture/community as potential topic

-“Liaison” meeting could be combined with another topic

-Several people suggested focusing on delineating precise meaning of board positions

-Unlikely to take very long, would mostly involve clarifying existing lines

-Leslie suggested setting up separate meetings (with separate topics) to occur simultaneously, then coming together afterward to discuss

-Meeting topic will be liaison, as mentioned above, and guideline review

-Meeting will be held on January 11th, 2016, at 6:30pm at the Dubois’ house

-Meeting will be open to the public

-Potential future topics include tech, publicity/hospitality, and membership outreach (finding interested people)

Creative

-Christmas Carol is in good shape

-Much farther along in deciding technical details than previous shows

-Disruptions to rehearsals as a result are unfortunate, but worth the benefits

-Chris is unsure of how far along costumes currently are

-Still looking for concessions coordinator for one week of shows

-80-90% of the way to getting replacement for Joe Turner

-Efforts have been made to shift it more in line with how it was described in meetings

-Specifically, responsibilities and “workflow” will be made to more closely conform to the decisions made at the director/producer/stage manager organizational meeting

-Planning to shoot promotional videos in coming week for promotion

-Official cast list needed for by the 24th for Foster Home Journal

-USO Show

-Still trying to find musical coordinator

-No need for a producer

-Show will be performed on November 12th and 13th

-If live musicians cannot be found and organized, Artie is willing to fall back on prerecorded music

-Suessical

-Budget is being discussed with Laura Giorgianni

-Creative Studio

-November CAST production needs to be written and cast, volunteers are wanted

-Final edit of October CAST production will be uploaded soon

-Bob will get youth reps together soon

Public Relations

-Dennis, Andy, and Eric are working on the new website

-They have decided to switch after Christmas Carol to avoid disrupting the production

-Buying an ad in Motif would be unlikely to bring in larger audience, but may encourage someone from Motif to review the show, aiding in long-term organizational building

-Leslie suggested posting blurb on Rhode Island Performance Exchange website

Communications

-Shane requested that Communications be moved up on the schedule for a future meeting

Next meeting is scheduled for December 12th.

Motion to adjourn meeting – Seconded/Passed

Meeting adjourned – 11:58pm

The following text are the minutes from the SMCT Board Meeting on May 30, 2015. Click the link below for a downloadable PDF version.

SMCT Board Meeting Minutes 24 October 2015 (public)

 

SMCT Board Meeting Minutes – September 2015

September 26th, 2015, 10:00am Benjamin Eddy Building, Foster, RI

Members present (voting members in bold): Liz Dubois, Andy Affleck, Chris Brostrup-Jensen, Shane Inman, Dennis Chretien, Kaila Rubin, Laura Giorgianni, Leslie Carter, Eric Dubois, Meryn Flynn, Carol Mauro

Meeting Begins – 10:15am

Creative

-Christmas Carol is continuing to go quite well, with good forward progress

-Additional help wanted in creative outreach area, non-traditional publicity

-Andy Affleck volunteered

-He would like to make a behind-the-scenes video of rehearsals

-Leslie suggested putting up fliers at AS220

-Also suggested emphasizing the fresh take on the play

-M*A*S*H script is under revision by Andy Affleck and Rob Lebeau

-Pre-production has been slower than hoped

-Sets must be constructed to eliminate difficult strikes during tech week

-Builder needed for construction of set

-Numerous props and costumes are very much needed

-Audition scripts intended to be up by December

-Young men are needed for the show

-Andy wants the mess tent on-stage to be used as the concession stand during intermission

-Seussical is confirmed as Summer 2016 production

-Creative people for costumes/sets are needed

-Max cast of 30

-Carries implication of needing to turn down kids who audition

-Aiming for audition process in May

-Meryn does not have young children in her caroling troupe, Christmas Carol may need to be edited to accommodate this

-Creative Studio is up and running

-Bob Hollis has taken care of October CAST responsibility

-Andy can train for sound, lights, and camera for those needed

-Dennis wants a form for people to sign when withdrawing equipment, assuming responsibility for it

Events

-Halloween event garnered 36 total ticket sales

-Laura expects that SMCT will lose a negligible amount of money on the event

Public Relations

-Eric Dubois has registered for the new pair.com site in preparation for the server move

-Andy Affleck mentioned that even with pair.com, SMCT may have to use another reputable email-sending service to avoid being marked as spam

-Dennis Chretien mentioned that the asset library could be used for Creative Studio, but people would have to be cautious of licensing issues

-Audrey Dubois has been placed in charge of SMCT social media

-Meryn Flynn suggested creating an SMCT Tumblr

-Response was lukewarm

Fundraising

-Meryn Flynn is looking into writing a proposal for a large grant

-Grant writer from Trinity has been added to the database

Communications

-Shane Inman requested that newsletter articles be submitted only in reply to the email requesting said items

-Also asked that any other conversation be kept out of newsletter email chain

USO Show

-Still little luck finding musical director/coordinator

-Music programs of several highschools have been reached out to for volunteers

Storage Organization and Cleanout

-Some cleaning has been done, some shelves have been assembled

-Ebay account for SMCT has already been set up, could be used to sell old lights

-Second day must be scheduled to finish job

-It will be done on Halloween morning, 11:00am

-November 1st is backup date, 1:00pm

Next meeting is now scheduled for November 14th.

Motion to schedule future meetings for second Saturday of each month – Seconded/Passed

Motion to adjourn meeting – Seconded/Passed

Meeting adjourned – 12:05pm

The following text are the minutes from the SMCT Board Meeting on May 30, 2015. Click the link below for a downloadable PDF version.

(public) SMCT Board Meeting Minutes 26 September 2015

 

SMCT Board Meeting Minutes – September 2015

September 26th, 2015, 10:00am Benjamin Eddy Building, Foster, RI

Members Present (voting members in bold): Artie Robillard, Bob Hollis, Kaila Rubin, Nikki Boss, Liz Dubois, Eric Dubois, Rachel Stevens, Laura Giorgianni, Leslie Carter, Andy Affleck, Leah Fidler, Carol Mauro, Shane Inman

Meeting Begins – 10:00am

Motion to accept July meeting minutes: Seconded/Passed

Executive Director

-Establish clearer definitions for positions such as Stage Manager and Producer, and communicate this to those holding these positions

-Bob Hollis, Laura Giorgianni, Liz Dubois, Eric Dubois, and Andy Affleck interested

-Meeting will be open to public for anyone interested in participating

-Date/time/place of meeting: October 26th, 6:30pm at the Dubois household

Productions

-Chris has tentatively finished writing the script for A Christmas Carol

-Meeting of CC production team on Monday, October 5th

-SMCT’s portion of the Christmas Carol raffle will be donated to a different charity each weekend

-M*A*S*H needs a full production crew, producer is most immediate need

-Andy proposed discount to anyone who shows up to M*A*S*H in military uniform (veterans)

-Possible problem with called-in reservations, how would they work with discount?

-Make use of available military jeep for M*A*S*H marketing purposes

Education

-Youth reps have not yet formally met

-Bob will not be doing after-school programs during the Fall do to CAST obligations

Events

-Halloween show

-Approval for Halloween show raffle has been obtained

-Michelle Chretien has volunteered to make foods for concessions, needs more volunteers

-Concessions must be opened before first show

-Fliers will be printed individually by people willing to do so

-Box office will be opened for show

-Tech needs: Microphone and stand, power extension cord for speaker, extension cord for microphone

Public Relations

-Spam filter on Box Office email is not functioning properly

-New server may remedy problem, in addition to outgoing mail being labeled spam

-Alternatively, Spam Sieve could be purchased

-Pear.com is best apparent option

Motion to allocate funds to purchase two years of service with Pear.com servers – Seconded/Passed

-Andy suggested having a single person in charge of SMCT marketing to maintain a unified public image and vision

-Idea of creating subsidiary position of social media coordinator (likely beneath PR board position)

-Must be someone familiar with both SMCT and social media

-Audrey Dubois will be asked

Facilities

-Shelves need to be assembled, storage units cleaned

-Tentative date: Saturday, October 3rd, 9:00am

Mailing Lists

-Artie asked if the newsletter could be sent out closer to the middle of the month, rather than the beginning, Shane agreed

Motion to adjourn meeting – Seconded/Passed

Meeting adjourned – 12:15pm