Amdram

[Andrew C]

You have very strange insurance.

Strane yes, but not the first time I've come across it. Our insurers asked that a register of "non-member" help be kept. Not sure if that is the current situation though. I'll try to check.

[AndrewR]

I have stage managed a couple of local (norfolk) am shows, and every time I get a list of "temporary members" that includes myself and anyone on the crew that is neither a member or employee. Covers the insurance angle. Plus it means that I have a list of people (other than members) than should be backstage.

 

But then none of us are freelance.

[Guest mattladkinlx]

So what im asking is, whats the biggest amdram show you've seen (based on budget) and what you think is the standard?

 

I work on amdram shows quite a lot! The largest I have worked on involved a budget of around £80,000 for a 2 week show (including costs of lighting, a hired set, full sound hire, 18 piece orchestra, venue hire, costume costs etc.)

 

Basically the lighting included a 184 channel dimming system, 16 moving heads (MAc 550's and MAC 600NT's), a Strand 530i desk and around 200 lanterns mainly Cantata's and Selecon Pacifics.

 

Sound wise - a 48 channel Soudcraft desk with a 48 channel Yamaha digital desk controlling the orchestra mic's. 24 channels of Sennheiser Ew500's and other assorted kit which fitted into 2x Transit Vans (that didnt include the inhouse amplification or speakers!!!)

 

Set was a hired set costing around £9000 + transport costs! All in all a very expensive production. But then this AmDram society is not your usual sociecty and can fill a 500 seater auditorium for all 12 shows and charge around £15 per ticket meaning a profit of around £10,000 a show which for amateurs isnt bad ( I know some professional shows make less than that - and are of a worse standard!

 

Whats more, the director, LX deisgner, Sound designer, MD, orchestra and stage manager are all contracted to do the show (and make a tidy sum out of it!) and its only the cast and crew that do it for the joy of working in theatre (or in my case for the experience!)

 

Well thats my £0.02 worth on AmDram!

[erroneousblack]

The theatre I'm currently at is run by a large organisation on behalf of the Borough Council, and the Amdram shows are a black hole financially. Essentially the various local groups led a campaign to keep the place open, so they get two full weeks each a year with all staff thrown in. Quality is not up to much and hardly any of them know how to behave properly in a theatre, or have any grasp of health and safety. Warnings to get out of the way so as not to get hurt, usually filter back to me in the form of a complaint, along the lines of "he shouted at me for no reason!"

[Just Some Bloke]

... a budget of around £80,000 for a 2 week show ... meaning a profit of around £10,000 a show which for amateurs isnt bad ( I know some professional shows make less than that - and are of a worse standard!

 

The thing is:

 

With that £10,000 they could have afforded to pay the cast and crew equity rates. Maybe not a full chorus, but certainly they could have done Little Shop of Horrors, for example, as a pro show.

 

Trouble is that if it had been a pro show, they wouldn't have sold all those tickets. People pay to support their local amdrams for whatever reason (friends, relatives, they come very year, or a host of other reasons) but very often the same audiences don't go to pro shows. Some do, many don't. And I'm sorry but it defies sense to suggest that replacing all those people who haven't trained in drama and who only act as a hobby with people who have trained and who do acting as a full-time job will mean a worse show.

 

Yes, we've all seen bad pro shows, but for every one bad pro show there are 20 bad amateur shows. Give people better tools and usually they'll do a better job. Give me your rig of 200 generics and 16 MLs and I'll probably design better lighting than if you give me 4 Patt123s and a T-spot. Likewise give a director trained professionals and they ought to be able to provide a better show than if they are working with untrained hobbyists.

 

Please don't anyone get me wrong. I'm not having a pop at amateurs. I think they produce some wonderful work and it's a pleasure to work with many societies. As I've said before, there are a lot of amateur and educational companies who I prefer to work with than some other professional companies, but amateur and professional are different beasts. They both do a different job, so let's not try to compare apples with pears.