Music Theatre Guild of Victoria

Introduction

We have compiled this Handbook to assist member companies in organising and retaining their information from the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc.

In this Handbook you will find information on what the Guild does and how it operates, how to contact the Guild, important Guild dates and standard forms for you to photocopy, as well as details on how you can assist the Guild.

We hope this Handbook will help to keep all member companies informed on the administration of the Guild and will facilitate its operation.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Introducing the Guild

Background

Patrons of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc.

Honorary Life Members of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc.

Activities of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc

Membership

How You Can Help the Guild

Current Member Companies

MTGV Annual General Meeting

Current Committee Members

Guild Awards for Excellence

For information about the awards night and booking details

Award Categories

Not Considered for Nomination

The Annual Awards Presentation

The Judges

How do they judge our production?

So, how do I nominate my company’s show for the Awards?

Application Form

Important Dates

MTGV Subscriptions Due Date

MTGV Annual General Meeting

MTGV Awards Night - Ticket Bookings

mtgv awards night

Lodgement Date for Judging

Date to advise MTGV of your Committee Names and Contact Details

Important Addresses

General Correspondence

Other Resources

Child Employment requirments

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Activities of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc.

Awards Programme

The Guild runs an annual awards programme on behalf of the music theatre community that rewards excellence in a number of categories. We administer the Edith Harrhy Award, for outstanding service to Musical Theatre and the Gladys Moncrieff Award, for outstanding new talent.

A panel of judges is responsible for selecting the award winners. There are seven judges on the panel, at least three of whom must see each production submitted for judging. Each judge also presents an individual award, usually for work in an area that is not eligible for an award in one of the major categories.

For more details on the Awards, refer to the separate section called Guild Awards for Excellence.

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Seminars/Workshops

The Guild aims to run seminars or workshops on various diverse aspects of contemporary theatre practice of particular relevance to Victorian non-professional musical theatre companies and their participants. Encouraging the community to share skills and competencies for the benefit of all, topics to be covered could be from creative areas like performance, direction and design, technical areas such as set construction, stage management and OH&S, or even administrative areas such as marketing, committee management and strategic planning.

Formats of seminars will vary as to their nature, but we aim for them to be interactive and informative. The Guild actively encourages member companies to suggest areas for seminars that they would be interested in attending, or areas in which they have specialist knowledge in and would be interested in leading.

Forums

There are many issues, positive and negative, common to Victorian musical theatre companies, both in relation to each other and to the Guild. Rather than to prescribe policy those companies might not necessarily agree with, the aim to find approaches and solutions with which companies feel comfortable. Facilitated by the Guild Committee, these sessions will give companies a chance to network and share ideas in an open and encouraging environment.

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Guild Notes

The Guild issues a newsletter called Guild Notes, sent to all Member Companies and Guild Club members. It is intended to provide a medium for the exchange of news and views between the member companies. Guild Notes also contains articles of interest such as shows and auditions for member companies and features on different companies and their activities. Submissions are always encouraged, send to GuildNotes Editor, c/o 18 Linton Lane, Highton VIC 3216 or

gandwt@bigpond.net.au

Guild Link Programme

The Guild Executive Committee is simply an organisational device that enables us to link together the companies that collectively make up the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc. Easy and continuing communication between the Committee and the member companies is essential if the Guild is to succeed in achieving its goals. In addition to the Guild Notes newsletter and our web site, we have set up a programme that we call Guild Link.

Under this programme, each member of the Committee is assigned responsibility for a group of member companies with whom to establish and maintain contact, represent at Committee meetings and keep informed of issues relevant to the Guild as a whole. At the very least this means each company is regularly contacted, but Committee members are encouraged to visit the companies for which they are responsible to establish a more personal style of communication and more direct participation in their activities.

It is hoped that information will flow in both directions… Committee representatives are available for consultation on any matter of concern, positive or negative, affecting the companies in their care… They will, if a company wishes, raise matters at Committee level, or try to provide whatever other assistance or information is needed in the circumstances. It is important to note that any issue of concern to one company is almost certain to be of equal relevance to others and is therefore worthy of being raised. It is only by raising an issue in this manner that the Guild can hope to begin to act as a single body rather than a collection of individual companies.

Changes in representation can occur from time to time and when this happens, new representatives will always contact member companies to introduce themselves. On the other hand, we seek the co‑operation of the member‑companies to keep us fully informed of any changes in designated contact personnel. To identify your GuildLink rep, check the contact details for Guild Committee listed in this Handbook.

Guild Club

The Guild Club is the ‘social arm’ of the Guild. It is a means of keeping in touch with those lovers of music theatre who are perhaps not actively involved in companies, as well as providing an opportunity for the member companies to mingle socially.

Membership subscription for individuals is currently $10.00 per year. Benefits of joining the Guild Club include Guild Notes and the offer of special discount prices at some shows. We hope to increase membership benefits – if your company is willing to offer discounts or other deals to Guild Club members, please contact the Guild committee.

Refer to the Appendix for an application form to join Guild Club. Please actively encourage your members to join.

Guild Club Membership form

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Membership

Company Membership

Company Membership subscription is payable on January 1^st each year, and covers the following calendar year. Forms for renewal of membership are included in the Handbook Appendix, please use these forms and make payment on time so that we do not have to follow-up on non-payment. Reminders are made in Guild Notes, and additional invoice/statements are only sent as a final notice in the case of non-payment. The subscription is determined 10 months in advance at the Guild’s AGM in August.

Company membership form

How You Can Help the Guild

The Guild is, in the main, a collective of companies and its success depends on the contributions made by individual members of companies.

The ways in which you may assist the Guild include:

· Coming to the AGM, and encouraging your members to nominate for the Guild Committee

· Forwarding regular news items and show publicity to the Editor of Guild Notes
and Web site administrator

· Stating that your company is a member of the Guild in production programmes

· Sending in relevant forms to keep the Guild’s info about your company accurate

· Offering to assist with updating the website

· Offering to assist with the Awards Night

· Volunteering to work as backstage crew, catering and FOH at the Awards Night

· Distributing copies of Guild Notes to your members

· Making sure all Guild material is distributed to your committee and company members

· Joining the Guild Club, and encourage your members to as well

· Communicating your ideas or issues of concern to your Guild representative or directly to a Guild committee person

· Being proactive in improving and developing the Guild in all area

MTGV Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of the Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc. is held in August each year.

All financial companies are entitled to be represented at the AGM with one vote per company, although more than one member may attend. Please determine which company member will hold a company’s vote before the meeting. It is expected that all Guild Member Companies will have at least one representative at the Guild’s AGM.

Guild Club members are invited to the AGM but are eligible to vote.

The committee consists of the following positions:

· President

· Vice President

· Secretary

· Treasurer

· General Committee Members

· Ex-officio committee members, as appropriate

Any member of a financial member company is eligible to nominate for committee. We hope all member companies to will encourage their members to take an active role in the Guild to support its further development, for the benefit of all companies.

Committee meetings are currently held at least six times during the year.

Please see the nomination form in the Appendix of this Handbook.

Current Committee Members

The Music Theatre Guild of Victoria Inc. Committee for 2010, as elected at the March 20 2010 AGM.

Position/Name	Contact Details
President Beverley Meldrum (Catchment Players of Darebin)	9383 3797 0419 882 517 presidentmtgv@hotmail.com
Vice-President Brett Wingfield PLOS	0408 576705 brett@plos.asn.au
Hon Secretary Carole Cuthbertson	9750 5630 0410045498 musicguildvic@optusnet.com.au
Hon Treasurer Derek Ingles	5229 4971 ingles@ncable.net.au
General Committee Mary-Ellen Wallace-Smith	9779 4840 ametech@optusnet.com.au
General Committee Dot Parker	97203818 dottiparker3@yahoo.com.au
General Committee Wendy Tomkins (Geelong Lyric)	5243 2781 gandwt@bigpond.net.au
General Committee David Dare	98859678 djdare@ozonline.com.au
Ticket Secretary Fran Boyd	9762 8558 0438711378 seabrz@bigpond.com
Ex-Officio Bruce McBrien founder of The Guild	9822 9185 bmcbrien@tpg.com.au

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Guild Awards for Excellence

The Guild Awards for Excellence, inaugurated in 1987 following the demise of the FEIP Awards, are designed to acknowledge talent which would probably otherwise go unrecognised. It is not a competition, and to receive a nomination is an achievement in itself.

The annual Guild Awards Night is held in December. As well as the presentation of the Awards, it features excepts from selected shows in a celebration of Victorian non-professional musical theatre. The Guild Awards Night is a great way to wind up the theatre year, get together with your theatre friends to see items from other shows produced during the year and to have a drink and a laugh at the famous Awards Night supper.

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Award Categories

Awarded by the full Judging Panel

Junior Male and Female Performer in a Leading Role (performer under 19 years)

Junior Male and Female Performer in a Supporting Role (Performer under 19 years)

Junior Production

Musical Direction Junior Production

And up to 5 Awards or excellence from any other categories of a production

Dancer’s Award

Design (Peter Blizzard-Allen Award)

Gladys Moncrieff Award for Outstanding New Talent

Costumes (Hazel Rogers Award)

Settings (Grahame Murphy Award)

Lighting

Technical Achievement (Nigel Wallis Award)

Male Performer in a Supporting Role

Female Performer in a Supporting Role

Male Performer in a Leading Role (Harold Burrows Award)

Female Performer in a Leading Role (Doreen Burrows Award)

Choreography

Musical Direction

Director of the Year (Vin Foster Award)

Production of the Year

Cameo Performance

Judges Awards

Awarded by each Judge individually for an achievement that has captured his/her notice but has not been nominated for a major award.

Other Awards

The Guild Committee, based on written submissions by Member Companies and other interested parties, confer the following Awards. We request all companies to tell us of individuals you think may be worthy of these important recognitions.

Edith Harrhy Award for Outstanding Service to Musical Theatre

There are numerous people associated with musical theatre who have unstintingly given of their expertise, time and energy to the promotion and advancement of not only this art form but also to assist many people to further their artistic careers or simply to gain enjoyment from it. Edith Harrhy was one of those people who devoted a great deal of her life doing just that. She died in 1975 and this award is the only acknowledgment of her outstanding musical life. The Award is for outstanding service to the musical theatre contributed in an honorary capacity.

Special Awards

For notable contribution to Musical Theatre.

Musicians Award

This award was instigated in 1991, and acknowledges the Musicians whose dedication is paramount and essential to the productions staged by music theatre companies. Whilst in the main their services do not come freely, they subscribe their talent and expertise without which companies virtually could not operate. The all-important rehearsal pianist is normally recruited from amongst their ranks. The award is not granted in recognition of a particular performance but acknowledges the recipient’s years of service or expertise.

Not Considered for Nomination

From time to time, individuals may wish not to be considered for nomination. If this is the case, he/she must first approach his/her Member Company. If not being considered for nomination is acceptable to his/her Company, the Company must inform the Guild Committee in writing no less than four (4) weeks in advance of the opening of the production. This is because the Company as a Guild Member Company, not the individual, is nominating the production for judging as part of the Awards Programme. At the end of the judging period in November (4 weeks before the Awards Night), the Guild Judging Panel will be informed which individuals if any are not to be considered for nomination. If relevant, these individuals will be deleted from nomination lists. This process is the only one that will be accepted, and if an individual contacts the Guild Committee or the Guild Judging Panel directly, he/she will be referred back to the relevant company.

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The Annual Awards Presentation

For the Guild’s first fourteen years, the Awards Night was held at the Alexander Theatre, Monash University Clayton, due to the University’s generous free use of the theatre. However, the Guild’s intention is now to share the Awards Night amongst different metropolitan and regional Victorian venues. This gives the opportunity for Guild member companies, by themselves or in combination with others, to host the Awards Night.

If your company or a group of companies co-operatively wishes to host the Awards night, prepare a submission including details on the proposed venue (costing, audience capacity, technical facilities, staff requirements, catering details) and send it to the Guild Committee. Please contact the Guild President with any questions.

Who is Involved in the Organisation of Awards Night?

The Awards Night does not just happen; it is the culmination of a lot of hard work by many dedicated Guild supporters. You are warmly invited to assist with the production of the Awards Night, please contact the Guild President for more information.

Where does the money go?

The Guild Committee aims to break even on the Awards Night. Many costs are incurred such as venue hire, theatre staff payments, radio microphone hire, bar costs, production of awards, programmes, catering for supper and other miscellaneous expenses. Any surplus assists with the administration costs of the Guild throughout the year.

The Judges

Who are the Judges?

The Open Judging Panel - Dr. Graeme Cope (Chairperson) Elise Dahl,
David Dare, Val Pagram , Pat Vivian, Craig Wiltshire.

Junior judging Panel Dr Graeme Cope (Chairperson) Christine Andrew ,

Darrell Boyd, David Crawshaw, Bev Meldrum

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How are the Judges chosen?

When positions on the Judging Panel for the following year are opened (usually in September), this is advertised in Guild Notes and elsewhere. From letters of interest sent to the Guild Committee, the Committee selects the Judges, based on their expertise and experience in various aspects of music theatre production whilst balancing the technical and artistic qualifications of the Judging Panel. The Guild Committee reserves the right to appoint Judges throughout the year if the need arises.

The judging period is from 4 weeks in advance of the previous year’s Awards Night to 4 weeks in advance of the current year’s Awards Night, usually approximately mid-November to mid-November.

Judges may be associated with a production that is being judged, however their individual contribution will not be considered for nomination. In addition, they will take no part in the judging of that show or of other companies presenting that show in the same year.

Are the Judges paid?

Members of the Panel are not paid to judge for the Guild Awards. They are committed to the development of music theatre in Victoria, giving their time freely and covering their own expenses. Each judge receives an honorarium of $150 at the end of the year to contribute in some small way to covering petrol expenses. Judges are also allocated $50 towards accommodation when judging country groups that necessitate an overnight stay.

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How do they judge our production?

Matters of judgement, Dr Graeme Cope

These notes were compiled some time ago in response to requests from member companies. The current judging panel can find no reason to disagree with the broad principles they outline.

Most people could, if pressed, produce a list of the basic features that characterise excellence in each of the judging categories. They would expect, for example, that scenery and costumes would be practical as well as being attractive to the eye and appropriate to the mood and period of the production. They would also expect that winning performers would display outstanding skills in acting and characterisation as well as their singing and dancing, that first class direction would imbue the production with a distinctive and recognisable style, which will be further enhanced by the musical director’s handling of the score and the performers - and so on, and so on.

It has quite correctly been pointed out that some of our younger, less experienced companies might not find it so easy to draw up such a list. The judges feel, however, that the Guild should seek more effective means of assisting members to remedy such problems through its training and education programme, rather than attempting to publish the ultimate definition of theatrical excellence in the guise of a set of criteria for its awards programme.

There are also several major problems associated with publication of a set of criteria, not the least of which is the danger of having these criteria assume the status of de facto standards, a set of parameters within which companies will, rather than setting out to mount the very best production of which they are capable, begin to concentrate on winning awards.

This would in fact be a most undesirable state of affairs, because the framework within production are assessed varies enormously. Obviously, in terms of performance, for example, the relative importance assigned to singing, dancing and acting will vary considerably, depending on the type of show being mounted. Dramatic values are likely to be subordinated to the vocal and orchestral contribution in an operetta, while the choreographer’s skill and the abilities of the dancers may assume paramount importance in a more recent American musical.

Other factors necessitate a flexible approach to assessing the productions entered in the awards programme.

There are many companies associated with the Guild, with a wide range of levels of experience, varying levels of access to resources, and so on. The judges must attempt to use their own knowledge and experience to evaluate the production as staged in the light of what is possible with the resources which appear to have been available - in other words, to make allowances for the constraints under which the company appears to be working. For example, non-professional companies do not always have access to a wide range of performers when casting, and, as we all know, casting arrangements are frequently subject to all kinds of mishap. Thus, while the judges may not know that the leading man walked out a week before the opening night, they will make allowances for the fact that the person now playing the role is not perhaps entirely suitable, and evaluates the ways in which the director and cast seek to minimise the problem.

In making such allowances, the criteria by which the production is judged must be adjusted to accommodate the specific variations from the ideal associated with an individual production. In much the same way, the judges must take into consideration the impact of the venue on a production. Many of the auditoriums in which our member companies work are far from ideal, and it is obviously impossible to expect the same production values in a converted school gymnasium as in a fully equipped theatre. Given these difficulties, how then does the judging process actually work?

There is a panel of seven judges and the aim is to have as many as possible see each production. Sometimes, of course, the combination of a large number of performances in a short space of time coupled with other demands on the judges’ time means that fewer than the full complement of judges will view a production, but this is a rare and definitely unplanned occurrence! Moreover, awards can be and have been won by productions attended by somewhat less than the full panel. We should perhaps take this opportunity to point out that judges will always telephone in advance to arrange for seats to be held for a particular performance, so there is no need for companies to hold seats aside in anticipation of judges making a last minute appearance.

Each judge writes a brief report of the production, and awards a mark in each of the categories to be judged. At regular intervals, individual judges review the marks allocated to date, comparing and sometimes revising scores as the number of productions viewed for the year in question grows. This process is repeated on a larger scale at several meetings of the panel held during the season, when the judges meet to compare their scores and discuss any major problems which they may have encountered in assessing the work to date. There are no formal marking systems used, each judge using his or her own method to arrive at a mark out of 100 in a particular category. Given this lack of uniformity of method, it is perhaps surprising that there has been a high degree of consistency reflected in the scores given. Obviously, major discrepancies in scores would require discussion, but to date there have been few such divergences of opinion among the members of the panel that have not been reconciled by warm debate. As every actor and backstage worker knows, different performances of the same production can develop quite different ‘vibes’!

At the end of the year, the whole process is repeated, and an entire day is spent going back through all the marks and score sheets, to identify the winners in each section. These are then discussed again, and each category examined once more, to ensure that the scores reflect the subjective overall impressions held by each judge before the decision is finalised.

It is at this point that the decision is finalised as to which production will receive the coveted accolade as ‘Production of the Year’. This is actually a case in which the whole may be greater than the sum of the parts. In addition to excellent direction, musical direction, wardrobe, scenery, and costumes, a truly outstanding production will have a unity of style and performance, which transcends the individual elements to create a singular theatrical experience. Thus, in the final analysis, selecting the production of the year involves a good deal more than the aggregation of score in individual categories.

The awards are made in a number of categories as listed below. While most of them are self evident, in some cases a few words of explanation have been appended, to eliminate some of the confusion which has emerged in relation to a couple of the awards.

The first group of awards are made to companies rather than individuals, in recognition of the team effort involved. These are:

Costumes

Given the high costs involved, fewer and fewer wardrobes are entirely custom-made for individual productions. From initial designs, costumes are borrowed, remade and a wardrobe is assembled. Co-ordinating this effort still requires a great deal of skill and can produce excellent results but is more likely to be a communal effort. This is therefore a company rather than individual award, whilst acknowledging the designer.

Settings

Like the costumes award, this award recognises the effort of the winning company in providing the scenery for a production, whilst acknowledging the designer.

Lighting

As for wardrobe and settings, this is a company award, whilst acknowledging the designer.

Technical Achievement

This award recognises productions throughout which a company has demonstrated a consistently high level of technical achievement and integration in concept, design and operation of scenery, lighting, sound, special effects and continuity.

Junior Production

There are a series of other awards, including:\

Junior Male and Female Performer in a Leading Role (performer under 19 years)

Junior Male and Female Performer in a Supporting Role (Performer under 19 years)

Junior Production

Musical Direction Junior Production

And up to 5 Awards or excellence from any other categories of a production

Judges’ Awards

Each judge presents an award for an achievement that has captured his/her notice but has not been nominated for a major award.

Gladys Moncrieff Award

Donated by the late Mr. Noel Ferrier, this award is presented to the most outstanding new talent for the year.

Design Award

For a unique design, awarded to any aspect of a production

Then there are a series of awards for individual achievement, including:

Dancer’s Award

Male Performer in a Supporting Role

Female Performer in a Supporting Role

Male Performer in a Leading Role

Female Performer in a Leading Role

Choreography

Musical Direction

Director of the Year

Cameo Performance

Ensemble

and finally, there is the award for

Production of the Year

This award takes into account every aspect of the production, and acknowledges some additional characteristics not covered in any of the individual categories listed above, as discussed in connection with the judging process.

In the final analysis, it is important to remember that, exciting though it may be to win awards, the real objectives of every company are to stage the best possible production of which they are capable, at the same time providing enjoyment for both themselves and their audiences while learning more about the fascinating world of music theatre.

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So, how do I nominate my company’s show for the Awards?

Application Form Click here

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Important Dates

MTGV Subscriptions Due Date

1 January each year

MTGV Annual General Meeting

Date and venue to be confirmed, usually a Saturday in March.

MTGV Awards Night - Ticket Bookings

MTGV Awards Night

Usually the First Saturday in December

Lodgement Date for Judging

At least one month prior to Opening Night of your show

(Hint: lodge your judgement application form as soon as you receive the rights to perform your show)

Date to advise MTGV of your Committee Names and Contact Details

Immediately after your company’s AGM or any other change in the existing information - VERY IMPORTANT!!