SMAOS

SOUTH MANCHESTER AMATEUR OPERATIC SOCIETY

RULES AND OBJECTS OF THE SOCIETY

TITLE

The Society shall be named "The South Manchester Amateur Operatic Society".

OBJECTS

The objects of the Society shall be:

a. To cultivate the dramatic and operatic arts and improve and educate the public taste in those arts.
b. To promote the production of dramatic and operatic works having an educative value in furtherance of object (a).
c. To allocate donations for charitable purposes from funds raised in the furtherance of object (b).
d. To apply the funds solely to the stated objects of the Society.
e. To do all such things as shall be conducive to the attainment of the above objects.
f. To cast each production from the membership wherever possible.

CONSTITUTION

"The Society shall consist of Acting, Junior Acting [up to age 16] and Non Acting members who shall pay an annual subscription, and may also
include as Life Members such other persons who have been elected by the membership at an Annual General Meeting for special services
rendered to the Society and who shall be exempt from subscription to the Society. Concession rates are available on Acting memberships for
Students [in full time education], OAP's and the Unemployed, on production of the appropriate documentation."

LIFE MEMBERS

Life Members shall, on the nomination and recommendation of the Committee only, be elected by the membership at an Annual General
Meeting and shall have full voting rights.

MANAGEMENT

1. The Society shall be managed by a Committee consisting of the Officers, i.e. Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and 7 other
elected members of the Society and who shall have the following powers:

a) To co-opt further members onto the Committee in the event of a vacancy.
b) To elect members, other than Life Members, of the Society for each production.
c) To appoint all Production Officials thought necessary for each show, subject to the terms of a Contract.
d) To appoint sub-committees and to delegate to such sub-committees all or any of its powers and they shall continue in office until the
Committee decide otherwise.
e) To select the works to be produced from time to time by the Society.
f) To expel by a unanimous vote any member who has persistently neglected the work undertaken by the Society and/or whose conduct the
Committee consider likely to endanger the welfare of the Society.
g) To recover economically, at Law if necessary, all moneys owing to the Society, including subscriptions of members.
h) To apply the funds of the Society to meet its debts and/or other costs.
i) To decide any questions arising out of these rules and objects, including all matters connected with the Society whether or not provided for in
these rules and objects.
j) To make and maintain and publish all necessary orders, regulations and bye-laws in connection with the Society.
k) To administer the rules and objects of the Society.
l) To suspend any member(s) whose subscription remains unpaid after 1st March in any year.
m) To revise from time to time the cast of any production, if any acting member to whom a character has been assigned shall, in the opinion of
the Production Team, prove unsuitable for the part.
n) To prohibit any member from taking part in a production by reason of irregular attendance at rehearsals.
o) To open and operate banking account(s) in the Society's name.

2. The Officers and elected members shall retire biennially, but shall be eligible for re-election without written notice.

3. The first meeting of the Committee shall be held within 28 days after the Annual General Meeting. All subsequent meetings shall be fixed by the
Committee.

4. The Chairman and/or Secretary may call emergency Committee meetings at their discretion.

5. Five [5] Committee members shall form a quorum, except for any sub-committees when three members shall form a quorum.

6. A copy, or summary, of the minutes of Committee, and Social Committee, Meetings shall be posted up at rehearsals for the Membership to
read

MEMBERSHIP

1. Application for membership shall be made in writing, signed by the applicant, to a member of the Executive Committee.

2. Prior to election all applicants for acting membership must satisfy the Society as to their histrionic and/or musical ability by way of an audition
in front of a panel consisting of 3 Society Members, including at least 1 member of the Executive Committee.

3. No member of the Society shall receive payment directly or indirectly for services to the Society, except for legitimate expenses incurred in its
work.

4. All members shall pay an annual subscription, the amount of which is decided at the Annual General Meeting.

5. Only fully paid-up members for the year in review shall be eligible to vote at an Annual General Meeting.

6. Should an Extraordinary General Meeting be held then only fully paid-up members at the time the meeting is held shall be entitled to vote.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

1. All members shall pay an annual subscription to the Society, the amount of which shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall
be effective from the 1st January in any year for that calendar year.

2. Subscriptions must be fully paid up by 28th February in each year. Failure to do so may forfeit all member's rights under these rules and
objects.

3. New members must pay their subscriptions in full within 30 days of acceptance to the Society.

4. The Committee shall have power to suspend any member whose subscription remains unpaid after 1st March in any year from exercising all or
any of the privileges of membership until the subscription is fully paid, or at their discretion cancel the membership and erase the members name
from the Register of Members.

5. Patrons to the Society shall pay an annual subscription, the amount of which will be decided by the Committee. Patrons are not eligible to vote
at any meetings unless they are also fully paid-up members of the Society.

CASTING, PRODUCTIONS AND REHEARSALS

1. The Committee shall select the works to be from time to time produced by the Society.

2. The cast for any production shall be selected by a Casting Committee appointed by the Committee, which shall consist of the Production Team,
and not less than 3 other persons or whom at least 2 shall be members of the Society, and 1 an external person. The casting Committee will be
chaired by the Society Chairman, or other designated Committee member, whose casting vote shall be used in the event of a tied result. The
Society Secretary, or other designated Committee member, shall attend all auditions as an observer and administrator.

3. Only fully paid up Acting Members of the Society may audition. Should any role(s) remains uncast the Casting Committee will hold further
auditions for members. After this, where any role(s) remains uncast, the Casting Committee may offer the role(s) to members/non-members, in
which case the membership subscription fee may be waived. All non-members to whom roles are offered will be 'invited' to become a Member of
the Society, but will not be required to do so. 'Invitees' will be required to pay the stage fee levied on all performers for that particular production.
The amount of said stage fee having been decided by the Committee'

4. The Committee, in conjunction with the Production Team, shall have power to revise the cast, if any acting member in their opinion proves
unsuitable for the part.

5. Acting members shall to the best of their ability play the parts assigned to them, whether principal or chorus, and obey the directions of the
Committee and/or Production Team at all rehearsals and performances.

6. The Musical Director shall conduct and control all musical rehearsals.

7. The Producer shall control all floor and stage rehearsals.

8. The Stage Manager shall control all performances.

9. A record of attendance of acting members at rehearsals and performances shall be kept and the Executive Committee shall have power to
prohibit any member whose attendance at rehearsals have been irregular from taking part in the performance of the work in production.

10. Acting members absenting themselves from three consecutive rehearsals may, at the discretion of the Committee, be deemed to resign their
part in the work in production.

11. If at any time the number of members rehearsing a production exceeds the number of voices required for the representation of the same,
then preference shall be given to the members (in the section in which there are too many voices) who, by the regularity of their attendance
shall, in the opinion of the Committee, have rendered themselves most efficient.

12. All moneys due from members in connection with production and performances of any work, shall be accounted for and paid to the Society
within 14 days after the conclusion of the final performance.

13. Within two calendar months after the final performance of any work produced by the Society, the Committee shall prepare or cause to be
prepared a statement of the receipts and expenses of each production and the same shall be open for the inspection of members at such time
and place as the Committee shall from time to time decide.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AND EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS

1. The financial year of the Society shall commence on the 1st January and end on 31st December, and an annual Income and Expenditure
Account and Balance Sheet shall be prepared for presentation at the Annual General Meeting.

2. The Annual General Meeting of the Society shall be held before the end of January in each year, when the report of the Committee and the
Accounts for the past year, duly audited, shall be presented, the Officers, other members of the Committee and an Auditor for the ensuing year
and Life Members, if any, elected and all general business transacted.

3. No business other than the formal adjournment of the meeting shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum shall be present
and such quorum shall consist of not less than one quarter of the current Society membership entitled to vote.

4. Unless otherwise provided for by these rules and objects, all resolutions brought for attention at a General Meeting shall be decided by a
simple majority of the votes properly recorded at such meetings and in the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or
casting vote.

5. The names of candidates for the positions of Officers and Committee members, duly proposed and seconded, with the exception of existing
retiring holders of such positions, shall be given to the Secretary in writing at least 7 days prior to the General Meeting and if more names are
proposed than the number required to fill the vacancies and sufficient names are not withdrawn at or before such meeting, the election shall be
by ballot. If enough names are not given to the Secretary with the relevant notice then the Chairman shall be empowered to accept nominations
on the day of the meeting.

6. If all the positions of Officers and Committee members are not filled at a General Meeting, or if any casual vacancy arises thereafter then the
Committee shall have power to fill these vacancies.

7. No alteration of these rules and objects shall be made except at a General Meeting and unless 21 days prior to such meeting a written notice
of the proposed alteration or of one substantially to the like effect shall have been given to the Secretary who shall give 14 days notice thereof to
the Members; and the resolution embodying such proposed alteration shall be carried by a majority of at least two thirds of the votes recorded
thereon at the Meeting.

8. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Society may be called at any time at the discretion of the Committee and shall be called within 14
days after the receipt by the Secretary of a requisition in writing to that effect signed by at least 12 fully paid up members. Every such requisition
shall specify the business for which the meeting is convened and no other business shall be transacted at such meeting.

9. At each AGM, Members shall have the opportunity to complete a form listing the 3 shows they would most like the Society to consider
producing. The results of this poll shall be displayed at rehearsals and the Committee shall use this information for guidance when making show
selections.

DISSOLUTION OF THE SOCIETY

1. The Society shall only be dissolved by resolution passed by a majority of at least five sixths of the Members present and eligible for voting at a
Special General Meeting called for the purposes of considering such dissolution.

2. In the event of dissolution of the Society, the excess funds shall be devoted solely to charitable causes.