Welcome to the January issue of the e-mail newsletter, packed with news, information and special offers on tickets for Daddy Cool and and on group tickets for the sensational Dirty Dancing. We wish all our members a very Happy New Year.

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NODA is delighted to announce the launch of a legal helpline for society and associate members on 3 January 2007, in partnership will hlw Commercial Lawyers. hlw Commercial Lawyers are hoping that the helpline service will lead to the prompt identification of problems with which they can assist societies in order to protect their interests from an early stage.

hlw Commercial Lawyers was formed in 1992 with the express aim of providing a high quality and cost-effective Commercial Law advice service for small and medium-sized organisations who would normally be forced to instruct larger (and more expensive) firms.

There are often occasions when societies come to NODA with enquiries of a specialised legal nature which are beyond the knowledge and qualifications of the NODA staff. These may, for example, relate to conflicts between individuals and societies, contracts with venues and professional personnel, disputes with suppliers or other issues specific to the society which cannot be resolved through access to NODA’s factsheets and general advice.

Societies should in the first instance ring NODA’s Chief Executive to discuss their legal problem. If the query requires specialist legal advice, he will provide the society with the helpline number to phone and a reference number. The legal helpline will then deal with the enquiry, having checked the validity of the reference number. If a society rings the legal helpline directly, they will be referred back to Headquarters to obtain a reference number.

The reason for implementing this system, rather than simply providing all members with the legal helpline number, is to ensure that the member gets the best and most relevant advice. It will often be the case that Headquarters is best placed to answer the query, for example if it relates to licensing or children in theatrical performances. This will reduce the number of calls, and thereby reduce the cost to the Association, and ultimately the cost to its members.

Should the nature of the enquiry mean that the society requires legal advice in addition to the initial call to the helpline, this will of course be a matter for the society and the legal company to negotiate.

At this stage the legal helpline will only be available to societies in England and Wales. Societies in Scotland should refer to the Honorary Solicitor of NODA Scotland.

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NODA SUMMER SCHOOL

Bookings have been rolling in since publication of the brochure for next year's Summer School, which takes place at Loughborough University from 4 to 11 August 2007. To book a place, contact NODA on 0870 770 2480 or book online at www.noda.org.uk.

In 2007 there will be 36 national bursaries plus 2 Barnes bursaries of £250 each available to members to help offset the cost of coming to the Summer School. Preference will be given to applications from first time students of any age (minimum age 18) but anyone wishing to try a completely new theatre discipline can qualify as a first time student. Written applications should be made to your Regional Councillor by 31 January 2007 at the latest.

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THE GUARDIANS OF THE THEATRE MUSEUM
NEED YOUR HELP

Leading lights of the theatre world have sent an uncompromising message to Government and museum authorities: The Theatre Museum must not be destroyed. Alan Ayckbourn, Simon Callow, Judi Dench, Peter Hall, Derek Jacobi, Eddie Kulukundis, Cameron Mackintosh, Brian Rix, Donald Sinden and many others, with the support of major representative theatre organisations, have formed the Guardians of the Theatre Museum. Their aim is to prevent the museum's Covent Garden site being closed and the Collection being absorbed by the Victoria and Albert Museum.

What do they want?

• Short Term: to ask the Victoria and Albert Museum to withdraw its notice of closure on the Theatre Museum's Russell Street site, in order that alternative proposals for its future may be coolly examined.
  
• Medium Term: To look for better ways of managing the Theatre Museum and supporting its funding.
  
• Long Term: To investigate broader possibilities for properly housing what the V&A describe as ‘the largest collections in the world for the UK's performing arts'.

The Russell Street site is due to close to the public on 7 January 2007, which leaves very little time to put pressure on the V&A to rescind their decision. If it does close, the public will not have access to its exhibits for at least two and probably five years. Further, the huge potential of the site as a cultural focus in Olympic Year 2012 will have been thrown away.

The Guardians plan to enrol as many members of the theatre professions and the theatregoing public as possible, as quickly as possible. Membership is
of course free - all that is needed is enough voices.

Said a Guardians spokesperson, ‘Our supporting organisations already account for tens of thousands of people. If we can mobilise the theatregoing public, this target can be reached very easily. The V & A, and their masters the DCMS, have suggested that no one cares about the Theatre Museum. We care about it passionately, and we can prove that we are not alone.' Sir Derek Jacobi added, ‘I deplore the closure of the Russell Street premises as an act of cultural vandalism.'

Act Now: join us at www.theatremuseumguardians.org.uk - and tell all your friends!

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LAUNCH OF THE NEW WEBSITE

www.theatretrade.co.uk

A new website has been launched that should be very useful for all amateur performing societies. The idea behind the website is to help in the task of searching for sets, costumes, props, libs, scores and all the other bits and pieces needed for a show.

The site, www.theatretrade.co.uk, will store details of equipment, both for hire from commercial companies, and for sale or hire from amateur groups that may have bits and pieces left over from past shows.

All the items are catalogued by show name and equipment type (set, costume, prop, score, lib etc) to make searching easy. Browsing and searching the site is free and easy for all amateur societies.

Amateur (not for profit) groups can also include their own adverts free of charge for their surplus equipment. This can be done directly from the website.

Commercial companies can list their stocks of sets and costumes and are charged a small fee to cover the administration costs of the website.

The website is the work of Jeremy Thorp. Jeremy is currently the secretary of Newtown Musical Theatre Company, and has been involved in amateur musical theatre for 20 years. He has also been involved backstage for the last few shows. The idea came about because of the frustrations of having so many times thought "there must be someone out there that has made one of these before" or "this ought to be useful to someone who is doing this show in the future". A website is the ideal solution, to put people that want something unusual, in touch with people that already have it.

Once this initial ideas was developed, it seemed an obvious next step to include listings of commercial hired equipment, so that at the touch of a button, anyone producing a show can find out exactly what is available to help with their forthcoming show.

The website is now up and running, but Jeremy is very keen to hear any comments and suggestions that would improve its usefulness. Please try it out and email him on jeremy@theatretrade.co.uk.

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VOLUNTARY ARTS NETWORK BRIEFINGS

VAN has published three new briefings:

• 101 - What's happening with the Licensing Act 2003? - www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map4449.pdf (pdf - 178k)
  
  This briefing provides an update on the Act since its implementation, and helps organisations avoid some of the pitfalls that have arisen in the first twelve months of its operation.
  


•  102 - Accounting for Worth - www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map4448.pdf (pdf - 205k)
  
  This briefing is designed to help everyone in this diverse sector acknowledge our worth, both to ourselves and to others. Whether you are a volunteer, organisation, community group, freelance worker or policy maker it provides a context and a rationale for claiming the true economic value of the voluntary arts.
  


• 103 - Health and Safety in Offices - Electrical Equipment - www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map4447.pdf (pdf - 266k)

This briefing explains how, by conducting regular checks and tests, you can control electrical risks and prevent accidents.

To read past briefings, visit the VAN briefings page at www.voluntaryarts.org/publications.

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SECURITY RISK TO RECYCLED COMPUTERS

Members, particularly society treasurers, should take care when disposing of or recycling their PCs. There have been recent press reports of financial and banking information being extracted from redundant PCs and used for fraudulent purposes.

Hitting the delete button does not spell end of story for sensitive material; it simply hides it from you. It lurks somewhere in your computer, so the hard drive must be overwritten (wiped clean) for peace of mind. Since there's an alarming trade in illegally obtained personal information, it is recommended that computers be donated to a registered, well-established recycling charity, such as Computer Aid International (www.computeraid.org) or Computers for Charities (www.computersforcharities.co.uk).

The latter assumes legal liability for donated equipment and it can furnish you with a certificate to say that all data has been removed, if you so wish. Computer Aid International also uses data- wiping software to guarantee that your donation is secure. Should you wish to give to a local equivalent (find your nearest on recyclenow.com) and you're not confident of its security policy, or sell on eBay, and certainly if you donate online, install your own overwriting program, such as Drive Washer (available from Amazon).

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RUPERT RHYMES BURSARY

deadline: Wednesday 31 January 2007

Stage One is now accepting applications for the Rupert Rhymes Bursary. This award is aimed at those in the early stages of a career in theatre production or administration.

The bursary was founded as an opportunity to provide successful candidates with a unique opportunity to do something that is not catered for by other bursary schemes, through a financial award of £2,000.

Further information, including application details, can be found at www.stageone.uk.com/bursaries.htm

For more information email enquiries@stageone.uk.com

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NEW PUBLICATION OF TRUSTEE LIABILITY

A guide to the risks that might affect charity trustees, aimed primarily at trustees of small and medium sized organisations, as well as support staff and advisers, was launched on 15 December 2006 by the Governance Hub. Written by James Sinclair Taylor of the charity team at Russell-Cooke Solicitors, Reducing the Risks: A Guide to Trustee Liabilities is available to download from www.governancehub.org.uk.

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LARNACA FESTIVAL

Our Company wish to promote for the Larnaca Festival a well known Musical (as far as the title is concerned), for two performances, on the 30th of June and 1st of July 2007, apart from the following musicals that have already been performed in this particular festival in Cyprus: EVITA, FAME, GREASE, CHICAGO, MY FAIR LADY.

The festival is an annual activity of the Municipality of Larnaca and the audience are Greeks, English and others.

The play for the above festival will be performed in an open air theatre (Ancient theatre style, 17 meters long stage and 14 width).

We will cover the cost of your company for 2 performances, air-tickets UK-CY-UK. Hotel accommodation H/B, transportation in Cyprus and also transportation of the Scenery UK-CY-UK.

We would be very interested if you have such a production on, and to discuss further details.

Mrs Andri Michaelidou
Manager
ANDRI Cultural Productions Ltd
8 Delfon Street
Flat 13
1101 Nicosia
Cyprus

Tel: 00357-22775546
Fax: 00357-22778853
Mob: 00357-99405546

e-mail: cultural.productions@cytanet.com.cy

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NICK HERN BOOKS

DRUNK ENOUGH TO SAY I LOVE YOU?
by Caryl Churchill

'No other writer can achieve what Churchill now does, which is to convey a universe of feeling in a minimal, stripped back artistry' Michael Coveney, Whatsonstage.com

Nick Hern Books
The Glasshouse
49a Goldhawk Road
London
W12 8QP

Tel: 020 8749 4953
Fax: 020 8735 0250

www.nickhernbooks.co.uk

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NODA THEATRE CLUB

2 FOR 1 ON TICKETS TO SEE THE SENSATIONAL DADDY COOL

Based on the timeless music of Boney M (and other Frank Farian artists including Milli Vanilli and No Mercy), DADDY COOL features smash hits such as Rivers of Babylon, Brown Girl in the Ring, Ma Baker, Girl You Know It's True and Mary's Boychild.

The show tells the story of Sunny, a young man who lives for his music. Caught up in local rivalry between East and West London crews, he meets and falls in love with Rose, daughter of notorious club owner Ma Baker, fuelling the heated feud between the two gangs.

Buy two tickets for just £48, Monday-Thursday evenings and Thursday matinees until 22 February.

To book call now on 020 7907 7056 quoting ‘Daddy Cool offer'.

TICKETS FROM ONLY £30 FOR GROUPS TO SEE THE PHENOMENAL DIRTY DANCING

The spectacular stage version of DIRTY DANCING, one of the greatest movies ever made, has entered the theatre record books as the fastest selling production in West End history.

DIRTY DANCING is a timeless story of first love packed with pure dance energy, breathtaking emotion and hit songs from one of the best ever selling movie soundtracks including (I've Had) the Time of My Life, Hungry Eyes and Do You Love Me?

Groups of 8+ get best available seats at £39.50; 20+: £35; 40+: £30. Valid Monday-Thursday evenings and Friday matinees from 22 October 2007-22 March 2008. Rates apply to tickets booked and paid for by 20 April for 2007 performances and 7 September for valid 2008 performances.

To book call now on 020 7907 7002.