The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company News

Useful new service from Equity

9/2/2020

Another (new) good thing aboout being an Equity member for anyone who is eligible. Lots of creatives wrestle with stress or depression at times, especially in a tough industry like ours. So this could be very handy for a lot of people. Equity has launched a groundbreaking support system for members dealing with mental health problems. This will include a new dedicated 24/7 helpline, an individual assessment and up to six professional counselling sessions available across the UK.

www.equity.org.uk/news/2020/february/equity-launches-new-mental-health-support-scheme

Interim casting announcement for A Midsummer Night's Dream

29/1/2020

Midsummer Night's Dream castings. Roles marked TBC are still in discussion with people being auditioned for those roles over the final part of this week. Well done to EVERYONE :) First main rehearsal takes place on Sunday.
Tara MacGowran (Lysander)
Charlotte Slade (Robin Starveling, Mustardseed)
TBC (Snout)
Victoria Balster (Titania & Hippolyta)
Keanna Mabin(Hermia)
TBC (Bottom)
Daniel McCarthy (Flute)
Joe Staton (Quince & Egeus)
Laura Jury (Puck)
Rich Sandford (Oberon)
Peter Carey (Demetrius)
Gemma Burford (Philostrate & Peaseblossom)
Alex Slade (Moth)
Joe Tresize (Snug)
Sarah Rutty (Helena)
Carl Reynolds (Theseus)

A Midsummer Night's Dream castings

27/1/2020

The main auditions for A Midsummer Nights Dream took place yesterday at our rehearsal base of Chestnut Community centre.
We were absolutely blown away by the talent and skills seen - it was a long difficult meeting working out the castings.
We have been sending out casting offers last night and today; and will be announcing the full final cast list as soon as we are able.
Cant wait to get into rehearsals and working with everyone!

A message that needs an open clarification

20/1/2020

Yesterday, we received a message on an advert for our upcoming auditions for A Midsummer Nights Dream, that was absolutely heartbreaking.
"I would like to audition, but I'm black"
Obviously we (Laura as representative) replied immediately to let the person know that skin colour or ethnicity, is no barrier to working with us, but this warranted a bigger clarification.

In South Devon, where we are based, the local demographic is less "diverse" than in other parts of the country, but that does not mean any kind of discrimination in our cast or crewing. There is no issue about skin colour, religion, ethnicity, LGBT orientation, or anything else like that. In face we have quite a diverse team, who all produce incredible, world-class work together.

Selection in castings is based entirely upon auditions and professionalism, as stated in our audition page , and there are no other criteria, either overt or covert. No other details have any relevance to the selection process.

On a wider scale, discrimination on such grounds is not only unethical, it is also illegal, and should be reported to Equity or a similar authority.

Working on new ways to grow the arts organically

7/1/2020

In these times, with budgets stretched, and marketing of shows always being a challenge for any theatre company, we are proposing this new initiative, where theatre companies exchange advertising. A text page of line adverts in a programme, where we list each others productions in the same region, means that we all reach more audiences, encourage theatre-going, and grow together. This isn't intended to exchange money, just help one another with a few lines of text.

Since it is based on an exchange, (just with the provision of a checking copy to the companies involved, to prove openly that agreements are honoured), it should hopefully be something that is accessible to all companies.

We are based in the Southwest (Southwest UK), and that is the area that we would cover, but if people in other areas of the country want to initiate the same kind of idea - that would be awesome :)

Please get in touch if you would like to exchange with us, and get involved in this new idea.
Laura (company director) - email southdevonplayers@gmail.com

The Great Gale of Brixham 1866- Brixham performances

16/12/2019

So, the last few days have been spent at Brixham theatre, setting up for, and performing, our production about the 1866 Great Gale of Brixham with an amazing cast. We now break for Christmas, although we are back in January for another performance at Ivybridge! (Box office details here) Our retiring collection raised approximately £95 for Brixham Fishermans Mission.

Show photos by Laura Jury and Gemma Burford.

The South Devon Players launch new corporate sponsorship

27/11/2019

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The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, in conjunction with the South Devon Players Supporters Trust are launching the next part of our fundraising drive, with the corporate sponsorship pack. This is to raise funds for ongoing productions; expenditure includes rehearsal hall hire, costumes, props, printing of scripts & publicity materials, insurances, wages to cast & crew, provision of educational workshops & training. This supports the cultural work of our company, leading to the creation of educational experiences in theatre, literature and history, for our audiences & cast, as well as the development of both theatre-industry specific skills, and wider transferable skills for general employment and day-to-day life, for those working with us.

For more information; or to chat about this project, please contact southdevonplayers@gmail.com, or call Laura on 07855 090589

Our Audiences & Marketing Reach

“The power of the final scene was such that the audience sat transfixed in silence, barely able to comprehend the beauty of what they’d just witnessed”
Rick Stone – Audience member, 2019.

Awards:

Our productions have won international, national and regional awards including the Theatre Partner Award at the Long Island Theatre Awards New York in 2019, the BrixAward for community contribution in 2019, the All-England Epic Award in 2017, the Torbay Together: Creativity In The Community Award in 2014, with national and international film festival nominations for our film and video projects, including the Los Angeles Cinefest, Miami Epic Trailer Film Festival, and the UK Screen One International Film Festival.

Audience Figures for The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company are growing:

Between June 2018 and Oct 2019, our physical audiences increased by 490%.
Online followers on social media increased to over 22,000 from 44 countries.

Audiences grew with both many new attendees, and a high retention of returning audiences from previous shows.
Audiences are also building abroad with those who cannot attend our shows in person, viewing our stage productions online. These include private individuals, and schools, primarily in the Americas, Middle East, and Asia.

Marketing Reach:

Online newsletters and social media posts reach over 23,000 people internationally, directly, and many more with shared posts and forwarded messages.

Printed theatre programmes for each show reach all audiences, around 63% of audience members purchase one. They are often shared when people make group bookings.

Online sales have increased year on year although box office sales “in person” remain popular.

Audience Profile:

We have a local physical audience based on regional demographics.

The average local age is 44, with a higher number of retired people
An average of 91% of residents are UK born, however in the summer we see an increased footfall from people on holiday due to being a high-tourist area.
We have a large international following, who follow our shows online using such tools as YouTube or social media feeds. Our current social media following is over 22,080, before counting an organic reach.

Location & physical footfall:

While our rehearsal venue is a small community centre out-of-town, we ensure that our performances take place at central locations in towns and cities, close to public transport as well as parking.
Show / project advertising in physical locations is centred on, though not in any way limited to, the town centres & city-centre locations where the shows are talking place. Current shows typically tour South Devon, and then go on to Bristol. We are hoping to expand further as funding and venues permit.

Sponsorship benefits

Powerful brand association with innovation, creativity and world-class performance, produced in the heart of beautiful South Devon, through the activities of a fast-growing organisation.

Access to multi-channel marketing activity, including campaign-wide branding and logo for main sponsors
Direct connection with our audiences; communicate your key messages to a receptive target market via a printed programme, newsletters, and online.

A variety of different activities to get involved with from making it happen on stage, to making it happen in the community, contributing to, and being seen as a key factor in developing theatre in the regional artistic and cultural landscape, alongside the improvement of training and employment prospects for regional people

High profile marketing activity; make a splash, with regional and international reach in print, online and social media

Have full transparency as to how 100% of your sponsorship is used with reporting and acknowledgements.

Corporate Sponsorship Packages

The list below describes opportunities that are currently available. We love to explore ideas and come up with a creative package that will fit your aims and identity. Please get in touch to start a conversation. Corporate sponsorship may count as tax-deductible.
We use 100% of monies or items in kind, for the growth and benefit of the South Devon Players.
If you have a specific preference as to how your contribution is used, please discuss with us in advance about the ringfencing of your contribution for that specific purpose. As well as being open to discussing flexible schemes tailored to you, we also have the following schemes:

Business Friend of The South Devon Players
From £50 per year
As a Business Friend of the South Devon Players, your annual subscription is invaluable to sponsor rehearsal space, costumes, props, or promotion of the group.
In return; you will receive

Vouchers for two free tickets per year.
A signed poster from the cast of each show
A “Thank you” text credit in printed programmes for that year.
Regular email newsletters.

Production Sponsorship
From £500 per year (SME's)
From £1,000 per year (large)
As a Production Sponsor, your company logo will be added to our show marketing. Your contribution will not only allow your logo and advertising to be seen by all of our prospective audience, but also all those who encounter our advertising. In addition to a strong marketing opportunity, you will be supporting the development of creative opportunities for local people and the development of wider skills which will contribute to the quality of life, and work skills, of local people.

All of the benefits of Production Sponsorship below are included:

Creative PR launch as part of show marketing campaign
High resolution photography for use in your own marketing & PR (Minimum 4 images)
Full page advert in our printed programmes
Your logo on posters (usual distribution 100-150), banners (roadside), and flyers (shops & door to door: 2,000 – 4,000)
Your logo and a weblink on all e-newsletters for the duration of the rehearsal and performance period for the show.
4 free tickets to the theatre production.
Show poster signed by cast
4 complimentary programmes
Your company logo on our show videos reaching up to 23,000 direct social media followers of our work globally.

Meet the amazing cast of The Great Gale of Brixham 1866

18/11/2019

These wonderful cast appear as the team on stage in our production of The Great Gale of Brixham 1866.

A fourth award-win for the South Devon Players

3/11/2019

On the evening of November 2nd, 2019, the South Devon Players won our fourth award. We were one of the organistions who won the Brix Award, a local award by the community organisation Brixham Yes at their community hub The Edge.
The Brix Awards celebrate the contribution of local organisations and individuals, to the local community, and making Brixham a positive, and vibrant place to live.
The South Devon Players founder, Laura Jury, and our stage manager, Sammy Hickman, attended this Musical Theatre themed event in costume, and were thrilled to win this award.

This is the fourth award won by the Players.
While our other awards have been local (2010 Torbay Together's Arts In The Community), national (2017 Epic Award for England; All-England winner), and international (2019 Long Island Theatre Festival - Theatre Partner Award), all of them mean so much to us and our lovely team members.
We are a highly ambitious professional theatre company, making opportunities for local people, and sharing our work as widely as possible, but we also value our contribution to the local community highly, and it was a huge honour to be recognised for it.
It is often hard to be taken seriously as a regional theatre company, and things like this are a huge morale boost to everyone involved with us. We are very happy today after this great news.

Our lovely golden brick from the Brix Awards will join our other collection of awards. <3

A casting call for The Great Gale of Brixham 1866

27/10/2019

MALE ACTOR REQUIRED FOR LEAD ROLE IN LOCAL BRIXHAM HISTORICAL (TRUE LIFE) THEATRE PRODUCTION. - PAID - IN BRIXHAM (SOUTH DEVON) - ESTABLISHED & INTERNATIONALLY AWARDWINNING THEATRE COMPANY.

The show is set just before and during the 1866 Great Gale of Brixham, which largely wiped out the local fishing fleet and as a result led to Brixham having her first RNLI lifeboat, which was donated to the town by the people of Exeter later that year.

The character we are looking to cast is the lead male role: Bob is aged 35 - 50, owner of a local trawler and inn. His personality is roguish and intelligent.

Due to personal reasons an actor had to drop out, and we are looking to recast as soon as possible.
Show dates are Dec 13 and 14 at Brixham Theatre and Jan 18 at Ivybridge), We are also running a commemoration event in conjunction with Brixham Museum and the local RNLI on Jan 10th (the historical anniversary of the event)

Rehearsals are running now, wednesdays 6.30pm for 7 start to about 9 / 9/30ish, and Sundays 12.30 for 1pm start to about 3 or 4pm, at Chestnut Community Centre, 1-3 Poplar Close, Brixham TQ5 0SA
The show is set in 1866 when historically winter a massive storm that wiped out most of the town fishing fleet, (lots of awesome stories of community spirit and kindness on shore amidst the tragedy) which led to Torbay getting its first RNLI lifeboat. The show is researched from newspaper articles of the time, and peoples local stories.

This is an internationally awardwinning, Brixham-based theatre company which prides itself on excellent shows, and is an ambitious, but friendly, hardworking team. Our facebook is The South Devon Players Theatre & Film Company, Brixham; our Twitter is @sdevonplayers, and our website is www.southdevonplayers.com

As with all our shows, this project is paid in full equal profit share from ticket sales (less venue hire, but all other show costs are fund-raised for with our market book-stall etc), PLUS portfolio character photos, production videos, and any/ all press articles featuring the actor.

Please visit our AUDITIONS page, and see the right hand column for all information on how we operate.

Our website has, on the audition tab, sample contracts, and information about how we pay our cast; for total openness. We are proud to say that while we are stuck under the glass ceiling of not being able to raise enough funds for hourly salaries at the moment, we have never once run a show in our 12 years, where we have not made back enough to pay our cast their profit-shares, from the show ticket sales.
To arrange an audition, please drop us a line on any of our social media, or email direct on southdevonplayers@gmail.com