Members Area
Members Area
The David Beach Competition Awards Ceremony 2014
Do you think we need to make changes to our competitions?
We’d like to hear from you about our competitions. The SFD committee loves to hear from members and recently we have had feedback from people about two of our competitions in particular: The David Beach Competition (The DB) for musicals and The Cinderella Trophy Competition (the CTC) for Pantomimes and Christmas entertainment. We are embarking on a period of consultation with a view to introducing any changes into the 2019/20 season.
The David Beach
The DB is the youngest of our competitions but it is one of the most successful, and in some ways it is becoming a victim of its own success. Firstly, with over forty shows entered every year, the demands on the moderator and coordinator are becoming unsustainable. Remember, everyone running the competitions is a volunteer, giving up their spare time to contribute to the improvement of amateur drama in the region. Secondly, the venue at the County Cricket Ground in Taunton is bursting to the seams for the annual awards ceremony. In addition, there are more youth entries than ever before and some people feel the youth entries are not getting sufficient recognition.
One suggestion is that we create an entirely new competition for youth entries. This would be run by a separate moderator and coordinator as well as a separate team of adjudicators, thus reducing the workload for everyone involved. It would also allow us to have a separate awards ceremony with an evening focusing specially on youth entries. Last year fourteen entries fell into the youth category and it is reasonable to expect that a separate youth competition may encourage even more societies to enter.
We really believe that the competition is not sustainable in its current form due to the demands it places on people. So what are your views on the alternative suggested? Do you have another proposal? We’d love to hear it.
The Cinderella Trophy
The CTC has always differed from the other competitions in two key respects: it is a short season (approximately three months) and the nominations are not announced in advance. Additionally, pantomime – especially village panto – is often more inclusive than other forms of amateur drama with lots of people in villages ‘giving it a go’ whereas in the other genres participants are often more experienced. Of course, this is not universally true, there are many, many dedicated and experienced pantomime specialists, but it is nevertheless a noteworthy difference.
In the past the ceremony has gone through several iterations: it has been staged in theatres with no significant food and drinks; it has been in a large hall holding over 400 people with a pay bar and a low-cost buffet. In recent years it has been in smaller venues with more expensive buffets, because large venues where people can sit down ‘cabaret style’ are difficult to obtain in Somerset. Some people have raised concerns about the awards night. The concern is that with reduced numbers available to each society and with the increase in costs, it may be better to publish nominations in advance so that there is a greater chance of award winners being present on the night. The counter argument is that this takes away some of the fun of the evening – there is a great excitement and frisson as the successful nominations are announced. There are several things we could do:
Return to theatre style possibly with a half-time buffet
Keep costs down by not serving food (but this will maintain restrictions on numbers)
Keep it as it is
Announce nominations in advance and keep the format of the evening as it is
What do you think? Is there a realistic alternative, not mentioned above, that would gain the support of societies? Again, we’d love to hear.
The other competitions
While we’re here, we’d love to hear any views you may have on our other competitions: The Phoebe Rees, the County Drama Festival, and the Original Playwriting Competition. We always love to get feedback from members.
Where do we go from here?
Once we have had feedback, we will present the findings at the AGM on 29thSeptember with a view to introducing any changes for the seasons starting next year.
Get in touch
If you want to let us know your views you can comment on our Somerset Drama Facebook page or, if you’d rather not comment in public, then email at: [email protected]
We really do want to hear your views on this important topic before we decide on any changes so this is your opportunity to make your voice heard.