Our Constitution

Below is the Pastiche Constitution, which came into effect from May 2019.

Constitution of Pastiche Musical Theatre

TITLE

1. The name of the group shall be Pastiche Musical Theatre, hereinafter referred to as Pastiche.

OBJECTIVES

2. The objectives of Pastiche shall be:
   • to promote the arts of drama, music and dance through musical theatre
   • to raise funds for charitable causes
   • to promote community cohesion through public performance which supports people of all levels of experience.

MEMBERSHIP

3. Membership and involvement will be open to all without prejudice. The Society shall consist of:
   • Full members – those who have paid the annual subscription, plus any show levies required of them and are over the age of sixteen.
   • Junior members – those who have paid the annual subscription, plus any show levies required of them and are under the age of sixteen. These members must be supervised by a responsible adult at all rehearsals. Pastiche will comply with the appropriate Child Protection legislation.
   • Friends of Pastiche – a non-paying member who has no voting rights.

4. The annual subscription and show levies for the forthcoming year shall be decided by the Committee, on the recommendation of the Treasurer. If required, any changes can be deferred for adoption at either an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting.
5. The annual subscription becomes due for payment immediately upon publication in September of a given year. Show levies are due for payment before the date of the first performance of a production.
6. New members joining during the year will pay a subscription of the show levy for their first show, followed by the next annual subscription and all subsequent show levies – as decided by the Committee. Members leaving the group during the year will not have subscriptions refunded unless there are special circumstances.
7. The Committee has the right to rescind membership and refuse renewal of any member whose conduct or behaviour has, in the view of the Committee, been to the detriment of Pastiche’s reputation. This can include the non-payment of the annual subscription charge or individual show levy.
8. Casting for each production will be at the discretion of the Director and/or Musical Director. This may include an audition process.

MANAGEMENT

9. All arrangements for productions and other events and the control of finance shall be in the hands of the Committee or those members given responsibility for a task by the Committee.
10. Pastiche will have a President, who is the honorary titular head of the Society. When elected, they shall remain in office until such time as the Annual General Meeting decides to make a change.
11. The management of Pastiche shall be in the hands of a Committee consisting of a Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and up to four other full members of Pastiche who will meet as required. The Director and Musical Director serve on the Committee as ex officio members.
12. All members of the Committee are eligible for re-election at the Annual General Meeting. All members must be proposed and seconded by full members. If needed, any necessary elections would take place during the Annual General Meeting.
13. Members of the committee, including ex officio members, are required to give a notice period of three months before stepping down from their role. Such notice must be given in writing to the Secretary. This notice period does not apply if a member of the committee loses office due to the loss of a confidence vote, loss at an election, is unable to discharge their duties due to medical reasons or dies.
14. Committee vacancies that occur during the membership year will be filled at the discretion of the Committee by the most appropriate means.
15. The Committee can co-opt additional members from time to time, if required on a show-by-show basis.
16. The Committee will meet a minimum of six times between each Annual General Meeting.
17. A quorum shall be five members of the Committee.
18. The minutes of Committee meetings will be made available to any member for inspection once confirmed as a true copy of the proceedings.
19. The Committee will select the beneficiary organisation(s) for each production. The Committee will consider the views of the membership in arriving at this decision.

FINANCE

20. The financial year shall end on the 31st August of a given year.
21. Banking accounts are held in the name of Pastiche with the Treasurer, with two other signatories if required.
22. The income and property of Pastiche whenever derived shall be applied towards promoting the objectives of Pastiche, as set forth above and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred either directly or indirectly to any full member or members of Pastiche except in payments of legitimate expenses incurred on behalf of Pastiche.
23. The Committee is obliged to ensure the solvency of Pastiche
24. The Committee will ensure it holds adequate Public Liability Insurance.
25. The Committee will be responsible for maintaining an inventory of all assets owned by Pastiche.
26. In the event of the winding up or dissolution of Pastiche any remaining assets after all liabilities have been discharged shall not be paid or transferred to any full member or members of Pastiche and shall be disposed of in a way selected at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
27. No member of Pastiche shall be liable for any loss to the assets of the company, provided they have acted in good faith and have taken reasonable safeguards to protect the assets. Such decisions are at the discretion of the Committee.

ACCOUNTS

28. The financial accounts shall be submitted by the Treasurer to the members at an Annual General Meeting and on a regular basis to the Committee.

GENERAL MEETINGS

29. An Annual General Meeting will be held in the Spring, the date to be set by the Committee and announced by the Secretary with at least fourteen days’ notice in writing, including electronic communication.
30. Items for discussion should be submitted in writing seven days before the meeting for inclusion in the Agenda.
31. In the event of a hung vote, the Chairperson is given a casting vote.
32. The meeting shall be conducted by the Chairperson of Pastiche or, if they are absent, by another member of the Committee nominated by the meeting.
33. One third of enfranchised members shall form a quorum.
34. An Extraordinary General Meeting can be called at any time if requested in writing by one-third of the enfranchised membership. The meeting will take place within twenty-eight days after receipt of the request.

AMENDMENTS

35. The Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority of the members present at an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting, provided that fourteen days’ notice of the proposed amendment has been made available to all members.

GENERAL

36. This Constitution has been adopted at an Annual General Meeting held on 15^th May 2019 and takes immediate effect.
37. This constitution replaces all previous constitutions.

 

A copy of the document can be downloaded here.