Chairman Task List
Last Revised on October 2, 2006
Welcome to your Task List! The Sudbury Savoyards Task Lists are designed to be used as a guideline for how you can successfully complete your job in the current production. The task list is divided into five sections:
- General Information - fun facts to know/Background Information
- Quick List - a quick list of all tasks that you are responsible for (these may require input from others). Clicking on a task will take you to a more detailed description of that task.
- Task Details - detailed information on each task.
- Tasks assigned to others, but require your input. The person responsible will be named and a link provided to their task list for convenience.
- Reference Documents - forms, documents that have been used in the past. You may find them useful.
General Information
- The Chairman runs Board meetings, acts as spokesperson for the organization, and seeks to resolve and prevent conflicts. The Chairman is ultimately responsible for all undelegated and unaccomplished tasks.
- The Chairman is responsible for the distribution and return of the SUMC keys.
- Many tasks attributed to the Board of Trustees are also the responsibility of the Chairman (in their capacity as a member of the Board)
Quick List
| Complete? | Task | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
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Distribute SUMC keys | Should be done in July or as positions are filled |
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Fall Newsletter - letter to Membership | To be reviewed at September Board Meeting. See Calendar for the exact date. |
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Letter of Introduction | November |
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Appoint Show Planning Committee | Appoint the committee in September |
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SUMC Annual Report | The church will set the date, but the information may be needed by November 1st. |
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Two-Ring Welcome Speech | Two-Ring. See the Calendar for the exact date. |
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Chairman's Welcome Speech | Audition nights. See the Calendar for the exact dates. |
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Special Thanks | Beginning in January |
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Choose Directors' Gifts | mid-January |
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Pick up certificates from Graphic Designer | End of January |
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Get engraved gifts | Beginning of second production week |
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Run General Meeting | Last Supper (between final matinee and evening performance |
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Collect SUMC keys | At the Debriefing meeting. See the Calendar for the exact date |
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Attend Debriefing Meeting | Date is determined by the Producer |
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Return Task List | Return to the Task List Manager at Debriefing Meeting. See Calendar for the exact date. |
Task Details
Distribute SUMC keys to the Second Trombone, Rental Agents, Stage Director, Music Director, Producer, Cast Manager, Technical Director, and Costume Construction Chief. Give this last three to the Producer if the positions aren't recruited yet). The Chairman may also want a key. This list can be trimmed, if necessary, but all of these people have duties that sometimes require them to be able to open Hawes Hall. Some of these keys may be out to Summer Show personnel until the end of July.
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Fall Newsletter- letter to Membership
Draft letter to membership for review at September Board Meeting. Explain the upcoming events and meetings, including Two-Ring, auditions, December rehearsals and performance dates. For the last several years, we've used exactly the same letter with only minimal changes. The Database Manager can update this and give it as a draft to the Chairman, or the Task List Manager can provide it. Note: this goes to members; a different and more generic letter goes to others.
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The Chairman prepares a letter of introduction for each member of the Management Team to present to vendors and suppliers. The Database Manager can arrange automatic production of individual copies of the text supplied by the Chairman. This should include multiple copies of our Tax Exempt certification.
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Appoint Show Planning Committee
The Chairman should appoint 3 members to a Show Selection Subcommittee, whose purpose is to research possible shows for the following season. The subcommittee's job is to identify the two or three most likely shows and present to the Board their conclusions about the merits of selecting each of the shows. The subcommittee should present their results at the October meeting, so that the Board can discuss the issues, ask for more data if they need it, and make a final decision by the November board meeting.
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The Church will ask the group to provide some information for their annual report. The report may be required by the church as early as November 1st. It should list our income, expenses, and donations for the prior season, as well as general information about the Sudbury Savoyards.
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About 1/2 an hour after the party starts, the Chairman should welcome everyone to the Two Ring Circus and perform introductions. Typically, the Chairman introduces the Board and Board Staff members, then the Producer, Technical Director, and Stage/Music Directors, who each introduce the people in their departments. The Stage and Music Directors should describe their concept for the show. If possible, set designs and costume designs should be displayed. The Music Director {or producer?} should arrange for an accompanist to play through the show after the introductions are over.
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The Chairman generally gives a welcome/introductory speech at auditions (both nights). Discuss timing and content of the (short) Audition announcements with the Producer, Stage Director and the Music Director.
Give a br /ief speech, introducing yourself and the organization. Key points include:
¤ we are all volunteer and donate our proceeds to the relief of world hunger
¤ we don't assess any charges to be in our show
¤ we welcome and encourage cast members to volunteer to help in any way they can, including set building, costume construction, and other tasks
¤ we don't audition the chorus -- but still manage to do great productions through our community and commitment (and chorus tapes).
Introduce the Producer, who introduces the Cast Manager (for names/addresses and rehearsal schedule and name tags) and Internal Sales Chief (for scores, T-shirts, tapes).
Remind people to complete both a name tag AND an address form.
Introduce the Stage Director, Music Director. Turn this evening over to them.
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Start writing down people who should get special thanks or credits in the playbill.
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Choose gift of appreciation for the Stage Director and the Music Director; and their assistants, if any
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The master-of-ceremonies should save all announcements (scores, T-shirts, refreshments, ads, costumes, sets) until the "middle" of the rehearsal. At that time, say something like this: 'Our group runs on the spirit of volunteerism. It won't take long, but the Producer and the Tech Director have specific opportunities to volunteer which need to be mentioned now.' Then introduce the Producer and Technical Director -- each has a little list.
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Pick up certificates from Graphic Designer
Pick up certificates from Graphic Designer.
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Get engraved gifts
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Run the annual meeting at the Last Supper, starting it as soon as most people have cleared the buffet line (you must cut in line and eat quickly). The agenda is prepared by the Second Trombone in consultation with the Chairman, but the primary focus is to elect the new board members* and present certificates and engraved gifts, and to generally celebrate the show.
When giving certificates to the Gold Star Management Team, also give them an agenda and instructions for the debriefing. Give certificates for people who aren't present to the Secretary for mailing.
*Please note: The Chairman does not vote except in the case of a tie.
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Collect SUMC keys from the Second Trombone, Rental Agents, Stage Director, Music Director, Producer, Cast Manager, Technical Director, and Costume Construction Chief.
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The Producer is responsible for setting for scheduling the Debriefing session, generally held within a month of the show closing. The meeting is to go over the production, focusing on areas of great success and areas which need significant improvement.
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If not already turned in, return the task list at the Debriefing Meeting.
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Tasks that require your input, but are the responsibility of others
| Task | Description | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Bulk Mailing Info | The Newsletter Editor is responsible for preparing the newsletter for bulk mailing. Here are some notes on bulk mailing, accurate as of 1997. Check with the Post Office for the current protocol -- it has changed several times in the last 5 years. ¤ In order to use the SUMC bulk mailing permit, there must be a minimum of 200 identical pieces. They must all have the SUMC return address (251 Old Sudbury Rd, 01776) and bulk mail permit indicia. The last fold must be at the top of the piece, to minimize paper cuts. ¤ Call the Church Secretary for the current postal rate. Multiply the number of pieces times the postage, round up the last penny. Get a check from the Treasurer for the postage; made payable to 'Postmaster, Sudbury'. Arrange with the Church Secretary to leave the mailing near the office for delivery to the Post Office on the following Tuesday. ¤ The mailing must be sorted by zip codes and bundled. There must be a separate bundle for ten or more pieces with the same five-digit zip code; label this bundle "D". (You'll probably have bundles for 01742, 01754, and 01776.) The address labels will be provided by the Database Manager - ask them to sort the list by zip code. ¤ Of the remaining pieces, there must be a separate bundle for ten or more pieces with the same first three digits of zip code; label this bundle "3" for 3-Digit codes. (Bundles for 016, 017, 018, 021, 022, etc.) ¤ Of the pieces still leftover, you must now consult Mailing Instruction L004 for the current ADC sorting requirement. Groups of 10 or more leftover 3-Digit pieces belonging to the same ADC are bundled and labeled "A". All other pieces get lumped into bundles labeled "MXD" or "MS". ¤ If any bundles get larger than about 4-6 inches thick, make separate bundles. But keep track of the numbers by Zip Code: current regulations give us a lower rate for 3/5 digit sorts with more than 150 pieces. |
3-4 times throughout the year |
| Board Minutes and Agendas | The Secretary is responsible for writing up minutes of meetings and distributing them to the Board prior to the next meeting. The Secretary is also responsible to create/send out the agenda for any upcoming meetings, though the Chairman may choose to draw up the agendas. A list of templates for each monthly meeting can be found in the Reference section at the end of this document. | Ongoing throughout the year |
| Recruit Technical Director | The Producer is responsible for recruiting the Technical Director, but because this is such a critical position, the Board may start recruiting for this before a Producer is named. | Should be done in May |
| Recruit Data Base Manager | The Board of Trustees recruit the Data Base Manager and the Task List Manager. They provide the list of Board meeting dates through 1-Jan so the calendar can be updated. | Should be done in May |
| Recruit Stage and Music Directors | The Board of Trustees recruit chosen candidates for positions of Stage Director and Music Director. Should be done in June | |
| Recruit Producer | The Board must recruit the Producer as soon as possible, so that they can start recruiting Production Staff members during the summer, with the assistance of the Board. | Should be completed by July |
| Show planning-School Application | The Theatre Liaison is responsible for submitting the application to reserve the school. This is generally a protracted affair, so the Chairman should be ready to assist whenever needed. | Application should be submitted by September |
| Preliminary Budget | The Producer will present a preliminary budget to the Board for discussion. | September Board Meeting |
| Casting Calls | The directors may choose to only contact those being offered lead roles. It has been the custom in the past few years that Board Members contact those not being offered roles to encourage them to help the production in other ways (chorus, crew, house staff, etc.) as well as get feedback on the audition process | Between casting decisions and first chorus rehearsal. See the Calendar for the exact dates. |
| Finalize Budget | The Producer will submit the final budget for review. | December board meeting |
| Appoint Nominating Committee | It is recommended that the Second Trombone choose committee members who know the membership well enough to solicit candidates. An important part of the nominating committee's job is to solicit candidates, not just nominations. The nominating committee should not, in fact, waste time soliciting nominations, since few people nominate themselves or others. Instead, the committee should request nominations, but spend most of its time soliciting candidates. People do often enjoy and are honored to be asked. The committee should know, at the beginning, that this will be necessary. | Mid-December |
| Obtain bylaw changes from Board of Trustees | The Second Trombone asks the Board if there are any proposed bylaw changes for this year's ballot. If so, obtain the full text of each bylaw change, a commentary on the reasons behind it, and a brief summary of the bylaw change for use on the ballot. Post these at combined chorus/orchestra rehearsal and backstage in two places during tech week. | Should be done by Febr /uary board meeting. See the Calendar for the exact date. |
| Last Supper-Election Procedure | The Nominating Committe announces the candidates and announce who is permitted to vote (typically, everyone present). Committee distributes and collects the ballots -- keep the Chairman's ballot separate, since it is only counted in the event of a tie. Count ballots while certificates are passed out. Here is a way to count ballots quickly and effectively: -Divide all the completed ballots into groups and distribute among those who are counting. -Each person goes through one group of ballots, once per candidate, and tallies the number of votes on a blank ballot. -Trade groups of counted ballots with another person, who counts the ballots using the same technique, and have a third person recount any discrepancies. Summarize the tally onto one ballot. -Hand this tally to the chairman, who should announce the winners but not the vote tally. |
Done at Last Supper/General Meeting |
| Mail appreciation certificates | The Secretary mails any certificates left over from the "last" supper. Get the addresses from the Database Manager. Should be started right after the production closes. |
Reference Documents
Board Meeting Agendas (MS Word)