AGENDA OF the GENERAL MEETING OF Sydney University Dramatic Society (SUDS) TO BE HELD AT 2pm, Wednesday September 13 AT The Cellar Theatre and on zoom:  https://uni-sydney.zoom.us/j/81676215558

  1. OPENING AND WELCOME
  2. APOLOGIES AND LEAVES OF ABSENCE
  3. MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING & BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES
  4. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

The following amendments to the constitution are proposed:

3. MEMBERSHIP

3.1 ii. Associate Membership

  1. All holders of a current Access Card of The University of Sydney Union other than those who qualify for Ordinary Membership shall be eligible for Associate Membership of the society. Associate Members are not eligible to hold Executive positions, vote in elections or vote at meetings of the Society.

3.2 Upon payment of a subscription fee, a person shall be deemed an Ordinary Member or Associate Member of the Society and henceforth be bound by this Constitution and the regulations document.

3.3 The subscription fee for membership shall be:

i. Ordinary membership $5

ii. Associate membership $10

Amend to:

3.1 ii.        Gold Membership

  1. All members of The University of Sydney Union shall be eligible for Gold Membership of the society. Any Gold Member shall hold one vote at all meetings and elections of the Society at which they are present except as stipulated in Section 3.i.2.

  1. A Gold Membership must meet the same requirements as clauses 3.i.2-4 of the Ordinary Membership.

  1. The Gold Membership will afford the Member with a free ticket to each slot of the calendar year. This does not include the Major production or any festivals or workshops.

3.2 Upon payment of a subscription fee, a person shall be deemed an Ordinary Member or Gold Member of the Society and henceforth be bound by this Constitution and the regulations document.

3.3 The subscription fee for membership shall be:

i. Ordinary membership $5

ii. Gold membership $25

4. THE EXECUTIVE

4.1 The Society shall have an Executive consisting of

i. A President

ii. A Vice President

iii. A Secretary

iv. A Treasurer

v. Two (2) Cellar Officers

vi. Two (2) Social Secretaries

vii. Two (2) Publicity Officers

viii. An Archivist

ix. A Festivals Officer

Amend to:

4. THE EXECUTIVE

4.1 The Society shall have an Executive consisting of

i. A President

ii. A Vice President

iii. A Secretary

iv. A Treasurer

v. Three (3) Cellar Officers

vi. Two (2) Social Secretaries

vii. Three (3) Publicity Officers

viii. An Archivist

ix. A Festivals Officer

5. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

5.1 The President shall:

i. Plan the Society‘s activities in consultation with the Executive.

ii. Liaise with the Executive and any Committees formed by the Society.

iii. Ensure an adequate handover, including any documents and materials, to the following Executive.

iv. Chair any and all meetings of the Society save when there is a conflict of interest or attendance is impossible in which case the Vice-President shall take the chair.

v. In conjunction with the Secretary and Social Secretaries organise the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and all necessary Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMS) in accordance with the Constitution and co-ordinate the transferral of responsibilities to the incoming Committee.

5.2 The Vice-President shall:

i. Deputise for the President

5.3 The Treasurer shall:

i. Maintain the Society’s finances in accordance with the C&S handbook for Treasurers produced by the Clubs and Societies Office of the University of Sydney Union.

ii. Present to the Annual General Meeting of the Society a report detailing the financial activity and status of the Society.

iii. Ensure an adequate handover, including any documents and materials, to the following Executive.

5.4 The Secretary shall:

i. Conduct the correspondence of the Society.

ii. Book meeting rooms for the Society.

iii. Keep minutes of the proceedings of all Society meetings

iv. Maintain the records and document of the Society.

v. Maintain a list of current Members, in accordance with the University of Sydney Guidelines.

vi. Maintain the Society’s registration with The University of Sydney Union.

vii. Note  the numbers present at each meeting in order to establish quoracy.

viii. Be responsible for bringing the Constitution and Regulations to meetings of the Society and, in conjunction with the chairperson, ensure they are followed.

The two (2) Cellar Officers shall:

i. Maintain the Cellar in a clean and usable state.

ii. Maintain and purchase, if necessary, such tools and equipment as are deemed necessary by the Executive.

iii. Encourage and ensure an adequate supply of members trained in technical matters.

iv. Supervise bump-in and bump-out periods of all Cellar productions.

v. Provide technical advice and/or assistance to a production if requested.

vi. Report to the Executive any violations of the Cellar Contract by productions.

The two (2) Social Secretaries shall:

i. Organise social events at the discretion of the Executive.

ii. Liaise with producers to organise social events associated with productions.

The two (2) Publicity Officers shall:

i. Publicise the time and venue of all performances, meetings, auditions and events.

ii. Forward publicity material from all productions, when required, to Honi Soit.

iii. Organise mail outs of newsletters via electronic mail to all members.

iv. Submit information on the Society to be published in the Orientation Week Handbook.

The Archivist shall:

i. Be responsible for the collection and storage of archival material from each production.

ii. To arrange such archival evidence in such a manner that it can be both displayed in the Cellar foyer and retained as historical evidence.

The Festivals Officer shall:

  1. Be responsible for SUDS’ involvement in any USU organised events

  1. Be responsible for SUDS’ involvement in any external arts festivals

Amend to:

5. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE MEMBERS

5.1 The President shall:

i. Plan the Society‘s activities in consultation with the Executive. This includes determining the number of slots annually, and the date of the major production and any festivals throughout semester one and two.

ii. Liaise with the Executive and any Committees formed by the Society.

iii. Ensure an adequate handover, including any documents and materials, to the following Executive.

iv. Chair any and all meetings of the Society save when there is a conflict of interest or attendance is impossible in which case the Vice-President shall take the chair.

v. In conjunction with the Secretary and Social Secretaries organise the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and all necessary Ordinary and General Meetings in accordance with the Constitution and co-ordinate the transferral of responsibilities to the incoming Committee.

vi) Liaise with the USU and the Cellar Officers about the safety and proper management of the Cellar Theatre space.

vii) Alongside the Vice-President, conduct meeting(s) with showrunners/slot holders to familiarise them with production processes and protocol within the Society

5.2 The Vice-President shall:

  1. Deputise for the President

  1. Coordinate the Wellbeing Program and allocate an Executive Member to be a Wellbeing Officer for each slot of the year.

  1. Ensure that the Executive team complete all necessary training for their roles.

  1. Manage the society’s membership sign up, including sending out welcome emails, Gold Membership codes and answering questions alongside the Secretary in the Society’s email inbox.

  1. Alongside the President, conduct meeting(s) with showrunners/slotholders to familiarise them with production processes and protocol within the Society.

5.3 The Treasurer shall:

i. Maintain the Society’s finances in accordance with the C&S handbook for Treasurers produced by the Clubs and Societies Office of the University of Sydney Union.

ii. Present to the Annual General Meeting of the Society a report detailing the financial activity and status of the Society.

  1. Ensure an adequate handover, including any documents and materials, to the following Executive.
  2. Apply for semester grants and discretionary funding on behalf of the Executive and Society.
  3. Maintain contact with Slot Holders about their financial status and coordinate reimbursements in a timely fashion.

5.4 The Secretary shall:

i. Conduct the correspondence of the Society.

ii. Book meeting rooms for the Society.

iii. Keep minutes of the proceedings of all Society meetings

iv. Maintain the records and document of the Society.

v. Maintain a list of current Members, in accordance with the University of Sydney Guidelines.

vi. Maintain the Society’s registration with The University of Sydney Union. This includes registering all events with the USU, and sending relevant post-meeting documents.

vii. Note  the numbers present at each meeting in order to establish quoracy.

viii. Be responsible for bringing the Constitution and Regulations to meetings of the Society and, in conjunction with the chairperson, ensure they are followed.

ix) Distribute and collect the signed slot-holder agreements for the showrunners of each slot annually.

x) Manage the inbox of the SUDS email and allocate to relevant Executive members.  

5.5 The three (3) Cellar Officers shall:

i. Maintain the Cellar in a clean and usable state.

ii. Maintain and purchase, if necessary, such tools and equipment as are deemed necessary by the Executive.

iii. Encourage and ensure an adequate supply of members trained in technical matters.

iv. Supervise bump-in and bump-out periods of all Cellar productions.

v. Provide technical advice and/or assistance to a production if requested.

  1. Report to the Executive any violations of the Slot-Holder Agreement by productions.
  2. Changing the Cellar key lockbox code after each production and communicating these changes to slotholders and the Executive.

The two (2) Social Secretaries shall:

  1. Organise social events at the discretion of the Executive. These

can include but are not limited to:

  1. Rough Cuts
  2. Play with Your Food
  3. Coffee-Catchups (before Ordinary/General Meetings fortnightly)
  4. SUDS Attends

  1. Coordinate the Mentor-Mentee program throughout the year.

The three (3) Publicity Officers shall:

  1. Publicise the time and venue of all performances, meetings, auditions and events.

ii. Forward publicity material from all productions, when required, to Honi Soit, PULP, the Sydney University Newsletter and any relevant publications.

iii. Update regularly social media pages with information on current callouts and upcoming events.

  1. Submit information on the Society to be published in the Welcome Week (Semester One) Handbook.

  1. Respond to any inquiries on all SUDS social media platforms.

  1. Create the Humanitix site and link for all SUDS events and respond to any inquiries from ticketholders.

  1. Print and coordinate the archiving of Slot posters throughout the year.  

The Archivist shall:

i. Be responsible for the collection and storage of archival material from each production.

ii. To arrange such archival evidence in such a manner that it can be both displayed in the Cellar foyer and retained as historical evidence.

iii) Manage and update the society website to reflect any events or callouts within 24 hours of their going live on Facebook.

iv) Distribute Feedback Forms at the close of each Semester to the Membership.

v) Organise a census and collect responses from the Membership during Weeks 1-4 of Semester 2.  

The Festivals Officer shall:

  1. Be responsible for SUDS’ involvement in any USU organised events

  1. Be responsible for SUDS’ involvement in any external arts festivals

  1. Organise events at their discretion and in consultation with the executive. These could include but are not limited to Workshops, a Film Festival, or other special events.

Mandatory USU Amendments:

6.1. The Society shall hold an Ordinary Meeting at least once every 2 weeks during semester (teaching period, Weeks 1-13).

Amend to:

6.1 The Society shall hold an Ordinary Meeting as required.

7.1 The Society shall hold General Meetings as required during semester (teaching period, Weeks 1-13)

Amend to:

7.1 The Society shall hold General Meetings as required.

9.4 The Annual General Meeting shall be held between 9am and 9pm at a place on a campus of The University of Sydney during semester (teaching period, Weeks 1-13). The Annual General Meeting shall be chaired by the President or an Executive Member not standing for election to any position.

Amend to:

9.4 The Annual General Meeting shall be held between 9am and 9pm at a place on a campus of The University of Sydney and/or via video conference. The Annual General Meeting shall be chaired by the President or an Executive Member not standing for election to any position.

7.7 A General Meeting of the Society has the same powers as an Ordinary Meeting. and may also carry the following motions on notice relating to the affairs of the Society by a two thirds majority vote of those members present and voting: 

i. Granting Honorary Membership 

ii. Filling vacancies on the Executive 

iii. Repealing motions and the effect of motions carried at an Ordinary Meeting 

iv. Amending the Constitution 

v. Dismissing Executive Members for reasons other than that in 4.3 of the Constitution, provided that the Executive Member is given reasonable right of reply 

vi. Dissolving the Society 

vii. Determining the use of Society finances

Amend to:

7.7 A General Meeting of the Society has the same powers as an Ordinary Meeting. and may also carry the following motions on notice relating to the affairs of the Society by a two thirds majority vote of those members present and voting: 

i. Granting Honorary Membership 

ii. Filling vacancies on the Executive 

iii. Repealing motions and the effect of motions carried at an Ordinary Meeting 

iv. Amending the Constitution 

v. Dismissing Executive Members for failure to adequately perform their executive duties, provided that the Executive Member is given reasonable right of reply 

vi. Dissolving the Society 

vii. Determining the use of Society finances

Add:

9.7) Society meetings may not be held during the University closure period surrounding the

Christmas and New Year Public Holidays, and notice must be called outside of this period.

  1. GENERAL BUSINESS

Voting in Summer Season Slots!

  1. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

Wednesday 4 October 2pm in the Cellar Theatre: Voting in Slot 2 2024.

  1. CLOSE OF MEETING