MembersMember pack
Written for members, and for anyone taking part in a production.
The season handbook for members and anyone thinking of joining. It covers who the company is, how to get involved, fees, rehearsal and show week arrangements, the theatre, payments and ticket booking, plus the safeguarding, venue safety, lockdown, privacy and constitution sections in full.
Key points
- Twenty sections, running from Welcome and About the Company through to Show Week, safeguarding, the venue briefing and the full Rules and Constitution
- Subscriptions are £100 for an adult, £50 for a junior under 18 and £25 for a non-acting member, with no separate joining or entrance fee
- Subscriptions are paid in two equal instalments, the first by 31 December and the second by 1 March, and the first instalment must be paid before auditioning for a principal role
- Rehearsals are at St Andrews Church, Churchill Road, Bentley, Walsall WS2 0AA; performances are at the Dormston Mill Theatre, Mill Bank, Sedgley DY3 1SN
- Includes the Cast Member Agreement, which is also where photography and publicity permission is given (a parent or guardian signs for under-18s)
The full pack runs to 22 pages and is not on the website yet. Ask any committee member for a copy, or message the company on Facebook.
Read it in fullUpdated 4 August 2026
AnyoneGoverning document
Written for anyone who wants to read it, member or not.
The company's governing document, 50 numbered rules as at August 2026, covering the name and objectives, membership and subscriptions, the Executive Committee, finance, general meetings, how shows and casts are chosen, and members' obligations. It is reproduced in full inside the member pack, and this standalone copy is for the committee, new committee members and anyone who wants the rules on their own.
Key points
- 50 rules in total, current as at August 2026, where the 2014 constitution had far fewer
- Membership is open to anyone aged 16 or over at the start of rehearsals unless the show requires otherwise, and every member has one vote
- The company is run by an Executive Committee of Chair, Vice-Chair, Treasurer and Secretary plus up to 10 further members, elected at the AGM
- Rules 44 to 50 are the modern additions: safeguarding, data protection, members under 18, health and safety and emergencies, equal opportunities, communication with members, and conduct at the theatre
- Under Rule 43 the Executive Committee can change the rules at any time by a two thirds majority, and the vote does not have to happen at a General Meeting
- Rule 42 provides that on dissolution any remaining assets go to another charitable body with similar objectives
The full 50 rules are not on the website as a file yet. Ask any committee member or the Secretary for a copy. The rules are also reproduced in full inside the member pack.
Read it in fullUpdated 4 August 2026
AnyonePolicy
Written for anyone who wants to read it, member or not.
The company's full UK GDPR privacy notice, version August 2026, reviewed annually by the Executive Committee. It explains what personal information WMTC holds about members, prospective members and the parents of under-18s, why it is held, who it is shared with, how long it is kept and what rights people have over it. It is maintained under Rule 45 of the constitution.
Key points
- WMTC is the data controller; the notice covers members, prospective members and parents or guardians of members under 18
- Lawful bases are the membership agreement, legitimate interests, legal obligations, and consent for photography and medical details
- Shared only with the local authority licensing officer, chaperones, the venue, Seaty (ticketing and membership) and NODA for long service awards
- Data is never sold and never shared for anyone else's marketing
- Retention varies: name and membership dates kept indefinitely (records go back to 1929), under-18 emergency and medical details deleted after each production, financial records six years
- Rights requests are answered within one month, free of charge, via any committee member or the Secretary; complaints can go to the ICO at ico.org.uk
The full notice is not on the website as a file yet. Ask any committee member or the Secretary for a copy. It is also reproduced in full inside the member pack.
Read it in fullUpdated 4 August 2026
Parents and guardiansPolicy
Written for the parents and guardians of anyone taking part who is under 18.
How WMTC protects children, meaning members under 18 and any other child involved in a production. It names the designated Safeguarding Officer, sets out what the committee does at the start of every show involving children, what parents are responsible for, and the rules on unsupervised contact, physical contact, photographs and raising a concern. This is the document parents most need before letting a child take part.
Key points
- The designated Safeguarding Officer is Colin Hunt, the Company Secretary. A concern about the officer himself goes to the President instead
- Based on guidance from NODA and the NSPCC, last reviewed January 2026, adopted under Rule 44
- A risk assessment is carried out for every production involving children, and a list of every child with an emergency contact is held at each rehearsal and performance
- Parents arrange their child's travel to and from rehearsals and the theatre; the company does not take children home, and parents may wait in the rehearsal room
- Unsupervised contact is avoided; where it cannot be (for example rehearsing a solo) it happens in a public area or a room with the door open
- Photo permission is given by a parent signing the Cast Member Agreement and can be withdrawn at any time; age, school and other personal details are never printed with photographs
- DBS checks are not a legal requirement for amateur companies, but where the committee obtains one for someone working with young members it is always an enhanced child workforce disclosure
We are not circulating the file at the moment. The signed copy on record turned out to hold two overlapping versions of the policy, both dated January 2026, which differ on small but important points. A single clean signed version is being prepared. This page is the reconciled text and it is the one to go by in the meantime.
Read it in fullUpdated 24 July 2026
MembersVenue briefing
Written for members, and for anyone taking part in a production.
The one page health and safety and emergency briefing every member and parent reads before show week at the Dormston Mill Theatre. It covers fire exits and the assembly point, signing in and out, known hazards on stage, the rule that under-16s must be accompanied, first aid, and who the key production personnel are. Maintained under Rule 47 and updated with new names for each production.
Key points
- Fire exits are the scene dock doors, the exits in the corridor to the theatre, and the exits outside the theatre door on the first floor; the assembly point is the Queen Victoria School playground
- Everyone signs in and out at every performance: adults on the noticeboard in the dressing room corridor, crew with the Stage Manager, front of house with the House Manager, children with the chaperones
- Parents must sign their child in and out, wait with them if a chaperone is delayed, and collect them from the dressing room at the end of the show
- All under-16s, up to and including school Year 11, must be accompanied by a parent or chaperone at all times
- Known hazards: cables, scenery, lighting, special effects, pyrotechnics, the trap door and the edge of the stage
- First aid box is with the Stage Manager on stage left and at the venue office on the ground floor; all accidents are reported to the Stage Manager, who completes an accident form
The briefing is reissued for every production, because the named roles change with each show. Ask the Stage Manager or any committee member for the copy that applies to the show you are in.
Read it in fullUpdated 24 July 2026
