Join us
Always fancied being in a show?
Do I need experience?
No. Plenty of members had never been on a stage.
What does it cost?
£100 a year, in two payments of £50. Juniors £50, off stage £25.
When do you meet?
Mondays and Fridays, 7.30pm, at St Andrews Church, Bentley.
Will I be judged?
No. Nothing here is designed to catch you out.
Not sure? Come and see us in April first.
The Prince of Egypt, Wed 21 to Sun 25 April 2027, at the Dormston Mill Theatre in Sedgley. Every seat is £22.50 and nothing is added at checkout. Watch a show from the stalls, then decide whether you fancy being up there. You will know within ten minutes.
Two ways in
On stage, or off it
Membership comes in two kinds and both matter just as much. One of them gets the applause. The other one builds the thing being applauded.
On stage
Sing, act and dance in the show
Every part, from the ensemble to a leading role, is cast from our own membership. All abilities are welcome, and you will grow in a supportive, friendly environment rather than be dropped in at the deep end.
On stage members audition to join, commit to the rehearsal schedule, and take on a ticket quota for the show. Those three things are the whole deal, and each of them has its own section further down this page.
Off stage
Build it, dress it, light it, run it
Not one for the spotlight? Off stage members are the backbone of every production. Without them there is no show. This is real work with real deadlines, not a way of keeping people busy.
Backstage and stage crew
Moving scenery and running the show from the wings.
Set building and painting
Turning a designer's idea into something an audience believes.
Sound and lighting
The desk, the rig, and the technical side generally.
Wardrobe and costumes
Making, altering, fitting and looking after them.
Props
Sourcing them, making them and keeping track of them.
Front of house
Welcoming the audience, taking tickets, running the auditorium.
Refreshments
At rehearsals and through show week.
Off stage membership is a route in its own right, not a consolation prize, and it is a good way to get to know everyone if you are not sure yet. If the committee cannot offer you an on stage place straight away, you can very often join off stage until an opportunity comes round.
How to join
Seven steps, and the first one is a message
All membership is subject to committee approval, so there is a little paperwork in the middle of this. None of it happens before you have been in the room and decided you like us.
Message us on FacebookFacebook is the only way in we can point you to with confidence. The company has no published telephone number or general email address that anybody has confirmed still reaches a person, so we would rather not print one and leave you talking to nobody.
- 01
Send us a message
Message the company on Facebook, or speak to a committee member if you already know one. Tell us a little about who you are, any experience you have (none is a perfectly good answer), and whether you are thinking on stage or off stage.
- 02
Come and watch a rehearsal
We will tell you which night is running and who to ask for when you get there, so you are not walking into a hall full of strangers with nobody expecting you. There is no commitment at this stage and nobody will ask you to sing.
- 03
Apply
Applications are made in writing to the Secretary and go to the committee, who approve every new member. You are issued with a copy of the company rules at the same time.
- 04
Audition, if you are joining on stage
The committee arranges this with you at a date and time you both agree, and you hear the outcome by email. There is no audition for off stage membership.
- 05
Become a member
Complete your membership form and pay your subscription. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian countersigns.
- 06
Sign the Cast Member Agreement
Short, but legally binding, and witnessed by a committee member. It has to be signed before you audition for a production. There is a summary of what it says at the foot of this page.
- 07
Take part
Audition for a role, or join a team behind the scenes, and get on with the enjoyable bit.
We have not put a standing invitation to turn up on any Friday on this page, tempting though it is. The company works towards one show a year and we cannot promise the hall is open every week, and being sent to a locked door is a horrible way to be introduced to a theatre company. Message us and we will give you a night.
Auditions
It is not designed to catch you out
The audition to join
If you want to join us on stage, the committee arranges an audition with you at a date and time you both agree. It is not a cattle call and you are not in a queue of forty people. We need to see where your voice and your performing sit, and the committee has to be satisfied about the musical and acting ability of anyone joining as an acting member. That is the whole of it.
Whether we can say yes also depends on what the show in front of us needs, which is nothing to do with you. If we cannot offer an on stage place this time we will tell you honestly why, and in most cases we will offer you an off stage place so that you are part of the company while you wait for the next opportunity.
The production team tells you what to prepare and when. Audition material, along with the script and the score, is made available to members to download, so you are not guessing at what to bring.
Auditions once you are a member
Principal and named roles are auditioned for each production. Let the Director know by the date given that you would like to audition. Chorus and ensemble members take part in the show without auditioning for a named part, so joining the company does not mean auditioning again every year unless you want a part with a name on it.
Two things have to be sorted out before you audition for a principal role: your first subscription instalment of £50 must be paid, and your Cast Member Agreement must be signed and witnessed. Please also make sure you can attend all the rehearsals before you put yourself forward, and tell the production team in advance about anything that would stop you.
Who is in the room
- Director
- Casts the show and runs the rehearsal room.
- Musical Director
- Hears the singing side of it.
- Choreographer
- Looks at movement and dance.
- Two to six committee members
- The rest of the casting committee.
The casting committee is the Director, the Musical Director and the Choreographer, plus between two and six members of the Executive Committee. You will have met some of them at the rehearsal you came to watch.
A night in the hall
What a Friday is actually like
A hall, a piano, a lot of people in comfortable shoes, and a producer trying to make sure everybody has something to do. With a cast that size it is not possible every single minute, so there is usually a moment where you stand at the side and watch a scene get picked over. That is normal. It is not you being ignored.
For years the company has described the night the same way: a 7.30pm start, a break for refreshments partway through that also gives voices a rest, and a finish at around 10pm, with principals kept to Mondays so that chorus members are not sitting around on a Friday while one scene is worked. That description comes from the company’s older written material rather than from this season’s pack, so take it as how a Friday has traditionally run rather than as a promise about the exact finish time.
Extra rehearsals are called as the show gets closer, worked around members’ availability as far as we can. The older material says these usually fall on a Sunday, which is worth knowing when you are working out whether the commitment fits your life. Show week itself brings the get in, the technical rehearsal and the dress rehearsal in the days before opening night.
Acting members are expected at a minimum of 80% of rehearsals. Give the production team as much notice as you can when you cannot make one, and tell them about holidays well ahead so they can plan around you rather than around your absence.
- Full chorus rehearsal
- Fridays, 7.30pm
- Principal rehearsal
- Mondays, 7.30pm
Our own paperwork gives two different streets for the hall, Churchill Road in the current pack and Wolverhampton Road West on the old site, with the same postcode on both. Message us before you set off and we will tell you which door to come to.
What to bring
- Comfortable clothes you can move in
- Sensible footwear for dancing and movement
- A bottle of water
- A pencil for marking your script and score
- Any medication you may need during the session
What it costs
Fees, and the bit about tickets
Acting member, adult
£100 a year
Paid in two instalments of £50, the first by 31 December and the second by 1 March.
Junior, under 18
£50 a year
The same membership, for members under 18. A parent or guardian countersigns the form.
Non-acting, off stage
£25 a year
Full membership of the company for everyone working off stage.
The sum nobody does for you
Every acting member takes a quota of 20 tickets for the show, and every seat in the house is £22.50. That is £450 of tickets to find buyers for, across 6 performances. It is a long-standing company rule and it is how the shows stay viable, but nobody ever writes the number down, so here it is.
You are personally responsible for the tickets you request or are allocated. A ticket you take and do not sell is a ticket you have bought, and all ticket money is due before show week, by the deadline set out in your member pack. Quotas have to be met to appear in the next WMTC production.
Where two members of the same household take part together they share a combined quota of 30 rather than 40, which is £675 between the two of you.
What happens in practice if you are struggling is that you say so. Talk to a committee member well before show week rather than after it, when there is still time to move tickets around. The one thing that does not work is going quiet until April.
An earlier member pack set a reduced quota of 15 tickets for members under 16. Neither the current pack nor the company rules mention it, so we cannot tell you whether it still applies. Ask before you assume it either way.
How the subscription is paid
Membership runs with the season, 1 September to 31 August, and there is no separate joining or entrance fee. The acting subscription is split into two payments of £50, the first due by 31 December and the second by 1 March. Members joining part way through a season pay as the Treasurer directs.
If you are auditioning for a principal role the first £50 has to be paid before you audition, and that first instalment is not refundable. The committee can suspend any member whose subscription is still unpaid after 1 March from the privileges of membership until it is paid.
Payment is by bank transfer, referenced with your name and what the payment is for, for example “J Bloggs Subs”.
The two instalment schedule is written for acting members. Whether junior and non-acting subscriptions are also split, and by when, is not settled anywhere in our own paperwork. The Treasurer will tell you.
Why there is a fee at all
Your subscription goes towards venue hire, performance rights, sets, costumes and everything else it takes to put a full-scale musical on a stage. An amateur company has no other income besides the tickets, and the tickets do not cover it on their own.
The company has traditionally explained the charge a second way as well: that everyone taking part has to be covered while they are in the room, which is why off stage membership is charged for too. That explanation appears only in the company’s older written material, so we pass it on as how it has always been put rather than as current policy.
In the company’s own words
What you are actually joining
Three things the rules say about membership that are worth knowing before you fill anything in. They are quoted rather than summarised, because the company said them better than we would.
You get a vote
Membership is not a subscription to a service. Every member has an equal say at the annual general meeting, where the committee is elected and the company's business is settled. Any member can stand for the committee.
“Every Member shall have one vote.”
Rule 5, Eligibility for Membership You can apply to lead a show
The director, musical director, choreographer and accompanist are appointed by the committee each year, and members are told when applications open. If you want to run a production rather than be in one, that route is open to you.
“The Director, Musical Director, Choreographer and Accompanist for a production will be appointed each year by the Executive Committee. The members of the company will be notified that applications for these positions are being accepted.”
Rule 30, Selection of Production Team A part is not guaranteed
Some years more people want to be on stage than a show has room for. The rule is old and it is blunt, and it comes down to turning up: regular attendance at rehearsals is what the committee weighs.
“If at any time the number of Members rehearsing a production exceed the number of persons required for the representation of the same, preference shall be given to the Members who, by the regularity of their attendance, shall, in the opinion of the Executive Committee, have rendered themselves most efficient.”
Rule 37, Acting Members in excess of Requirements
Young members
For parents
We want every young person here to feel safe, supported and able to enjoy themselves.
Our Safeguarding Officer
Colin Hunt
Company Secretary
Anything at all to do with the welfare of a young member goes to him, or to any committee member. If a concern is ever about the Safeguarding Officer himself, it goes to the President.
We do not publish an email address for him here. The one we hold is a personal address, and this is a public page. Message the company on Facebook, or speak to any committee member, and it reaches him.
We follow a written Safeguarding Policy based on guidance from NODA and the NSPCC, and every member agrees to abide by it. What that means week to week is below.
- Before every production involving children
- The committee carries out a risk assessment, confirms who is responsible for safeguarding, and keeps a register of every child with an emergency contact at each rehearsal and performance. Directors share dates and finish times in advance.
- Chaperones during show week
- Registered chaperones look after young members backstage and your child will know who theirs is. Parents sign their child in and out at every performance and collect them from the dressing room at the end. All under-16s, up to and including school Year 11, are accompanied at all times at the theatre.
- Working one to one
- Almost everything happens in groups. Where one adult has to work alone with a young person, rehearsing a solo for instance, it is done in a public area or in a room with the door open, and all adults keep an appropriate distance.
- Getting there and home
- Travel to and from rehearsals and the theatre is the parent's responsibility rather than the company's. Parents are very welcome to stay and wait in the rehearsal room.
- Emergency and medical details
- We ask for an emergency contact and any medical, dietary or access needs. This forms part of your child's performance licence application and is seen only by the Licensing Officer, the Safeguarding Officer and the chaperones.
- Photographs and video
- We photograph and film rehearsals, shows and events to promote the company, including on social media. For a member under 18, permission is given when a parent or guardian signs the Cast Member Agreement, and it can be withdrawn at any time. We never print a child's age, school or other personal details alongside a photograph.
How old do you have to be?
Our written rules set membership at 16 or over at the start of rehearsals, unless the show requires otherwise, and shows frequently do require younger performers. Junior membership is available for under 18s, with a parent or guardian countersigning the membership form and the Cast Member Agreement and sharing responsibility for subscriptions and ticket money. If you are asking on behalf of a younger child, ask us about the current production rather than assuming the answer either way.
Questions
The ones people ask
Including the two nobody says out loud, which are what happens if you hate it and what happens if we say no.
Do I need experience to join?
No. No experience is necessary. Plenty of our members started with none at all and had never set foot on a stage until the night they walked through the door. Bring enthusiasm and we will do the rest together.
Do I have to audition just to join?
If you want to join us on stage, yes. The committee arranges it with you at a time you both agree, and the decision depends on your audition and on what the current show needs. If you are joining off stage there is no audition.
What if the answer is no?
We tell you honestly why it was not possible this time, and in most cases we can still offer you off stage membership so that you are part of the company until an on stage opportunity comes up.
Can I come and watch a rehearsal first?
Yes, and we would rather you did. Message us and we will tell you which night is running and who to ask for when you arrive, so you are not standing in a doorway wondering whether you have the right place. There is no commitment and nobody will ask you to sing.
What if I turn up and hate it?
Then you go home and nothing else happens. Nothing is owed until you have completed a membership form and paid a subscription, and none of that comes before you have been in the room.
How much time does it take?
Fridays at 7.30pm for full chorus, and Mondays at 7.30pm as well if you are playing a principal. Extra rehearsals are called nearer the show, and show week brings the technical and dress rehearsals and the performances themselves. Acting members are expected at 80% of rehearsals.
Do I really have to sell 20 tickets?
Yes, if you are an acting member. At £22.50 a seat that is £450 of tickets, which is the biggest thing on this page that nobody usually mentions. Two people from the same household share a combined quota of 30. If you think you will struggle, say so early rather than in show week.
Can I join part way through the year?
Yes. Membership runs from 1 September to 31 August, and members joining part way through a season pay as the Treasurer directs. Bear in mind that if a production is already well into rehearsal, off stage may be the natural way in for that show.
Who runs the company?
A committee of officers, appointed at the AGM, who look after the business of the company and stand for re-election every year. Membership of the committee is open to any member, so if you want a say in how WMTC is run, you can have one.
Who do I ask about what?
Joining or coming along: message us on Facebook, or ask any committee member. Membership and subscriptions: the Secretary or the Treasurer. Tickets: the Ticket Secretary. Safeguarding and young members: the Safeguarding Officer. Rehearsals, roles and the show itself: the production team.
The small print
What we ask of members
Before you audition or take part in a production, every member signs a Cast Member Agreement, witnessed by a committee member. It is short, but it is a legally binding contract, and it confirms you have read the company’s Constitution, Rules and Regulations and the Member Pack. This is what you would be agreeing to, in plain terms and before you are anywhere near signing it.
- The rules
- You have read and agree to be bound by the WMTC Constitution, Rules and Regulations, and the Member Pack for the production year.
- Your subscription
- Paid on time, to the deadlines set. You cannot audition for a principal role unless your payments are up to date.
- Your tickets
- You meet the minimum ticket quota, and you are personally and fully responsible for any tickets you request or are allocated.
- Your balance
- Any money owed to WMTC, subscriptions, ticket money or anything else, is your personal responsibility and must be settled by the deadline set out in your pack.
- Your attendance
- You keep to the minimum rehearsal attendance, currently 80%. Where attendance falls below that and has been irregular, the committee can prohibit a member from taking part in the performance. Missing three rehearsals in a row may be treated as resigning your part, at the committee's discretion and in consultation with the Director. Subscriptions are not refunded in either case.
- Your conduct
- Play the part you are given to the best of your ability and follow the direction you are given. At the theatre, sign in and out at every call, follow the production team and stage management, keep it quiet backstage, be ready in good time, look after costumes and props, and leave the dressing rooms tidy. You represent WMTC while you are there.
- Under 18s
- A parent or guardian signs too, and shares responsibility for any money owed.
If these obligations are not met, WMTC may remove a member from a production and may recover unpaid money through any lawful means.
None of that is meant to sound heavy, and it is at the bottom of the page for a reason. It exists so that everyone knows where they stand, and so that nobody is left carrying somebody else’s costs. In practice, what it asks of you is that you turn up, learn your part, and tell somebody early if life gets in the way.