ABTT Members' Newsletter,
June 2020
Dear <<First Name>>,
We hope that you are well and enjoying the sunshine so far this month.
June has been a busy one for the ABTT and despite the current situation, we have been collating and running seminars on various topics to mark the occasion of the postponed ABTT Theatre Show. This month we have also recognised and celebrated those contributing to our industry by running our ABTT People Awards online. Many of our Committees have also been hard at work looking at creating new guidance on how our industry can move forward in light of the pandemic.
We have continued to collate resources on the ABTT Website that may help our members' during this tough time, these grown substantially and is now located on our Resources page. Links can be found below.
We can also announce that we will be hosting further seminars on into July to help ensure our Industry is in the loop and to keep vital conversations going.
Plus a number of new initiatives and surveys have been released which require your action.
Do remember that the ABTT is currently continuing as normal and stands ready to offer any support it can so please do keep in contact via email: office@abtt.org.uk
Please find more information on the above items below.
Kind regards,
The ABTT Team
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In light of the success of the conversations and discussions that took place over Wednesday 10th - Thursday 11th June 2020 the ABTT has decided to collate a further series of online seminars for the month of July.
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Our first July seminar will be "Diversity in the Arts: Rebuilding an Industry that works for all", running on Thursday July 2nd at 2pm
For this discussion we will be joined by:
- Emma Rees from StageSight the organisation behind better representation in off stage theatre roles;
- Jai Morjaria, Chair of the ALD’s Diversity Committee;
- Lucy Kerbel, founder of Tonic Theatre helping achieve greater equality, diversity & inclusion in the arts;
- Andrew Miller, UK Gov Disability Champion for Arts & Culture, & founder of #WeShallNotBeRemoved;
- Sammy Willbourne from TheatreCallToAction currently running the initiative #PullUpOrShutUp;
- Ian Manborde, Equality and Diversity Organiser from Equity, a union open to all regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or class.
Please sign up to this seminar here:
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Details on further seminars and the topics will be released shortly so keep your eyes peeled! The Seminars will be posted on the ABTT Events Page here as soon as details are released.
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For those of you unable to attend the June Seminars, or in search of resources that were discussed, we have now added the seminar recordings and the relevant links and documents discussed to our Online Seminars Page.
Topics discussed included:
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- Sustainability – Is it time for System Change?
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UPDATE:
It is with great regret the ABTT have been forced to cancel all our courses for Summer School in July 2020. We have arrived at this decision for reasons beyond our control and currently we do not have immediate plans to reschedule our 2020 Summer School. We are aware many of you have been asking for news and we hope you will understand the delay in updating you in the current, very fluid situation.
Unfortunately we have been unable to confirm our booking to use Warwick Arts Centre as currently the arts centre staff have not been contactable, currently on furlough until early July. The Arts Centre have also cancelled all their public events until early October 2020.
Although we’ve been drawing up plans to enable safe delivery of some of our courses, we aren’t confident we can safely deliver our full range, under the current Government guidelines. We also aren’t clear on the Arts Centre’s policies for using their buildings.
Unfortunately we’ve not been able to identify suitable alternative theatre for our courses at this time. You will have seen all theatres have been closed since March 2020, most with no plans to reopen until late 2020 or early 2021. We are actively seeking alternative locations for our courses, with the hope we’ll be in a position to schedule courses from early 2021.
In the meantime, please keep an eye on our website on the Training & Events or News pages for further updates.
https://www.abtt.org.uk/events-and-courses/training-events-calendar/
https://www.abtt.org.uk/news/
If you have already paid for a place on our Summer School 2020 you may either contact our office at office@abtt.org.uk or 020 7242 9200 to request a refund or leave your payment with us to secure a place on the next suitable ABTT course.
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Call to Action:
ABTT Training - Venues needed
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We are actively seeking alternative locations for our courses. We need a range of spaces for our Bronze and Silver courses. Some courses only need a classroom or training room, others need a formal stage space with flying systems and access equipment.
Please contact our office if you believe you may have a suitable location in which our courses may be run on office@abtt.org.uk.
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The ABTT Awards are one of the Association’s flagship events and we are very pleased to be able to take the opportunity to acknowledge those people making a difference to our Industry!
This year we decided to celebrate the amazing people in our industry by running our brand new ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence alongside our established ABTT Technician of the Year Award online!
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ABTT Technician of the Year 2020 Winner: Sarah Hemsley-Cole
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The Technician of the Year Award is one of the most important accolades the Association bestows, as it recognises the achievement of an individual at the height of their career who consistently delivers technical excellence.
This year it has been awarded to Sarah Hemsley-Cole of SC Productions LTD.
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Sarah began her career after a 1-year Post Grad course at the Welsh College of Music and Drama in 1992, starting work as Technical Manager at Blackwood Miners Institute in Caerphilly. She then moved to Cardiff City Council before setting up her own company SC Productions which has become a massive success - most recently providing accreditation and site assistants for the building of the make shift hospital at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff for Covid-19 patients.
Sarah is also in great demand as a Production Manager while also passing her knowledge onto the next generation, teaching at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, along with taking placements on her shows and taking a risk with young people giving them a chance!”
The ABTT felt that Sarah’s broad ranging achievements in our Industry highlighted everything that the ABTT Technician of the Year Award encompassed, and we are very proud to announce her as this year’s winner. To read Sarah's nomination in full and all the amazing supporting statements please see here.
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ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence 2020 Winner: Jamie Vella
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The ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence has been added to our Awards to recognise the achievements of individuals at the start of their career who consistently deliver excellence in all that they do.
This year this Award has been awarded to Derby Theatre’s LX Technician, Jamie Vella.
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At the age of 16 Jamie began touring as Lighting Designer with a medium scale tribute band, which toured into some of the largest theatre’s in the UK outside London, whilst also studying ‘Technical Events’ at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.
In addition to his full time role at Derby Theatre, Jamie also supports a number of local amateur performance companies, over a wide range of genres covering dance, musical theatre and plays.
Jamie is also fully engaged in supporting the students on the Technical Theatre degree courses, specifically helping to develop the practical skills of individuals who work as part of their casual team.
The ABTT felt that Jamie’s already impressive achievements and wide ranging skills highlighted everything that the ABTT look for in the winner of the ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence, and we are very proud to announce him as this year’s winner. To read Jamie’s nomination in full and all the amazing supporting statements please see here.
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#MentalHealthAwareness is more important than ever. See our list of resources to access if you require support, including helplines, counselling and more.
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Many of our freelancers are using this unexpected free time to acquire some new skills. Please see here a list of available training.
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A list of resources and guidance to help prepare for our Industry's post-lockdown fightback, including websites, webinars, declarations and calls-to-action.
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Please see here our list of current schemes, grants, funds, tool-kits and support which is available for help during this uncertain time.
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We know that our council and members want to help achieve greater gender equality, diversity and inclusion within theatre and the arts. As such we have put together list of relevant resources, initiatives and petitions that need support .
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Need something to do or watch during lockdown? We have put together list of online activities, streamed theatre and more. Please see below. If you know of any resources that should be included please email office@abtt.org.uk.
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#EventsForTheFuture. Now more than ever, it is important you get in contact with your MP to help get the industry's voice heard! We have created a series of template letters you can use whether you're a business, employee or freelancer!
For more information and the templates please click here!
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#PullUpOrShutUp, is a call to action asking theatres, theatre companies, theatre festivals, theatrical agencies and drama schools to disclose how many Black people they have on their teams. Respond with your statistics today!
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#WeShallNotBeRemoved is a new UK Disability Arts Alliance, an emergency response to COVID-19. Disabled, D/deaf and Neurodiverse artists, arts workers and organisations are standing together. Currently looking for new members.
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LIVE PERFORMANCE PRODUCTION DECLARES is a public declaration of our planet’s environmental crises and a commitment from everyone working in the presentation of live performance, operating a place of entertainment or supplying productions to take positive action in response to climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse. Sign today!
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Do you have some time available during the current situation?
Why not improve your CAD skills with our FREE 3D Tutorial? Covering moving from 2D to 3D drafting, extruding existing drawings, creating a rendered image and simple fly-through.
Sign up today for FREE!
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The ABTT is continuing to work hard to make sure that our sector is being supported during these unprecedented times.
As a registered charity, we are dependent on our membership subscriptions and donations as we do not receive any government subsidy, or regular financial help from local authorities or the Arts Council. If you are able, please pay any outstanding membership subscriptions. If it is possible and you would like to make a donation to support the ABTT in surviving in these incredibly challenging times, we would be extraordinarily grateful.
Any donations will help us in continuing to set and uphold standards in technical excellence, safety and compliance for live performance; to assist technicians and support relevant industry projects.
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