The Constitution of the United Players

Name: The name shall be United Players - an organisation affiliated to the Churches of St. William, Walderslade, St. David, Lordswood, and St. Alban, Blubell Hill, but not under their control.

Aims: To produce and perform family entertainment not incompatible with Christian beliefs.

Membership: The membership shall be open to person(s) involved in any past or present productions and any other member who shows interest, at the discretion of the committee. The Membership Secretary shall register members.

Subscriptions: Membership subscriptions (where applicable) shall be set annually by the committee, and are due at the start of the financial year (1st September). These must be paid by the 31st October, in order that a member be eligible to vote at the following Annual General Meeting (AGM) of United Players and to hold office on any committee thereof.

Weekly Subs: During productions, all members involved will pay a production fee of £1.00 for each week of the production, including weeks where the member is absent.

Officers: These are to be elected annually by members at the AGM - Chairperson, Committee Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Child Protection Officer, Youth Representative and Media Officer. Positions of responsibility should not be filled by someone who has been with United Players less than 2 consecutive years.

Voting Rights: Only fully paid and registered members may vote.

Committee: This will consist of the elected officers, plus the directors of any current productions, and any paid member who would like to attend.

Executive Committee: Occasionally a quick decision will need to be made where the timescale is too short to be able to call a full committee meeting. In these circumstances, the Executive Committee will discuss the issue, make a decision, and report back to the full Committee at the next scheduled meeting. The Executive Committee will consist of the Chairperson, Committee Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Secretary, Child Protection Officer, and Media Officer, as these are elected adult members of the full Committee. 

Quorum: A quorum of 10 members is necessary for an AGM, a quorum of 5 members is necessary for a meeting of the full Committee and three elected adult members of the Executive Committee.

Finance: (a) All production expenses of the United Players shall be recovered from income generated by the United Players. From the surplus shall be deducted a reasonable amount to be defined by the Committee to meet future productions and the balance after expenses and agreed rental, to be allocated by the Committee. (b) A Bank Deposit Account shall be maintained in the name of the United Players. Authorised signatories to be the Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer. Cheques are to be authorised by two of the authorised signatories. (c) The financial year shall run from 1st September to 31st August. (d) The accounts to be audited once a year by an independent person approved by the Committee and presented by the Committee to the membership at the AGM. (e) Should the United Players close, any assests will be given to charity/disposed of by the United Players Committee. 

Special General Meeting: The Chairperson, may at any time at their discretion and shall within 21 days of receiving a written request to do so signed by no less than 10 members having the power to vote and giving reasons for the request, call a Special General Meeting.

Alterations to the Constitution: Any proposal to alter this consitution must be delivered to the Secretary of the United Players not less than 28 days before the date of the meeting at which it is first to be considered. An alteration will require the approval of both: (a) A simple majority of the committee present and voting at a committee meeting. (b) Two-thirds majority of individual members present and voting at a General Meeting. Notice of such a meeting must have been given in accordance with normal procedure, but not less than 14 days prior to the meeting in question and giving the wording of the proposed alteration.