A
brief history
The Friends of
Suffolk Summer Theatres (FSST) was founded in 1986 by our
current President, Margaret Chadd, MBE. The simple aim at that
time was to drum up local support in promoting the Southwold
Summer Theatre which Jill Freud and Company had inaugurated
two years previously.
The job of a Friend in those days was principally to
help with the distribution of the theatre's advertising fliers.
As a reward for their efforts, Friends were invited
to socialise with the company at a pre-season garden party at
the Freud home, Westons, in Walberswick. By the end of the first
year, 112 Friends had joined, 30 of whom attended the party.
Wine
was provided and everyone was asked to bring a plate of food.
The whole concept
was judged hugely enjoyable and a great success by all involved.
By1994 the Friends organisation had become a force
to be reckoned with. There were now 300 members paying their
annual subscription and the need for some kind of formal infrastructure
became apparent. John Veitch was appointed Treasurer and Jack
Clayton started a twice-yearly Friends' Newsletter
as a way of communicating with the increasingly far-flung membership.
The first issue was distributed in November 1996.
So successful was the newsletter at spreading the word that
membership growth accelerated and sufficient surplus funds were
generated to enable the Friends to start making significant
financial awards not only to help diffraythe theatre's production
costs but to support Southwold's booming not-for-profit children's
theatre and to contribute to the Summer Theatre's student fund
which helps young performing arts students gaining summer work
experience with the company.
By this time, the company was taking its productions to Aldeburgh
as well as Southwold and a whole new 'branch' of the Friends,
headed by Terry Collins, started fund-raising events there.
Apart
from the annual garden party, there are two other notable events
in the Friends' calendar. One is the AGM which is always held
in Walberswick Village Hall and invariably features an entertaining
guest speaker. The other is our big money-raising event - the
Summer Fete at Westons whose profits this year topped £3000.
By
2004 there were nearly 900 Friends and, as we grew in numbers
and as our aspirations as a grant-awarding organisation grew
in scope, it became clear that a formal, written constitution
was needed. At the same time, the potential financial benefits
of attaining charitable status were obvious.
The
decision to work towards charitable status was finally ratified
by the membership at an Extraordinary General Meeting early
in 2006. After a great deal of work by the committee, headed
by our Chairman, Sidi Scott, the Charities Commission finally
granted the Friends charitable status in May 2007.
With
our new status comes our new Name: Friends of East Suffolk Performing
Arts, and our new broader mission...
Our
mission
To facilitate education in the performing arts for the people
of East Suffolk and to support a variety of theatrical initiatives
for the benefit of young people in particular and the community
in general.
We may do this
by making grants to individuals and organisations and/or
by providing expertise, manpower, opportunity and other resources.
For example:
1.
by promoting practical and academic training in the performing
arts including theatre and stage management
2. by facilitating, underwriting and subsidising
public performances in East Suffolk
3. by providing (or helping to provide) venues
for public performances
4. by attracting and encouraging financial
and practical contributions from organisations and individuals
which will enhance our ability to support the performing arts
This
is an unofficial summary of FESPA's goals. To read the full,
official version, visit our entry on the Charity
Commission website.
To see a summary
of our Charity's draft rules, click here
(opens in new window)
To learn about the latest projects adopted by FESPA for support,
click here
