A few changes and updates at the Players - Jan 2025

So, with a new year, we have a few changes at the Players - all aimed at improving and developing what we do. Don't worry! Our "mission", and plans are all the same.

Theatre school
​First of all - we are reopening our theatre school; in conjunction with a national actors agency with a brilliant reputation. Alongside AKP Management, we are opening monthly stand-alone classes , from later in January. More information and how to sign up, can be found on our Training page. https://www.southdevonplayers.com/training.html

Auditions
The next thing - well we have our auditions for William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet later this month as well. As always, it is an open audition and we love to welcome new faces as well as returning faces. We are bringing the show to a wonderful variety of venues in Devon and the Midlands - mostly public shows, but also some for schools and student groups. There is a wonderful range of characters and as always we love getting a diverse cast and crew together. https://www.southdevonplayers.com/auditions.html

Theatre company handbook
(download at https://www.southdevonplayers.com/uploads/1/1/1/9/1119481/theatre_company_handbook_2025_edition_1.pdf)

One of the new things that we are bringing in, is a handbook. This is one of the things we have needed to put together at the Players, which will now be sent out to all cast and crew at the start of a new show, as a PDF e-book.
You see, for many people (not all, of course), this is their first experience of taking a role in a professional touring theatre company, and especially down here away from cities, the stereotype is that all theatre is a bit of "small community amdram" and that it isnt really serious or high-quality "because it is just local". That is very hard to get around.
Between being a professional group, touring high quality shows in Devon, the Midlands & in talks with London venues; working with national actors agents, and streaming internartionally, everyone is expected to adhere to professional standards both on and off stage.

Each person is part of a close collaborative team, wherin the public, venues, and entertainment industry contacts all judge the theatre company and each persons professionalism; on the work of the whole.

As always, we welcome people of any background and level, and so that there is a useful tool-set to hand of how things work, we have produced a "handbook" for the theatre company, which we hope will help be useful. It isnt a drama-school in a book, but it should hopefully still be of use.
Video series
With Romeo & Juliet, we are hoping to maintain a video-log series about the production, showing the process and work behind the scenes. We would love to put together a documentary film about this process, but lack the peoplepower and time to do it; so the video series is the logical way to do it

New age restrictions in the Players
From Romeo & Juliet onwards, we will not be accepting new actors or crew aged under 16. Actors who are under 16 who have previously worked with us in good standing will be welcome to rejoin us, but we will not be able to take on new performers under 16. This is for a number of reasons, the key ones cited below.

The Players are not a childrens theatre company, and with touring, there are late night shows and travel, using carshares and coaches; sometimes across the UK.

By UK law, actors under 16 need to be accompanied by a parent or licenced chaperone at all times in shows and rehearsals; and additonally, we have to work with the minors parents and school to obtain a licence for each under-16 to appear in a show. There has been a lot of resistance from parents in complying with these legal requirements, and it has become simply too much of a difficulty to maintain these legal requirements in running a show.

Sometimes in shows, we have roles that cannot be played by minors, because of actions or subjects discussed by those characters. Despite stating the age range for those roles, we have been approached on several occaisons, by parents, to cast minors of 10-12 years old, in roles which we have stated are stated as strictly over 18, resulting in bad feeling and offence when we have refused.

Therefore, as a cummulative result of these issues and the stress caused to our team, we have had no choice but to close the doors to under-16s.