History - Part 3
Following Up
But the Crathes committee remained determined to press on. Jim Turner, an experienced businessman and foundation member, volunteered to undertake the study, using advice from local professionals; and in February 1993 Grampian Enterprise Limited agreed to provide the requisite matching grant of '2000. In the meantime a public meeting of 27 January renewed the committee's mandate and, with Val Bridger employed as part-time administrator, they concentrated on maintaining the artistic impetus which had been generated in Banchory. Stage Crew was already proving a lively and independent offspring, with a strong nucleus of about thirty students regularly attending its workshops; it had joined Banchory Theatre Club as joint producer of the annual pantomime. 'Robin Hood' was professionally directed by Alastair MacDonald. Jonny Hardie's musicians, together with 'Jo's Caf'', Alasdair Johnston's group, continued to hold workshops in the schools, and ceilidhs in the community. The Writers' Group also continued, and with a new purpose. In October a working group had been formed to plan a week of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of James Scott Skinner, to begin at the end of June 1993.
The first draft budgets were on the same scale as in 1992; but it was soon clear that the Arts Council would not fund professional enablers, and that no help could be expected from the District Council. On the other hand Skinner's work was of potential interest to tourists, as well as local traditional musicians. Small-scale events were planned to generate interest, and even modest profits. The Tor-na-coille Hotel sponsored an illustrated talk by John Junner of Strachan, a noted authority on Skinner. The Scott Skinner restaurant, appropriately, was host to a Folk evening organized by Alasdair Johnston. A country dance evening was held in the Burnett Arms. Tin whistle workshops in the schools, and a class in fiddle repair, were organized at modest expense. All this took place in the margin of two main public events: a Gala Concert and an original play about Skinner's life.
The concert provided the community's oldest and most successful arts group, the Strathspey & Reel Society with a rare opportunity to perform to a large audience on its home ground; though widely acclaimed in Scotland, Canada and the USA, the orchestra's local performances were usually confined to the function room of the Burnett Arms. They now planned to perform in a large marquee in Bellfield Park. By happy coincidence, such a marquee has been hired for a party political event in late June; Margaret Jaffrey of Banchory Lodge Hotel generously agreed to meet the cost of hire and insurance for an additional evening. The noted fiddler Alistair Hardie was engaged to perform (and later conduct a master class); and a newly composed strathspey, chosen by public competition, was also on the programme. Members of the committee coped with the mundane necessities of seating, staging, lighting and sound transmission in the marquee, and on the fine evening of 27 June a capacity audience of 500 was able to appreciate the artistry of Banchory's musical heritage.
The play about Skinner's life was meanwhile being planned as the first public performance in the Woodend Cattle Court. The Writers' Group quickly began research on Skinner's long and varied life; despite a recent republication by Aberdeen City Library of his own memoirs, there were gaps in the record which required reference to archives. (The historical revisions which resulted were later incorporated by the regional Museum service in the panels currently exhibited in Banchory Museum.) The work of script-writing was distributed more widely than in the case of Tensions and Trust. One major scene, based on Skinner's not wholly successful appearance at the London Palladium in 1912, was independently written and produced by a group of experienced actors led by Graeme Wilson; other scenes were developed by other groups, including Stage Crew. When it came to drawing all this work together, the professional direction of Alastair MacDonald was missed; the enthusiastic amateur director, having worked out a good framework for the play, could not put his ambitious plans on-stage in time but other members of the cast were finally able to complete a production which most of the capacity audiences at the three performances seemed to find authentic, moving, and enjoyable. Notably successful were musical contributions by members of the Strathspey & Reel, including a talented young fiddler who accepted the role of Skinner, though he had never acted before. Paul Anderson's dramatic debut was followed by a brilliant musical career, which would bring him back to Woodend many times.
Besides its artistic success, The Strathspey King served to justify the Crathes committee's faith in the potential of the Woodend venue. The Crathes estate undertook some basic repairs and renovations; Andy Laing, a carpenter who had acquired a taste for stage management under Iain Campbell in 1992, was employed to construct a sectional stage and a great deal of voluntary labour was used to clean the Cattle Court and provide temporary arrangements for sound, lighting and seating. Most of the audience felt that not only the quality of production but the beauty of Woodend's location out-weighed the discomfort of the evening cool. When in September Turner delivered his assessment of the feasibility of establishing an Arts Centre, the committee was ready and eager to proceed.
The Skinner Festival had been successful financially as well as artistically, though by a very narrow margin. Since no professional enablers had been employed, the cost was much less than that of Tensions and Trust: approximately '7000. The only income from public funds was a modest grant of '100 from the local Tourist Board; and this time there were no four-figure sponsors. More than half the cost was recovered at the box-office; the rest was raised locally, by a raffle and a jumble sale, and by a large number of modest donations from local firms and individuals. But some substantial contributions in kind, such as the Jaffrey's, did not appear in the accounts. The biggest expense had been the preparation of the Woodend venue, but this had left a lasting legacy; Andy Laing's spacious stage in movable wooden sections has proved serviceable and adaptable in many later Woodend productions. The volunteers who had given their varied talents to the committee had proved capable of managing a complex artistic programme.
The establishment of a permanent Arts Centre was a more serious challenge. Jim Turner's feasibility study proved both encouraging and daunting. He expressed confidence about the prospective value of such a centre, not only to the cultural, social and educational needs of the area, but to Deeside's tourist industry. He suggested the possibility of including a small cinema within the building, although in the event no dedicated light-proof space could be identified. But the costs of even an austerely planned centre would be high. For a minimal programme of construction and equipment he estimated capital costs of '222,800, to cover necessary improvements to the roof, internal alterations, seating, equipment for heat, light and sound, as well as essential outside work on sanitation, car-parking, and approach road. In addition Turner estimated that recurrent costs, including four or five staff salaries, would rise from '42,000 to '97,000 annually. To raise such funds from private or public sponsorship would require time, and effort.
As the study proceeded, Jamie Burnett realised that this task was beyond the immediate grasp of the voluntary committee, who so far had been informally permitted free use of the Barn, and decided to commit himself actively to promote a project, which he would later describe as having marked 'a fresh chapter for the estate'. On 9 August he told Jim Turner that he intended to make a formal application for change of use, and that he was prepared to provide '40,000 for such structural works as would permit a 'more humble' beginning of the projected arts programme. The Leys Estate expenditure on improvements at the Barn would eventually reach over '85,000. Meanwhile he proposed to take personal control until outside finance was secured, employing an administrator to manage the building for two or three years. Early in 1994 Alan Hird, a photographer with business experience, was established in this post in the Station Road offices of Leys Estate, with the preparation of a Business Plan as his first priority. This, he was advised, required the commissioning of professional market research, another unexpected expense.
Jamie Burnett had originally proposed to nominate his own committee to direct this work, but then decided to continue to rely on the volunteers who had carried through two successful productions. Some supporters who had more experience of artistic than of financial management felt apprehensive about assuming financial responsibility; a considerable debt to Leys Estates was being recorded (although it was never to be repaid) and rental payments might shortly become due. But in February a public meeting was assured that those joining the projected Company limited by guarantee would accept a liability, in the event of failure, of no more than one pound, and that the new company could enjoy the benefits of charitable status. So in April a reconstituted committee of Crathes 92 became the committee of a new Woodend Arts Association. Besides being invited to advise on structural developments as they went forward, the committee began to recruit new members prepared to subscribe ten pounds a year to the Association, or to covenant regular donations of a larger sum. But public responses were to come slowly; until it was clear what benefits membership of the Association would offer. Planning began for a formal launch of the Woodend Arts Centre on 17 September 1994, with other events to follow.
The personnel of the committee had changed appreciably since 1992. On 15 August Sheila Hargreaves demitted office as Convenor, to strong expressions of gratitude, and was succeeded by Rita Sprague, a Canadian theatre director who had moved to the area. Mike Williamson who had freely given his professional services as Treasurer also retired, and was succeeded, after a short interregnum, by Don Macleod. Rita Sprague suggested that the committee of twelve members should delegate much business to a smaller executive, representing new sub-committees for Arts, Finance, Marketing and House Management. But top priority seems to have been given to the artistic programme. After staging successful productions and ceilidhs during the autumn veterans of community theatre hoped to renew the spirit of '92 with the help of Alastair MacDonald's Aberdeen-based Bouncers' Theatre Company. It appears that much of the responsibility for long-term financial planning and the Business Plan was left to Alan Hird. But he became concerned about the way in which the committee tried to direct the work for which he had been appointed. The files for this period contain an undated and anonymous consultant's report, concluding that there was little sign of such a 'hard-headed business focus' as potential grant-givers would expect. When a meeting of the full Management Committee was eventually convened in Jamie Burnett's office on 12 February 1995, Rita Sprague's interpretation of the constitutional position was rejected. Several members of her executive group then resigned and a new Management Committee was elected. Its Convenor was Fiona Hope, a teacher and musician who had been active in the earlier projects; her husband Mark also joined the committee, bringing it a much-needed combination of high-level business experience (in the oil industry) with artistic vision.
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