ABTT Committees
Production Managers' Forum
The Production Managers' Forum was created as a joint venture between the ABTT and the SMA in 2000 in recognition of the fact that there was no organisation dedicated to the needs of the Production Manager specifically. Since then, the PMF has held about 4 meetings each year, in London usually. The meetings are generally structured with an invited guest speaker or panel; followed by a session in the bar afterwards for ‘informal talks'!
The PMF offers an opportunity to meet up with peers, form networks and discuss important issues. There are currently (2011) 120 members who work freelance, or in buildings, or in drama schools. All minutes of meetings and talks are written up to allow the busy PMs who can't always make the meetings to benefit.
For any queries or to join or request reports of meetings, please contact the SMA on [email protected]. PMF membership is open to members of ABTT, SMA and ITC.
Topics covered since 2000
September 2000, first meeting – what is the PMF about?
November 2000 – general discussion, centred mainly around Health & Safety issues
January 2001 – Public Liability Insurance for Freelancers
April 2001 – Practical Fire Safety for Stage and Sets
June 2001 – Presentation of Technical Standards for Places of Entertainment
September 2001 – CAD Presentation and its use in production work
November 2001 – On the role of the Production Manager
February 2002 – LOLER
June 2002 – Explaining what a quality fitting is
February & June 2003 – Automation and how it can be used
November 2003 – Fire tests on Scenery and Props
February 2004 – Overview of Health & Safety for PMs
July 2004 – Doughty Revolution – Product Development
November 2004 – Negotiating with the Designer – Peter Ruthven Hall
March 2005 – Tony Bond – Technical Training Qualifications
May 2005 – John Watts Memorial Forum (JWMF): Is Technical Training Academic?
July 2005 – The New Working At Height Regulations
September 2005 – Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations & Pyros in Theatre
November 2005 – general forum discussion
February 2006 – TMA get-outs
May 2006 – JWMF: Do theatre technicians need a rigging certificate?
June 2006 – CAD seminar by David Ripley
September 2006 – Employment & the Law, with Jackie Elliman, Legal Officer, ITC
November 2006 – Scenery Builders: what do they need and want from the production manager?
March 2007 – New Fire Regulatory Order – Overview and Changes
May 2007 – JWMF: The New Noise at Work Regulations
September 2007 – Whose H&S Policy is it anyway? Receiving / Touring – a clash of cultures?
November 2007 – Electrical Regulations 17th Edition
March 2008 – What Do Lighting Designers and PMs Need from each other? with ALD
May 2008 – JWMF: Public Liability and Professional Indemnity Insurance
September 2008 – Loading and Unloading – Panel to discuss this thorny issue
November 2008 – Pyrotechnics with Lincoln Parkhouse
March 2009 – meeting with theatre consultants: what works and what doesn't?
May 2009 – JWMF: TMA/BECTU Touring Code of Conduct draft
September 2009 – risk assessing a project in China, with Geoff Joyce
October 2009 – Transport
March 2010 – Automation – Stage One – Priscilla
April 2010 – Use of Projection in Theatre, Dick Straker/Malcolm Mellows (PLASA Focus)
June 2010 – JWMF: LOLER and the Theatre Industry, at ABTT Theatre Show
September 2010 – TMA/BECTU Code of Conduct for Get-Ins etc. – is it working (PLASA 2010)
October 2010 – Use of weapons in theatre with RC-Annie
March 2011 – Forum with group of PMs from Poland, Italy, Bulgaria, Macedonia
April 2011 – Scenery construction – what is the future? Panel discussion
June 2011 – JWMF 10 year anniversary panel discussion: Safety is Not Negotiable
September 2011 – Training for the Code of Conduct (panel discussion)
September 2011 – The Use of Projection in Theatre (panel discussion)
February 2012 – Greener Productions
September 2012 – Connected: Hyperconnected. Live Streaming Theatre – technology for technologies sake or a quantum leap forward if we can get it right?
September 2013 – CDM Regulations
November 2013 – Tech Rider Meeting
