What is included in the hire?
What services are available at an additional cost?
To assist you in having an enjoyable and successful event at Millfield Theatre we provide various services and additional facilities as indicated below. The Millfield Team are happy to provide help and advice free of charge but once you enter your hire period the charges start applying so think ahead and take advantage of our support!
Box Office & Seating
You can sell tickets in any of the following ways
- Sell all your tickets through the Millfield Theatre Box Office. Tickets sold are subject to 10% + VAT but tickets for your show will also be available through the Millfield Theatre website.
- Millfield Theatre can print your tickets at a cost of 5p + VAT per tickets ( A complete house of 362 seats would be £18.10 + VAT) you are then able to sell your own seats.
- We are happy to print a selection of tickets for your performance so that you are able to sell tickets yourself leaving us with the remainder to sell on your behalf. All commission and printing costs apply)
Things to consider
The layout of the Auditorium must be confirmed before the tickets can be put on sale. These details are essential to determine the seating capacity for your show. We have three main options and these are as follows:-
Maximum Capacity: (362 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 6m deep)
Stage Extension: (321 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 9m deep)
Orchestra Pit: (321 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 6m deep
and Orchestra Pit)
- We can accept credit card bookings
- Online booking is proving very popular and represents a large number of ticket sales
- You cannot generate your own tickets for legal reasons
- If you return any unsold tickets to our box office 7 days before the start of the hire period we may be able to save you the printing costs of the returned tickets
- Wheelchair seats are held by Millfield Box Office, we can sell the wheelchair seats on your behalf or issue them to your box office team as they sell them. It is a venue policy that a wheelchair companion is provided with a seat free of charge. This applies to both hirer’s and professional shows.
- Four seats are automatically held for Steward Seats and are not available for sale under any circumstance.
- Four house seats should be held for contingency in the event of an emergency or problem with bookings. These seats should not be sold under any circumstance as this would defeat the point in holding them. This is common practice in many theatres.
- Any tickets for collection by customers on the night of the performance have to be left with the venue’s box office in clearly labelled envelopes. If the tickets are to be paid for they will be added back onto the venue’s system and sold through the Millfield Box Office therefore attracting the 10% commission charge.
Marketing
The key to having SOLD OUT performances is successful marketing! Why not take advantage of our experience and meet with our team at Millfield to discuss your strategy and look at potential ways to ensure Full Houses.
Although the marketing of your show is your responsibility, Millfield Arts Centre offers a range of products which may facilitate increased audiences numbers.
The Season Brochure
Millfield Arts Centre produces a season brochure three times a year:
- Jan – April
- April – August
- September - Jan
40,000 copies of this brochure are produced, and are distribute to our mailing list, local schools, libraries, arts venues and other public places. Hirers may, for a fee, place copy & an image in the theatre brochure.
- The cost for inclusion in the Millfield Arts Centre brochure is £165 + VAT.
- The brochure is sent to an ‘opt-in’ mailing list of subscribers who have booked in the last 2 years. This is normally around 12,000 addresses.
- This cost includes entry on the Millfield Arts Centre website and in all listings sent out to press.
- This cost includes one mention in The Millfield Bugle, the weekly e-letter to customers, which currently has over 3,500 subscribers.
The deadlines for copy & images to be with the marketing department by are:
- Jan - April. Copy & image no later than second week in October
- April - August. Copy & image no later than first week in February.
- September - Jan. Copy & image no later than last week in May.
NB: The above dates represent last inclusion date. Please forward copy at time of booking if possible.
To present your show to its best advantage, please provide clear, concise copy and a good colour image. Please provide all text and artwork by CD or email to tim.groves@enfield.gov.uk. Due to tight deadlines, we are not able to provide proofs of brochure entries prior to print. Please ensure that your text and image are exactly as you wish before submission.
Millfield Arts Centre reserves the right to edit copy and cannot guarantee to always use an image if it is not of a good enough quality to match others in the brochure.
As the show will be listed in date order, it is not possible to guarantee the amount of page space that a show will receive, however it will not be less than one quarter of a page.
Print & Distribution
Posters and flyers will help to sell your show. Think about eye catching images for your print and remember to include times and dates of performances, ticket prices, venue and the all important Box Office phone number
- Millfield Marketing Department does not produce in-house flyers for theatre hirers.
- Millfield Marketing Department will display posters and leaflets for hirers’ shows in the theatre foyer, in Millfield House and outside the theatre.
- The Millfield Marketing Department does not overprint any print sent through by hirers.
- There is no wall space to display extra publicity on the day of your performance. If you require extra displays in the theatre foyer, you may provide free standing boards for the purpose.
Hirers should ensure they have sufficient publicity to supply the theatre and to organize their own distribution schedule.
Although Millfield Arts Centre cannot produce print for your show, we can provide a list of suitable designers and printers.
Press
Press adverting and editorial coverage of your show may help to sell tickets.
- Millfield’s Marketing Team can supply, on request, a copy of the current press list for you to make your own contact with journalists. We will not contact the press on your behalf.
- Hirers’ events will not be included in any press advertising undertaken by Millfield Arts Centre.
- It is the responsibility of the hirer to arrange press seats.
- It is the responsibility of the hirer to arrange press photographs and ensure that, if a press photographer is to be in attendance at a performance, the Duty Manager for that performance is aware of their presence, their time of arrival and if a member of the company will be available to meet them.
Additional products available
Banners
You may display a banner on the railings outside the theatre for a period of one month prior to the first performance. Depending on space, this will be in the high profile position at the corner nearest the traffic lights leading to the A406.
The banner can be up to 3 meters long, and up to 1.5 meters high.
Price for one month£30 + VAT
Price for each additional month £20 + VAT
E-shots
You can purchase a solus e-shot to the Millfield Arts Centre email list. This will advertise your show to a wider audience, and can direct customers to the page about your show on the Millfield website. You may also include money off ticket offers, which are a good way of gauging the effectiveness of your email.
You may request to send information to the customers of a specific show, or group of shows, or to a specific postcode.
Millfield Marketing department will design an email with your consultation, to suit your needs. Please note that at least three week notice must be given for all e-shots, and that an image and text copy must be supplied.
Per thousand emails sent £50 + VAT (Minimum order £50)
Letters
We can send out a letter on your behalf advertising your show. To comply with data protection laws, this must be operated soley by Millfield Arts Centre, as customer’s data must not be divulged. Millfield Marketing Department will design a letter with your consultation, to suit your needs, print and reproduce it, stuff envelopes and post it to our customer base.
You may request to send information to the customers of a specific show, or group of shows, or to a specific postcode.
Please note: As all correspondence to our customers must be on our behalf, all letters must be produced in-house.
Letter design fee £20 + VAT
Price per 100 letters (printed, stuffed and sent)
1st class post £88 + VAT
2nd class post £78 + VAT
Adverts
Millfield Marketing Team produces a weekly listings advert in at least one local paper each week (currently the Tottenham, Wood Green and Edmonton Journal). A weekly listings advert works well as customers know where in the paper to find our information about Millfield each week.
For a small fee, we can include a listing of your show in this advert, where ever it appears. Please note, for inclusion in this advert, we must receive notification at least 3 weeks before the adverts publish date.
Price for one week £40 +VAT
Price for two weeks £70 +VAT
Extra advertising in the Millfield brochure
If you are paying to include your show in the Millfield brochure, you have the option of purchasing extra advertising space in the same publication. The rates are outlined below
Quarter Page £165 +VAT
Half Page £285 +VAT
Full Page £480 +VAT
Back cover £700 +VAT
You can also choose to include a flyer about your show in the postal mail-out to our opt-in subscriber base.
1 A5 flyer (up to 130gm) £300 + VAT
1 A4 flyer folded to A5 (up to 130gm) £450 + VAT
Competitions
We can include a competition to win tickets for your show on The Millfield Bugle (our weekly e-letter) and on the front page of our website www.millfieldtheatre.co.uk, for a one week period, three weeks before the show. Please note: We must receive notification of the competition at least 4 weeks before your show date. £15 + VAT
Banner ads
We can design and display a banner advert on our website www.millfieldtheatre.co.uk. This will be displayed at the top of the website, on the right hand side.
One week £20 + VAT
Two weeks £30 + VAT
Technical
 The key to a successful and safe production is to arrange a production meeting at least two weeks in advance of your proposed ‘Get In’ to discuss all your technical requirements and costings. Ideally try and include us during your preparation period.
Equipment
Most of the technical and engineering equipment in the theatre is freely available for your use, because of the specialist nature and the high cost of maintenance, it is necessary to make an additional charge if you require the use of some items of equipment.
We cannot guarantee the availability of any item of technical equipment, therefore we recommend a meeting with the venue’s technical team to discuss requirements in advance of your hire.
You can bring in your own equipment or arrange your own hire of equipment from another provider, but you must ensure that all incoming equipment has been suitably tested and if necessary provide suitable certification. If you are hiring from another provider please ensure that all paperwork associated with the hire is in the name of your organization and NOT Millfield Arts Centre.
It may be worth discussing any equipment hire with the Millfield Team as we may have contacts that enable a more favaourable cost and if agreed we could hire the equipment on your behalf.
Scenery
Millfield Theatre is classed as an open stage, even with a temporary proscenium arch, there are several restrictions as to the materials you can use for the construction of scenery. The use of any type of untreated sheet material (non-Class 1 approved) such as ply, hardboard, chipboard, blockboard etc. is not allowed unless it is at least 18mm (3/4") thick. The use of softwood is restricted to 36mm x 18mm (2" x 1" PAR) or larger.
The use of any type of polystyrene or expanded foam is usually banned, unless it can be completely encased in glass fibre, or several layers of an inherently or durably fire proofed material.
Any cloth used in set construction, such as canvas or cotton sheeting should be either inherently, or durably fire resistant.
It is not normally permitted to treat any materials used in set construction yourself, except on small amounts of material  which are unavailable in any fire resistant form. It is unacceptable for you to spray your own set with any type of treatment. All treatment of set materials must normally be carried out either during its manufacture, or by a processor recognised by the licensing authority.
If you require to use thinner timber or sheet materials, then they must be treated by a registered processing company to a standard reaching Class 1 (BS467 Pt.7). Any plastics used must be capable of passing the tests laid out in BS2782 Pt5, methods 508A or 508D, amendment AMD 1524.
Get-In/Fit-Up
The responsibility rests with your company to 'turn the theatre round' to the layout you require for your production.
However, the staging requirements must be confirmed before the tickets can be put on sale. These details are essential to determine the seating capacity for your show. We have three main options and these are as follows:-
Maximum Capacity: (362 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 6m deep)
Stage Extension: (321 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 9m deep)
Orchestra Pit: (321 Seats with a stage 9m wide x 6m deep
and Orchestra Pit)
In addition to these options, you will need to allow for additional seats to be blocked out if you require a sound desk in the auditorium. The Theatre sound desk is located in the control room and is not to be moved without prior arrangement.
Please do not assume the theatre will look like it did the day you viewed it, we do not always have the prosc. arch up, the pit open, etc. As specified before, the staging requirements need to be confirmed well in advance with the finer details being discussed at a production meeting.
Manpower to complete the turnround should be provided by your company to keep your costs down, although the theatre staff can complete any layout changes necessary, but at an additional cost.
It is expected that all personnel working in the Millfield Theatre Complex will be adequately trained in the task’s being undertaken. Suitable Personal Protective Equipment [PPE] must be worn, eg. Dust mask, goggles, gloves and harness etc - a harness and a number of hard hats are available on request. Safe working practices must be followed at all times. It is the responsibility of the visiting company to ensure compliance with these matters.
When focusing lighting equipment, it is a mandatory requirement that a safety harness is used, together with appropriate safety gloves, and extra personnel to be available where ladders are utilised.
In the event of lantern failure a member of theatre staff must attend the fault, and it should be understood that this may result in the item of equipment being removed from service. Under no circumstances should other personnel attempt any repairs or maintenance to electrical equipment.
Insurance
It is a mandatory requirement that the work of your crew is covered by a Public Liability Insurance policy. Whilst we will supervise and check the work done by your crew, this should be protected by your own insurance.
Risk Assessment
We require you to complete a written risk assessment prior to the start of your show detailing all risks associated with all aspects of the production and the measures in place to reduce these risks. We can advise you on the correct completion of this documentation if required.
Get-Out
At the end of your stay you are required to remove your own scenery, props and costumes from the theatre. The piano - if used - to be returned to the store.
THE THEATRE MUST BE LEFT AS IT WAS FOUND.
THE ONLY EXCEPTIONS ARE THE STAGE LAYOUT & THE LIGHTING DESIGN IN THE GRID.
ALL BACKSTAGE AREAS MUST BE CLEAR OF TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT USED, DISCARDED SET AND GENERAL RUBBISH. DRESSING ROOMS SHOULD BE CHECKED FOR PERSONAL POSSESSIONS AND RUBBISH SHOULD BE PLACED IN DRESSING ROOM WASTE BINS.
THE STAGE SHOULD BE SWEPT AND LEFT IN A BLACK BOX FORMAT.
NO EATING OR DRINKING IS ALLOWED AT ALL IN THE CONTROL BOX. IT SHOULD, AGAIN, BE LEFT AS IT WAS FOUND.
ALL PATCHING SHOULD BE UNPLUGGED, CABLES STORED ON WALL, MICROPHONES SHOULD BE STORED AWAY IN CUPBOARD, SOUND DESK CLEANED OF ALL DISPLAY TAPE.
THE DIMMER ROOM CAN NORMALLY BE LEFT PLUGGED UP.
ALL TRACKS & TRACKED DRAPES OR TABS USED THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE STANDARD SET UP MUST BE TAKEN DOWN AND STORED IN WORKSHOP. |
Staffing
The Theatre provides a Technician on site at all times whilst you are occupying the building. The Technician is there to advise and assist on the best or easiest way to achieve the result you require. They can train any of your technical staff, stage crew or stage management in the correct operation of the Theatre systems, and will be on hand throughout your time with us in case of any problems. The Venue Technician is on site only in an advisory capacity and should you require a technician to operate or work on your performance this would be a chargeable extra.
Useful Contacts
Main point of contact for hires (including Financial & Technical)
Marc Day 07983 987218 Marc.day@enfield.gov.uk
Marketing
Tim Groves 0208 887 7305 tim.groves@enfield.gov.uk
House Hires
Duty Managers 0208 803 5283
Box Office 0208 807 6680
Fax 0208 807 3892
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