16 Highlights of 2016 | BU Performing Arts Society
2016 has been an incredible, and dare I say it, game-changing year for the Bournemouth University Performing Arts Society. The musical theatre based group have gone from strength to strength, from debt to financial success, and from being a University society to a nationally recognised group. So, to mark the start of 2017, here are 16 highlights of 2016.
We cannot look back at each and every milestone, for there are simply too many amazing moments to put into one blog post; however here are some of my personal highlights and moments which made me pinch myself as a member of this society.
16. Bringing Disney to the Stage!
In 2016 PARTS strived to put on performances for all ages, audiences, and tastes. Our Disney showcase brought together classic Disney songs, dances, and scenes as well as new music for an audience made up of students, parents, and kids! The showcase was another fundraising success, bringing in over £300 for our performance.
15: Fundraising Targets SMASHED!
At the beginning of 2016, the Performing Arts Society was severely in debt, which was not ideal for the group as we had a huge production and many costs to pay for! We banded together over the year, doing many big fundraisers, to bring our society out of debt. With the help of the producer, Laura Dodds, and everyone in the society, we went from struggling financially to being extremely successful in ticket sales and events. We slowly built ourselves up, and soon we could afford to book our venues, our band, and pay for set and costume. 2016 was the year we turned the society around in terms of finance. Well done to everyone for their hard work!
14: Merchandise!
2016 was the first year that the Performing Arts Society got some special clobber for the cast and crew working on the production! We had a new logo designed, as well as a special hoody created for society members to wear. The hoody helped us to stand out amongst the other clubs and societies and established us as a group! Everyone recognises PARTS now, brightly coloured and fabulous!
13: STARMAN Blasts off!
As well as raising money through showcases, and bake sales, last year the Performing Arts Society hosted a range of club nights at The Winchester, Bournemouth. With an 80s theme, we organised 'Starman', a disco event in memory of David Bowie. This event was supported heavily by AUB and BU students, as well as locals from the Bournemouth area. The turnout was absolutely fabulous, and we raised over £750 from the event which was a huge help to our musical production fund.
12: Waving the flag for LGBTQ Pride!
Also in 2016, PARTS had the opportunity to participate in so many events led by the Students' Union at Bournemouth University. One of the many events the society was asked to take part in was the first ever Student Pride event. Of course, we jumped at the chance, as a few of our members are LGBT and we wanted to reach out to LGBT students! We took to the stage and entertained BU students with many performances while also promoting our musical production of The Wedding Singer!
11: Star Wars Disco!
Another fundraising club night that PARTS hosted was 'Disco Vader'... A unique, Sci-Fi themed disco and funk event at The Winchester. We had some amazing music, ranging from 80s disco to 70s funk arrangements of the Star Wars theme. Our decor was all Star Wars: think glitter and glitz with a Darth Vader mask on. We made over £300 for the American Idiot fund!
10: 2016 Winter Showcase
The first showcase of the 2016 academic year took place in December and what an incredible showcase it was. More talent, more show-stopping performances, and more SASS! The Performing Arts Society really does know how to put on a great showcase- with dance, rap, group song, solo performances and solo dance breaks. Everyone in the audience had an amazing evening, and the society raised over £200! Hooray!
9: Annual PARTS Awards
Every year, the society ends our time together with the annual PARTS Awards night. This is a chance for everyone in the society to come together, reflect, get a little bit drunk, and to look back at our year and celebrate all of the highs (and lows)! The awards range from 'Biggest Diva' to 'Most Committed' and 'Most likely to end up in jail'! It is a hilarious event, and really brings the year to a nice close. Our 2016 Awards were VERY eventful and brought the cast of The Wedding Singer together for one last event.
8: Membership Doubles for American Idiot!
A personal highlight for the Society would be the increased membership we have experienced this year. Due to the success of The Wedding Singer, the hard work of the new production team Frankie, Alex, Izzy, Jess, Lizzy and Alice and Alex, as well as the popularity of American Idiot- membership went from around 29 to over 55 members not including members who are showcase and back stage members! What an amazing achievement for PARTS.
7: The Flashmob that put PARTS on the map!
In December, PARTS were approached by a PR company to participate in a public dance flash mob- and of course- we jumped at the chance! We learned a cat themed dance routine, performed it in Bournemouth Square in front of hundreds of people, and became an internet hit on the Bournemouth Echo website receiving over 15,000 views on our dance! Check out the below episode of Script to Stage, our weekly vlog, to see our flashmob in full swing!
6: American Idiot SELLS OUT!
This year has been simply mind blowing for ticket sales so far. Already, the Saturday finale of American Idiot has sold out, and the other nights are selling quick! Our new venue, the Shelley Theatre Boscombe, will provide the perfect space for our show, and will have the perfect atmosphere! So don't miss out and book your ticket now!
5: 5* Society
The Students Union at Bournemouth University (SUBU) has supported PARTS since its inception in 2000. Each year, SUBU hosts awards for each society and ranks each society with a star rating. 5* is the highest rating, and requires a lot of fundraising, participation, community impact and innovation in order to be awarded. PARTS was awarded 5* in 2016 due to the hard work of the production team and the cast in bringing the society out of debt, putting on an amazing show, hosting new and exciting fundraisers and getting involved in Bournemouth community more than ever. Personally, being recognised as one of the best societies at BU means that PARTS is becoming more respected and appealing to more students. #PARTSpride!
4: O2 Academy Performance
2016 was a milestone year for the Performing Arts Society. Not only did we become a bigger and better society, but we got the chance to be the first ever society to perform in the O2 Academy Bournemouth at the SUBU Activity Awards. This was the chance of a lifetime for the cast of The Wedding Singer. We got to open the ceremony with a performance of 'It's your wedding day' from the musical, and it went down absolutely brilliantly. Check out the video of the performance!
3: New Committee Elected!
Each year brings with it a new group of passionate and dedicated individuals. 2016 introduced our largest committee yet! We introduced two new roles to the committee; assistant producer and technical director. It is always a bittersweet, but memorable moment, when the old team handover to the new team. This year we marked the occasion by handing our hoodies over to the new team and by meeting up to discuss the society and how it works in more detail!
2: National Societies Awards Success!
One of the biggest highlights for our Society as a whole, was being recognised Nationally by NUS Societies Awards. We were shortlisted for the 'Student Led Event Of The Year' alongside many other events from around the UK. Not only did our musical production get picked out of every single other University, but we placed runner up. The Wedding Singer was, technically, the 2nd best student event in the UK. Not bad eh?
1: The Wedding Singer
"Cause love is what we do!" 2016 was the year of 'The Wedding Singer'... Everything we did as a society was working towards the musical production in March! From auditions, to weekly rehearsals, to each showcase and bake sale. The undisputed musical highlight of the year was the 4 night, smash hit run of The Wedding Singer. The production team worked tirelessly for 6 months to ensure the production was smooth, that the venue was suitable, that costume and makeup worked for the show, and that the cast were confident and happy. Our amazing cast put blood sweat and ... Many.. MANY tears into this show, and it was a joy to watch it all come together. On finale night, the cast presented the crew with gifts and speeches brought tears to everyones eye. It was the personal highlight of my life (as the lucky director), as I am sure will also be the case for many of the production team.
And there it is! 16 of the best moments from 2016! And now we are in 2017, it is a new year and many new highlights are on the way for the Performing Arts Society! Thank you for reading, and stay tuned for more blog posts!
