Do you want to join a local theatre group? Are you interested in staging a show? Perhaps you're a budding amateur lighting technician or a soon-to-be committee member of your local group. Wherever your interest lies, there is something in this essential guide for you. It covers a wide range of key issues, from tips on coping with first night nerves, to a full guide to health and safety, funding, and even taxation issues. Illustrated with handy guides to lighting and staging, and containing such essential resources as useful contacts, sources of local funding, and even a 'theatrical jargon buster', it is written with the endorsement of the National Operatic and Dramatic Association and will be a welcome guide for all those interested in the vibrant local theatre scene.