I use computer technology for a whole range of amdram activities - designing sets and lighting rigs, preparing rehearsal schedules and stage management cue sheets. When you go to a printer nowadays with your poster design you don't need a large finished drawing with transparent colour overlays and half and hour's consultation to make sure he gets it right. All you need now is a floppy disc or a CD. Putting a programme together in the old days required an infinite amount of patience. Just when you thought it was all there, the director introduced another character, or props had another five people who required to be thanked effusively for their contributions to the production, or the musical director had added another three musicians to the band, or the production manager had sent an urgent message to put in a free advert for a local retailer who had provided a three piece suit for act two. That meant another three hours at the typewriter, trying to squeeze it all in to meet the minimum number of pages.

The computer has made it all so much easier. Add another name? Simple. Change the font? No problem. And it is all stored neatly for you to use the layout again without starting from square one. But what about this internet opportunity? I have trawled through most of the web sites and they do provide fascinating contrasts. The RSC site is invaluable if you want to plan for visits to future productions and many of the other major companies and theatres have very detailed information about their programmes, seat prices, parallel activities and so on. Amdram sites tend to be more a celebration of past triumphs and recruiting campaigns for future members. It would be more useful as a trading site, sharing available resources like costumes, scenery or even sets of play texts. The internet is here to stay, so let's use it to encourage this curious activity we call amateur drama.

One of my constant complaints is that companies are not particularly willing to offer support to one another. The internet is a wonderful way of advertising your casting needs and informing local actors about the wider opportunities available. This should not be "poaching", but broadening an actor's experience; working with the same company for too long where an actor is always in demand, often makes an actor lazy. The amdram.coms are growing fast and I have already received dozens of enquiries from interested young people who have seen our site. If you are a small group, you could benefit from a bit of surfing to see just what other groups are doing. The web sites will never be an alternative to the poster and the handbill, but over the next decade they will certainly provide a wider audience with information about you and what you do.

Ray Dyer