Is it normal to be charged a bond in amateur musicals?

I agree (that a venue is a venue), which is why I asked the question. Personally, I've worked in small venues, fitting 30 people, with limited lighting, no flying rigs, basic sound equipment... and yet today I visited my uni theatre, and discovered they'd updated their equipment to include new lighting desks, an Apple and sound op. programs... Which is the more professional one? Interestingly, the reason they have new equipment is because more and more techies need to learn the 'high-end' equipment, because this is what's used in big venues and on large shows. (I felt slightly jealous here) On the other hand, the lecturer complained that he doesn't have enough time to fully teach the students more than the basics - and that the equipment is too advanced to go into properly in the short time that he has with them. What's a pro venue? Here's a great anecdote - when I was starting uni, I ended up doing a show in a library, where they had a venue set up. It was a proper venue; lighting, sound, backstage area, foyer... But the lighting was clearly out of date, with copper wires visible, and a 8 channel manual fader/desk (no possibility of even doing a chase!), plus some old lights which were not tagged and tested for at least five years. The sound consisted of a CD deck attached to some speakers. The lighting rig was hung from two FOH bars so high up that you'd need a scaffold or extra-long ladder to reach; no harness provided, no scaffold, just an extendable ladder (without hooks mind you, so you had to rest the top of the ladder against either the ceiling or the bars, which made for a very very steep climb)... The stage lx wasn't much better. The 'backstage' consisted of a storage room, where there was no backstage lighting. The backstage could be reached by corridors, but unfortunately, you had to remember which door to open, because at least one on each side of the stage would trigger a fire alarm. On any number of occasions, I can remember the lift not working - the only access out of library hours to the venue. On top of all of this, the library 'theatre manager' was... you guessed it, a librarian. I have nothing against librarians, but when you ask the theatre manager to change a light globe for one of the stage lights, you expect them not to pull out an everyday desklight globe. ... After considering my memories of this... I guess a pro venue is at the very least, one that is run by and for theatre people, with at least something resembling a safe working environment. My only two criteria. "I like reading what you have to say on things, you make some very astute observations!" Thank you. Occasionally there is a flash of intelligence :P Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.thepromptcopy.com/pip My puppets www.collectzing.com/collection/137/