Some amateur theatrical directors and producers have a fear that their prime perfomers will be seduced away and tend to protect them like a lioness with her cubs. It might be worth going along to the group's rehearsals, speaking to the director and then having a short word with the actors present, showing them a clip of a previous production you've made.

In the same way you'll find a wealth of talent at your local video-making society but, in the same way, you'll find that the "senior" members can get a bit shirty if they think that you're poaching their club's talent. Bring along a DVD of stuff you've done and leave it with them to show that you're not just another talker.

You tend to find an "I'm the only gay in the village" mentality with amateur clubs. The resident "experts" get a bit put-out if someone comes along who is actually doing a project, as opposed to just talking about a project. Once you start working with talent you have to use tact and diplomacy, so get used to it by dealing with huffy directors and producers.

Your local college of higher education or university will have notice boards, I suggest getting in quick so that your notices are up in time for the new semester start.

If this is your first project then you'll have loads of problems. There are dozens (yup, literally dozens) of people who underestimate the work involved in producing a decent video but think "it can't be that difficult". They start off, bushy tailed and bright eyed, recruit talent, do a bit of filming and... the project tails off, or ends up as a tacky, amateurish short on Youtube. This happens a lot and the amateur theatre companies, and the film-making societies, know this. You must be able to show them examples of what you've already made.