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Membership / Joining Information
Membership Handbook
Welcome to the Arts Theatre Cronulla.
As a member of our group you will enjoy many privileges,
not the least of which will be enjoying Cronulla's only theatre.
In today and tomorrow's world, we are confronted with a
multitude of media. While we agree it is good to have a broad
spectrum of artistic appreciation, theatre is still alive!
Our group (now your group) enjoy not only the experience
of watching and enjoying theatre, but the experience of
participation. To manage, control, produce and perform requires
not only talent, but energy .
We are very pleased to welcome you as a member, and hope
that you will use your membership to increase the theatre experience
and take pleasure in every aspect of our activities. Some of
us are actors, some are technicians. Some can sew, some can
paint, some can manage and some merely enjoy the experience
of theatre. Whatever your level of participation, your membership is appreciated,
and you are most welcome. The purpose of this booklet is to offer you
some of the opportunities that are extended to our members.
Welcome.
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The word “amateur” as defined in the dictionary refers to a person who
engages in an activity for the love of, rather than for gain.
We disagree. As you probably know, those of us who are engaged in
amateur theatre do so for a specific gain. In our case, that is definitely
not money, it is for enjoyment, and if that's not a gain, we don't know
what is. The productions at the Arts Theatre Cronulla may be amateur, but are anything but amateurish. The passion and the energy
(and the knowledge!) which you and I expend result in the performance of productions that could be more accurately described as professional. The only real difference between our performances and
those who earn their living in the theatre is that they are paid, or
receive their gain through joy and money -we receive our gratification through joy alone.
Our formall origins can be traced to “ad-hoc” performances held at various halls in the Cronulla Areas in the mid Fifties.
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A meeting was held by a number of residents of Cronulla and
neighbouring areas interested in the formation of a local Drama Group.
At this meeting the CronullaDramatic Society under the leadership of
Mr .Ron Martin was founded.
A hall in the Cronulla School of Arts was hired and from
time to time performances were given to an audience made up of
members and their families. In 1959 the Society joined the School of
Arts and changed its name to the Cronulla School of Arts Theatre Group.
In 1961, because of financial problems, the trustees of the School
of Arts approached the Education Department -who were then
responsible for the administration of Schools of Arts in NSW -and
received approval to transfer the building to the Sutherland Shire
Council. The Theatre Group and the Cronulla Chess Club, who were
also using the School of Arts facilities for their meetings, joined forces
to approach the Education Department to prevent the transfer. They
were successful in obtaining a stay of transfer until such time as the
matter was resolved for a Special General Meeting at the 1962 AGM.
It was resolved that the Education Department be requested to ne-
gate their original decision and a Management Committee was
appointed under the Chairmanship of Ron Martin. In 1963 the Theatre
Group decided to change its name to the Arts Theatre Cronulla
and with the support of the School of Arts it also decided to open its
doors to a paying public. The School of Arts made this possible by
using its funds, approximately £2500 -to build a stage and
install theatre seating. The Arts Theatre, with Ron Martin its first
Director, officially opened in 1963 with a performance of 'Will Any
Gentleman".
In those first couple of years audiences were small- in fact ,
members found it difficult to give tickets away to shoppers in
Cronulla on Saturday mornings for performances that evening.
However, in 1965 the theatre staged "The Shifting Heart", directed by
Ron Martin, which proved very popular and drew good audiences.
This production was entered in the Sydney Waratah Drama Festival
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and won the "Best Australian Play" award. In the next two or three
years a second place, "Best Actress" and "Best Producer" awards
were attained. Subsequently the festival was discontinued and the
only competition entry in recent years was one conducted under the
auspices of the Sutherland Shire Council, attracting entries from all
over NSW and in which "The Cage Birds"' directed by Mrs. Doreen
Grant won second place.
By the end of the sixties the theatre was able to boast full houses
for each performance on Friday and Saturday evenings in its seven
week run. With full houses came financial success and all monies
earned were ploughed back into the theatre operation. The theatre
was air conditioned and carpeted and the Technical Control Room
was equipped with modem up-to-date sound and lighting equipment
which added considerably to the standard of performances.
With the financial assistance of Ms. Clare Gannon, a member of the
theatre, a large area spanning the width of the building was added to
the back of the stage, thus providing dressing room facilities for the
cast who had previously had to change in the very cramped wings of
the stage. The Theatre is proud of the fact that all profits derived from
Box Office sales, after meeting the very considerable cost of mounting
productions, are used to improve facilities for the actors and techni-
cians and to provide comfort for the patrons. One of its proudest
claims is that it has always been self-sufficient, never having received
a grant of any kind.
The demand for seats by the public was such that in the late
seventies it was decided to have Wednesday evening performances.
For many years now patrons have been able to enjoy cheese and
wine after the show giving them the opportunity to mingle with the
actors and technicians. In 1990 the theatre took over the adjoining
shop which had previously been occupied as a coffee house. A mod-
em kitchen was installed to cater for both interval refreshments -
complimentary coffee or tea and biscuits -and after show cheese and
wine. The supper room is now fully air-conditioned and the atmosphere
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is theatrical with walls covered with framed photographs of
productions spanning the years.
Many actors having appeared at the Arts Theatre have since
made their mark in professional theatre and television, perhaps
the most well known being Mrs. ]oyce]acobs, who plays the part
of Esme in " A Country Practice". There is no doubt that since its
formation in 1963 the Arts Theatre has made remarkable progress
and is now one of the few "little theatres" providing continuous
performances in Australia-
We are blessed with an excellent theatre.
This was not always the case - patrons viewed productions on a
level floor and the Theatre had few of the facilities we enjoy
today. Extensive renovations and improvements have taken place
over the years including: racked seating, new stage and a new control
room, new toilets & new dressing room/green room. All of these
innovations not only improved audience comfort and production values, but created an excellent acoustic theatre environment. In 1991 the air-conditioned theatre was re-carpeted and modern, fully upholstered seating for
123 people was installed.
We have always taken advantage of technical innovations and we currently
have a late mode136 circuit light control, a custom built sound
control system and full talk back facilities from stage to dressing
room {which is also large and comfortable).
Page 5
Our Theatre complies with council regulations, and the
extensive statutory regulations that apply to public meeting
places. This ensures our patrons and participants in the theatre
the best facilities and the most highly rated safety precautions.
The Arts Theatre Cronulla is a part of the Cronulla School of Arts,
an incorporated body which encourages community participation in a
wide variety of cultural pursuits. The School of Arts Management Committee
delegates the responsibility of the Arts Theatre to a separate Theatre
Management Committee. Your membership of The Theatre also
covers membership of the Cronulla School of Arts and entitles you to
similar voting rights at their AGM.
Our committee is elected annually to fulfil the obligations of
running the theatre as an effective organisation. Any member with
three months standing may vote at the annual general meeting, and
any member with six months membership can stand for and be
elected to the committee at the Annual General Meeting held in Feb/March every year .Responsibility for productions is in the hands of 'Resident Producers', appointed and supported by the general committee. From time to time, guest producers are invited to stage productions.
Page 6
Castings are announced in our Newsletter which is forwarded to all
members, and are also advertised in local and metropolitan media.
Our criteria for participation in productions is that the person
selected for a role is a member of the Arts Theatre. Once selected for
a play, a cast member must realise that the Director is the sole captain
of that particular ship. Rehearsal times are set by the director, and
must be met by anybody who wishes to participate. The minimum
rehearsal requirements are usually 7 or 8 weeks. Due to limited
resources, there is no opportunity to provide understudies, therefore
each actor must be prepared to commit the time and the energy to
those rehearsals. Our audience expectations are as high as any
professional theatre, therefore our productions must reflect this.
If you successfully audition for a play you must be prepared to
accept that there are very few reasons for missing rehearsals, and
even fewer for missing a performance. It' s wise to realise that there
are many people depending on your presence at a rehearsal and
certainly for performance.
To produce a play that meets the standards our audiences ~
expect, we have to consider not only the actors but those who assist
in other capacities. These people include technical people (that is
lighting and sound), front of house people (those who provide the
audience with a welcome to the theatre and help with the preparation
of suppers and so on), box office people (those who collect and
issue tickets), scenery , costume, and ancillary workers, all of whom
have an equal contribution to our productions.
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Performances commence at 8.00pm.
Each production is for the duration of at least seven weeks. If you are
a member of the production team (that is an actor or technical assistant)
you must report to the Stage Manager by 7.30pm and avoid
contact with patrons before curtain call and during the performance
(to be contrary would only destroy the illusion that so many people
have worked so hard to produce). During the production the Stage
Manager assumes responsibility for a performance's smooth running.
Cast and crew are entitled to 4 complimentary tickets for their
production. ~
.
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The Theatre is a resource for the enjoyment of all and conduct in
the Theatre must conform to the highest community standards.
The following rules are in place to ensure the comfort, safety and
smooth running of our Theatre-
.No Smoking
.No consumption of alcohol prior to or during a performance.
.Access to back stage is strictly limited and is at the discretion
of the Stage Manager.
.No Theatre property is to be removed from the Theatre-
.Membership of the Arts Theatre Cronulla is limited to those
who are prepared to participate, whether actually performing
or assisting in the staging of a production.
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As a member of the Arts Thearte Cronulla, you are certainly privileged.
You are encouraged to participate in whatever capacity you can. We
need your help and want you wherever possible to give of your
time and energy to help our productions maintain a quality that
is the envy of many theatres.
Don't be scared to announce your presence. ~
As with any organisation, we are only as strong as our
members. Don't be afraid to let your name be known to the
committee (whoever they may be at the time of your reading)
and our resident producers. As we said at the beginning of the
booklet, we welcome your membership and look forward to your
support in any way that you can provide it. There is no modesty
in the theatre. We are proud of our previous achievements and
of our future productions, and we are confident that with your
support we will continue to provide an excellent community
theatre and high standards of theatre.
-Welcome !
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Arts Theatre Cronulla
8 Surf Road, Cronulla NSW 2230 ,
I.0 Telephone: 523 2779 ,
This booklet was prepared by Neil Reilly with the support of the 1992/93 Management committee
of the Arts Theatre Cronulla
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