Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre
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Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre is located in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia at the Wagga Wagga Civic Centre. It is adjacent to Wollundry Lagoon, art gallery and Wollundry Amphitheatre. The Civic Theatre opened in 1963 and was renovated in 1997, opening again in 2001[citation needed].
The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 488 and features an orchestra pit seating up to 38 musicians. The upstairs foyer, which is used for small functions, features a licensed bar and has a seating capacity of 132. The smaller basement theatre located at the rear of the building is the home of the School of Arts Community Theatre (SOACT).
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[edit] History
The theatre was built after community demand for a large public venue and included in the budget of £165,000 were donations from the community. [1]
The construction caused contoversy within the community due to the destruction of parts of the rose gardens to make room for the theatre, concerns about the adequacy of the seating capacity of 497 and criticism of the mural which adorns the front of the building.
The finished theatre was opened on Saturday 29 June 1963 by Ald. Ivan J. Jack during an official ceremony which featured a preview of Oklahoma! the first large production to be staged at the theatre.
Minor upgrades continued until the late 1990s when the theatre received a multi-million dollar upgrade as part of a Civic Centre upgrade. Upgrades in the project included new upstairs and downstairs foyers, complete refurbishment of the auditorium, new scenery loading dock, new sound system and other technical upgrades. However the backstage area remained largely untouched.
Following its re-opening in 2001, the theatre now presents an annual theatre season and hosts national and international touring productions with local professional and community users.
[edit] 2006 season
In 2006 the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre presented 14 different productions as part of its season, named "something to look forward to". These productions were a mixture of many styles of theatre, including shakespeare, musical, circus, comedy, dance, opera, music and children's shows. These performances included:
- The Wharf Review - Stuff All Happens by the Sydney Theatre Company
- It's A Dad's Thing
- The Circus Oz Laughing at Gravity Tour
- Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow
- Jackie French's Hitler's Daughter
- Go Pinocchio
- Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Ensemble
- Moonshadow - The world premiere of a musical tribute to Cat Stevens, which enjoyed a return season
- Oz Opera's Carmen
- Romeo and Juliet by the Bell Shakespeare Company
- Expression Dance Company's Virtually Richard III
- Co-Opera's The Portrait
- The Blonde, Brunette and the vengeful Redhead staring Jacki Weaver
- Who Sank the Boat, and adaptation of the book by Pamela Allen
Other productions presented at the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre in 2006 included a community production of Beauty and the Beast, commedians Arj Barker, Akmal, Lano & Woodley, Ross Noble, and Wil Anderson, Puppetry of the Penis, Dorothy The Dinosaur, Queen: It's A Kinda Magic, Boney M, Herman's Hermits, Charlie Landsborough, The Australian Army Band featuring Marina Prior, Graeme Connors, Chinese National Orchestra and many more local and touring productions.
[edit] References
[1] "History of the Civic Theatre" by Dennis L. Blackett
