Emma Pullar, who’s directing Showbiz Queenstown’s 9 to 5 musical, which opens next week, says since they lost their Isle St rehearsal space — also used by Remarkable Theatre — two years ago, "putting on a show of this magnitude is rather tricky".
For 9 to 5 they’ve rehearsed at the Arrowtown Athenaeum Hall, Arrowtown Community Centre, Arrowtown School hall and Queenstown Memorial Centre, "and lugged our props and costumes, speakers, tea, coffee and milk supplies, etc, from space to space in the back of everyone’s cars as we try and build the show".
They were given a private Arrowtown garage to build their set and props and make costumes, and Remarkables Market let them use their Red Barn for set construction.
"A district this size, with this much creative talent and community appetite, deserves a permanent home for performing arts," Pullar says.
"It would then support perhaps more shows — both live theatre and musical theatre — being delivered to our community each year."
Remarkable Theatre president Chris MacKenzie’s also keen on a permanent home they could share with the likes of Showbiz since they’d need the space at different times of the year.
St John kindly lent them their community rooms for rehearsals last year.
"But long term we really want a home where we can set up and be rehearsing and come back to the next night, kind of like we had at Isle St for years."
McKenzie says if they could lease private or council land they’d fundraise to build something, or else they could do up an existing building — "maybe we could renovate an old woolshed".
"As the town grows there may even be another performing arts group that could join up with us and be using that same space."
Margaret O’Hanlon, who has Whirlwind Productions NZ, says "we need a dedicated space that can work between Showbiz, Remarkable Theatre, Whirlwind and any other community theatre group that would like a space where they can develop, perform and store their resources".
"I don’t think you would find this space going to waste."
With her experience of the former QPACT rooms, "we know if you actually give people a place where they can develop the skills, you’re going to get more of it — I think that’s a no-brainer".
