A Message from the President

31 March 2021

Welcome to a new year at Arcadians Theatre Group website.

How glad are we that 2020 is now behind us.  All of our activities were severely affected by the pandemic. Arcadians Children’s Theatre (ACT), Lamplighters, Minstrels, Costume and Props hire, and the Monday Maintenance Men (MMM) volunteers all went into hibernation. The impact on many members was significant in that friendships were interrupted, activity and socialising put on hold and the feeling of not knowing when it would all end. Fortunately, previous Management Teams had the foresight to put aside finances for such a drastic change in our activity and consequently, although there was little income for the Group to be able to continue to operate our own theatre there were sufficient funds to continue to progress the extensive renovations that had been planned to commence in November 2020 and keep the theatre viable until the pandemic passed.

When our March production of “Pirates of Penzance” had to be closed with the last weekend of the season cancelled, attention turned quickly to bringing forward the renovations. As a consequence, the planned work was commenced and continued throughout the year under COVID conditions, culminating in their completion in 2021 for our first production with COVID restrictions of “Sweeney Todd”. We can now boast one of the most technically advanced theatres in the State; owned and operated by a purely volunteer Not-for-Profit Company. We thank all the tradesmen and members who gave up their time and expertise in arduous conditions and restricted movement to finish the project ready for opening night.

As Sweeney Todd opened with 75% allowed occupancy and then 100% for the last weekend, we completed the last twelve months in a fantastic position; ready to get back to the new normal of living with the virus.

The new Board of Directors thank the outgoing Board for continuing to take responsibility for the Group for a two-year term rather than the usual one year. A mammoth task to stay in touch with the membership and the internal Groups that call the Miners Lamp Theatre their home. Special mention goes to our Immediate Past President Liza who after 12 years as President and a pandemic has decided to retire. Liza has left the Group in an extremely strong position to move forward in the coming years, but she has vowed to continue working for the Group when called upon.

Another special mention is to Paul Greer who has built the Monday Maintenance Men team up over many years to be an important contributor to the development of the theatre and of individual productions. For health reasons, Paul has stepped back from managing the MMM but still takes a keen interest in their progress. Thank you Paul for your important contributions to the Group over the many years you have been a member. We wish you all the best.

Watch this space as we keep you up to date with what is happening at Arcadians. We treasure the involvement of our members and the support of the general public that continue to follow our progress and attend our productions – even in the most difficult of times.

Watch our Facebook page for announcements of our newly elected Life Members.

We look forward to seeing you at the theatre for our next productions very soon.

Cheers for now,

Steve

President.

Arcadians 2021 Company Board

Thank you so much to the bumper turnout of Arcadians who attended our 56th Annual General Meeting yesterday.  It was very heartening to see so many friendly faces both old and new.

It was also incredibly encouraging to receive so many new nominees for roles on the Board.

We are delighted to announce the Arcadians Theatre Group’s Company Board for 2021 as voted for by our Members: http://arcadians.org.au/about/the-board/

A message from the President

Hi Everyone,

Firstly, from all of us on committee we hope you’re all keeping safe and practicing social distancing. These are strange and troubling times and Arcadians plans to be with you all the way.
The arts have always brought light in dark times, so we’re making preparations to give you light at the other side of COVID19.
So, how are we moving forward? We are flipping 2020 by trying to move our much anticipated theatre refurbishment forward to April/May and move our season to the end of the year!  Ladies in Black will now be on in November and we have moved Sweeney Todd to March 2021.
For the many branches of our Arcadians family tree, this will mean a hiatus of at least 6 months.  ACT, Lamplighters, Minstrels, Costumes, Props and Monday Maintenance volunteers will not have access to the theatre during this time.  We are thinking outside the square and looking at digital solutions to keep them connected.  We are committed to putting the safety of our members first, and while I know that the great camaraderie our volunteers share will be missing, it won’t be over.
We will provide regular updates throughout this period and some sneaky progress shots of the theatre revamp to keep you connected to us.
We have taken the decision, which is supported and recommended by the ACNC (our governing body) to postpone the AGM until later this year, when it is safe again for us to gather and celebrate with our theatre community.   Our current committee has all agreed with this and as a result of that, it would seem my long service leave as President has also been postponed.
We are united in ensuring that Arcadians gets through this awful period together, with humour, respect and kindness.  If you are struggling during this period of social isolation please reach out, we may not be able to hug you, but we can listen and connect.  Please take care everyone, now is the time to bunker down and get creative so we can shine on the other side.

Cheers,
Liza
President

PS – this is the plan for now but this situation is not normal and change can happen quickly – keep watching this space.

Arcos 2020 Update

Refurbishment Banner

We are excited to finally reveal what is happening at Arcadians for the remainder of 2020.

Finalising our mainstage season will be Stephen Sondheim’s SWEENEY TODD directed by Malcolm White in August 2020.

This will be followed by the Arcadians Children’s Theatre production of XANADU Jr in September 2020.

From October 2020, The Miner’s Lamp Theatre will be closed for the remainder of the year as we undergo some major refurbishments to the stage area. This will include a new lighting grid, curtains, backstage legs, stage, a new movable proscenium and more! No expense has been spared to give the Miner’s Lamp a BRAND NEW stage area to benefit our productions, performers, crews, members and patrons for many more years to come.