Is it curtains for local theatre?

Joanna Davies | 10th September 2009

Many hands are hard at work through the evenings across Auckland preparing for the annual rush of local stage productions. Joanna Davies checks the health of amateur theatre companies.

Act I, Scene I
An old schoolhouse converted into a theatre. Enter Grahame Waite, president of the Mairangi Players theatre company, stage right.

The theatre in Birkenhead is not a grand building. The weatherboard hall used to be a schoolhouse, and its age is showing. It retains an old classroom feel, even though the Mairangi Players have occupied it since 1952. The walls are painted red but, instead of pupils facing a blackboard, audiences face a stage.

The tiered seats are old office chairs and the carpet is worn.

More rooms have been tacked onto the original building over the years, to give the company enough room to store props and thousands of costumes.

The two roof trusses resting against one wall will soon be built into the new set for the company's next play, Shining City.

"Our theatre is humble, but it's home,'' says Mr Waite.

Mairangi Players are just one of 18 theatre companies around Auckland. Most survive on help from volunteers who put in time to find costumes or to paint sets.

Many companies worry that their most committed volunteers are getting older, and there aren't enough younger people joining to replenish the stocks.

"It is a case of keeping people involved, and keeping the company vibrant,'' says Mr Waite. "We always have a lot of kids who love acting, but the challenge is harnessing that and keeping them involved when they get older.''

Mairangi Players has 500 members on its mailing list, but Mr Waite says only 40 get involved regularly.

"Our membership fees are $15 per year, and we deliberately keep them that low to encourage new members to join,'' says Mr Waite.

Another problem is promotion.

"For each play, the biggest expense is advertising. We don't have a budget like the Civic, so not everyone finds out about us unless they are already members. This can make finding new audiences and members challenging.''

Act I, Scene II
A modern, purpose-built theatre with rehearsal rooms and a workshop. Enter Rae McGregor, volunteer and committee member at Howick Little Theatre, stage right.

Howick Little Theatre's wardrobe is big enough to get lost in. It's crammed with suits, fur
coats, dresses, hats, and wigs. Boxes of spectacles and tumblers, jewellery and other miscellany are stacked to the ceiling.

"Amateur theatre companies get very good at sourcing the things they need,'' says Mrs
McGregor, as she tries on an art deco polka-dot hat.

"People are very generous when they know that the things we need are for a theatre
production.''

Howick Little Theatre is one of the region's most established. Productions have run since 1954, and the company has staged shows in their own theatre since 1974. It is known well enough in the community to fill at least 80 per cent of its seats for each show.

"A lot of professional actors would be envious of the space we have here,'' says Mrs McGregor. "We are an amateur company, but we try to do everything as professionally as we can.''

But even well-known companies struggle to fill the generation gap between the kids attending drama classes and the dedicated volunteers.

"A lot of our volunteers are getting older so we are trying to encourage younger people to get involved.''

Every person who takes part in a drama class automatically becomes a member of the
company, and Mrs McGregor hopes more children will become involved this way.

Act I, Scene III
A collection of halls converted into a theatre. Enter Sheila Summers, president of Dolphin
Theatre, stage left.

For Ms Summers, involvement in the theatre has been very much a family affair.

She joined Onehunga's Dolphin Theatre in 1969, three years after its establishment, while her mother was the secretary.

"A lot of families do get involved, which is one way to get younger members involved,'' says Ms Summers. "But there is a serious problem that young people aren't as involved as they could be. We all want our theatre to survive and to go on. You might say that I can do a particular job and do it for 20 years, but you've got to teach and encourage people to learn these roles, too.''

Dolphin Theatre is organising technical workshops to teach members about lighting and sound.

"We've had a few younger members taking part in these because it is all done by computer,'' says Ms Summers. "We are also launching one-act plays for young people to get involved with.''

Act I, Scene IV
An old, art deco library and picture theatre, recently renovated into a large theatre. Enter Dorothy Chisholm, president of Playhouse Theatre Inc, stage right.

After a $2 million renovation in 2002, Glen Eden's once tired theatre is now one of the most professional looking auditoriums in West Auckland. It seats 240, and has a 120sq m stage with a motor to rotate sets and cast.

The floors are sprung - essential for dancers - and backstage there are four dressing rooms, toilets and showers.

Rich red curtains with gold tassels are drawn back; the stage is empty.

"This took seven years of fundraising,'' says Mrs Chisholm, as she stands on the stage. "We are very lucky that we have such a beautiful theatre to work in, but when the trust board was formed in the mid-1990s to work on the renovation, the theatre was opened up for community use, and not just for the Playhouse theatre company. This means we are unable to hold children's classes here anymore, which is a shame, because teaching drama in a theatre gives children a greater appreciation of how complex it all is.''

Mrs Chisholm's main concern is attracting enough volunteers to stage productions.

"We really need more 20 to 40-year-olds who have the energy to come and sit around the table and learn about how we do things.

"These people are often too busy or they are starting families, so the theatre is not a priority.''

She describes the group of people currently organising the company as "a bit ancient'' and says more teenagers and people in their 20s could be helping to make the decisions.

"We need young people who are passionate about theatre to keep it going, because the show must go on.''

Act II, Scene I
Enter Claire Buckley, founder of Auckland Community Theatre Trust.

"One of the biggest problems is that many of the theatre societies aren't doing the shows that young people are interested in,'' she says. "A lot of older people are running the societies, and they tend to put on plays that they would like to see, so they need to find the balance to get Generation Y back on stage.''

Mrs Buckley, who is one of the few who falls within the Generation Y age group, says she has had enough of acting in light roles, and wants to see more challenging plays with roles for younger actors.

"There are so many kids who do drama, drama, drama, all through high school, but then they drop off because they don't know where to find good parts.''

Auckland Community Theatre Trust is trying to bridge this gap by promoting school productions and holding a competition for the best show.

"Some students are joining amateur companies because they heard about them through this competition. We are only in our third year of running this, though, so we do have a way to go.''

Another problem is that not every company has a website or publishes its contact details for membership.

"I was speaking to one girl, who had moved here from South Africa, and she had been wanting to join a company here for four years, but she didn't know where to start looking.''

For amateur companies, running a website can be a large expense, especially when they are not-for-profit, says Mrs Buckley.

"We are trying to get more contact details on our website, so people know where to go.

"There are plenty of young people out there who really want to be on stage. It's just a matter of performing plays they are interested in, and making it easier for them to become members.''