ABC Classic FM live concert, Canberra Theatre; Artists: Dominant SEVEN; April 2007

The Canberra Theatre Centre is the Australian Capital Territory’s central performing arts venue and Australia’s first performing arts centre, the first Australian Government initiated performing arts centre to be completed, that opened on Thursday 24 June 1965 with a gala performance by the Australian Ballet. ABC Classic FM is Australian classical radio station available in major centres around the country. ... April 2007 is the fourth month of 2007 A.D. It began on a Sunday and will end after thirty days on a Monday. ... Capital Canberra Government Constitutional monarchy Administrator none Chief Minister Jon Stanhope (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 2  - Senate seats 2 Gross Territorial Product (2006)  - Product ($m)  $19,167 (6th)  - Product per capita  $57,303/person (1st) Population (End of November 2006)  - Population  333,667 (7th)  - Density  137. ... The performing arts are those forms of art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artists own body, face and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some... The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy, a federation, and a parliamentary democracy. ... June 24 is the 175th day of the year (176th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 190 days remaining. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Australian Ballet is a leading Ballet dance company in Australia. ...

The Centre is sited in the heart of Canberra's City Centre, beside the ACT Legislative Assembly and backing onto City Hill, one of the apexes of the Parliamentary Triangle. City Walk, a pedestrian mall in Civic is a focus of retail activity and outdoor dining. ... The Legislative Assembly is the only chamber of parliament in the Australian Capital Territory. ... The Parliamentary Triangle is the ceremonial precinct of Canberra and contains the Parliament (which also houses the executive branch and the High Court of Australia. ...

Centre History

Thespis (1965), sculpture by Robert Cook, commissioned for the opening of the Canberra Theatre

Originally the complex was two separate buildings: the Canberra Theatre and the The Playhouse, which were linked by a covered walkway. Thespis of Icaria (6th century BCE) is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor in a play although the reality is undoubtedly more complex. ...

The Canberra Theatre was built as a 1200 seat lyric theatre to house national and international touring companies; The Playhouse seating 310 was for local arts companies and the smaller scale touring companies. Lyric Theatre is a common name for performing-arts houses, including: Australia Lyric Theatre Brisbane, Queensland Lyric Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales U.S. Lyric Theatre in Kansas City, Missouri. ...

1965: The Playhouse was officially opened on 18 August 1965 with a production of Peter Ustinov’s Romanoff and Juliet, produced by the Canberra Repertory Society. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Ustinov at Large (book cover) Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov, CBE (16 April 1921 – 28 March 2004), born Peter Alexander Baron von Ustinov, was an Academy Award-winning British-born actor, writer, dramatist and raconteur of French, Italian, German, Russian and Ethiopian ancestry. ...

1971: The covered walkway linking the two venues was enclosed to create more foyer and function space for the Canberra Theatre and improved box office facilities. 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday. ...

1975: The Playhouse was given improved backstage storage space, wardrobe facilities and addition dressing rooms. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ...

1982: The Courtyard Studio - a rehearsal room/cum 90-seat venue, administration offices, and a scene construction workshop including a hydraulic paint frame (used for painting stage set canvases), were completed. The Centre boasts one of the very few paint frames in Australia. 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In drama, the set (or setting) is the location of a storys action. ...

1988: The Canberra Theatre auditorium, foyer and link were extensively refurbished so that the facilities were comparable to those of other major performing arts centres throughout the country. 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

1998: The rebuilt Playhouse opened. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...

Refurbishment

From the mid-1990s a two year consultation process occured between the Canberra Theatre Centre staff and the architects leading to the demolition of The Playhouse and its rebuilding as a new venue. It opened in April 1998. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ...

Instead of a conventional fan shaped auditorium and proscenium arch stage used in most Australian theatres built in the 1900s, the design has the form of a semi circular drum with seating in the stalls and two balconies, with 'boxes'. The capacity is 618 seats. The design is reminiscent of theatres in Greece of antiquity and the Elizabethan theatres of the late 1500s. An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ... A proscenium arch is a square frame around a raised stage area in traditional theatres. ... A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be given. ... The Elizabethan Era is the period associated with the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 - 1603) and is often considered to be a golden age in English history. ...

The theatre has dressing rooms on two levels, wardrobe, a green room, a reception room and the foyer (with bar and cafe), which wraps around the drum. For the music studio, film or online magazine named The Green Room, see The Green Room A green room is a room in a theater, studio, or other public venues for the accommodation of performers or speakers when not required on the stage. ... ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations in the United States, first enacted by Congress in 1975, exist to regulate and improve the average fuel economy of cars and light trucks (trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles) sold in the US. Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is the sales weighted...

Canberra Theatre - important performances

Dame Margot Fonteyn performed with the Australian Ballet at the centre in October 1970. From the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s many international artists performed, including Dame Joan Sutherland. Canberra Opera presented a full-scale production of La Traviata and the Canberra Theatre Trust presented a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore. Other performers during this time included the Bell Shakespeare Company, the Black Light Theatre of Prague and the Dave Brubeck Quartet. ^{[1] [2]} More recently, The Whitlams used the theatre during their early Australian tours in the early 2000s, and the Aboriginal Bangarra Dance Theatre performed here in 2006. Dame Margot Fonteyn, DBE, (18 May 1919 - 21 February 1991), the British assoluta was considered the worlds greatest ballerina of her time. ... Australian Ballet is a leading Ballet dance company in Australia. ... 1970 was a common year starting on Thursday. ... Joan Sutherland as Haydns Euridice, Vienna 1967 Dame Joan Sutherland OM, AC, DBE (born November 7, 1926) is an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the bel canto revival of the 1950s and 1960s. ... La traviata, an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, takes as its basis the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848. ... W. S. Gilbert Arthur Sullivan Librettist William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911) and composer Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842–1900) collaborated on a series of fourteen comic operas in Victorian England between 1871 and 1896. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: HMS Pinafore H.M.S. Pinafore, or The Lass that Loved a Sailor, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. ... The Bell Shakespeare Company is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare. ... Dave Brubeck (born December 6, 1920 in Concord, California) is an American jazz pianist who wrote a number of jazz standards, including In Your Own Sweet Way and The Duke. ... The Whitlams is an Australian band famous for songs such as No Aphrodisiacand Blow up the Pokies. The Whitlams sound can best be described as Piano rock founded in lyrics of charming cynicism. The bands name is a tribute to former Australian Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. ... The 2000s are the current decade, spanning from 2000 to 2009. ... Australian Aborigines are the main indigenous people of Australia. ... Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Australian contemporary dance company. ...

The Playhouse - important performances

Local companies to use the Playhouse have included Canberra Opera; Prompt Theatre; choreographer Meryl Tankard's Company; The Theatre Players; Canberra Dance Ensemble; National Music Theatre; Canberra Little Theatre; Canberra Children’s Theatre; Stage Craft for Singers; Canberra Gang Show; Canberra Comedy Theatre Company; Jigsaw Theatre Company. For several years the Woden Valley Youth Choir presented their annual concert there. The Playhouse has been used for conventions, meetings, including naturalization ceremonies by the Department of Immigration. Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... A Gang Show is an amateur theatrical performance, generally of a high standard, where the cast is made up of principally youth members of Scouts and Guides and a minority of adult leaders. ... Naturalization is the act whereby a person voluntarily and actively acquires a nationality which is not his or her nationality at birth. ...

The Playhouse has also housed productions by visiting companies. These included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead from the Old Tote Theatre Company; Dennis Olsen in Percy and Rose and Benjamin Franklin; David Williamson plays Travelling North and Sanctuary; Melbourne Theatre Company; chamber music concerts by Musica Viva and others; Robyn Archer in A Star is Torn; Pam Ayres; Googie Withers; productions by NIDA; various Bell Shakespeare Company performances (John Bell); pianist David Helfgott; as well as various comedians and entertainers. ^[3] Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a humorous, absurdist, tragic and existentialist play by Tom Stoppard, first staged in 1966. ... Dennis Olsen (born February 28, 1938 in Adelaide, South Australia), is an accomplished pianist, actor, director and is Australias leading exponent of Gilbert and Sullivan operas. ... Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Please wikify (format) this article or section as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The Melbourne Theatre Company, which is the oldest professional theatre in Australia, known popularly as MTC, is based in the Ferrars Street complex in Southbank, Victoria, which serves as its administrative, costuming and rehearsal base. ... Musica Viva Australia is the oldest independent performing arts organisation in Australia and the worlds largest entrepreneur of chamber music. ... book cover Pam Ayres MBE (born March 14, 1947) is a British writer of humorous poetry. ... Googie Withers (born March 12, 1917 in Karachi, Pakistan) is a British actress. ... The acronym NIDA stands for: The National Institute of Design & Analysis, in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan The National Institute of Dramatic Art, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia The National Institute on Drug Abuse, a branch of the National Institutes of Health in the United States The National Internet Development Agency... The Bell Shakespeare Company is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare. ... John Bell (born 1940) is an acclaimed Australian actor and theatre personality. ... David Helfgott (born May 19, 1947) is an Australian pianist, born in Melbourne to Polish-Jewish parents, whose life inspired Australian director Scott Hicks Oscar-winning film Shine. ...

External links

• Canberra Theatre
• Canberra Ticketing (box office bookings)

References

1. ^ Canberra Theatre history accessed 16 April 2007
2. ^ 17 August 2005 Hansard, ACT Legislative Assembly accessed 16 April 2007
3. ^ Playhouse history accessed 16 April 2007