Cultural Plan 2013-2016 final.pdf - Coffs Harbour City Council ...

As adopted by Council on 28 February 2013
In order for community performing arts to flourish, there is certainly a requirement for
physical resources such as buildings; but for the ongoing development of the community
theatre sector in particular, the continuing development and extension of the skills of the
community participants is a key aspect.
8.3.2 Professional theatre
There is not a large amount of professional performance product available to Coffs Harbour
which requires the scale of facility under discussion, and there is no guarantee that there
would be sufficient product in the future to supply a regular and predictable program to such
a facility.
As a point of reference, in May 2012, the professional performances offered at the
Glasshouse for the remainder of the year were compared with those offered in Coffs
Harbour. Of the thirteen shows in May to December of the Glasshouse Season 2012, six
were also presented at the Jetty Memorial Theatre, which also hosted one further show
which had been at the Glasshouse earlier in the year. A further concert performed at the
Glasshouse during this period was performed in Coffs Harbour at the Botanic Garden.
There were therefore six shows, totaling ten performance nights, where the company or
individual performer made the decision not to perform in Coffs Harbour. Of these, one was a
one-man show , so venue size, either in terms of staging, audience capacity or both can
have been a factor in the decisions for five shows not to present in Coffs Harbour. One of
these five shows - OzOpera - was in fact available to Coffs Harbour for performance at
Sportz Central, where it had been held in previous years, but could not be staged in 2012
because of high demand on the human resources of the local host organization.
8.3.3 Regional Facilities
In this situation it is better to maximize the use of regional facilities, in particular the
Glasshouse. Port Macquarie (PMQ) is currently 2 hrs 15 mins from the Coffs Harbour CBD.
With the completion of the dual carriageway to PMQ in the next few years, this will be
reduced to well under 2 hours. PMQ has taken on a considerable economic burden in the
construction and management of the facility, and in many ways the best argument for a
comparable facility in Coffs Harbour would be the notable success of this facility.
An appropriate goal for cultural planning in Coffs Harbour is not necessarily to build a
comparable facility here, but to enable the people of the region to have access to the
stimulation and recreation of a wide variety of professional theatre and concerts. In that
context, the Glasshouse can be seen as a regional asset to be accessed by Coffs Harbour
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