Shopfront Arts Co-Op
Formation1976
HeadquartersCarlton, NSW, Australia
Executive Director/CEO
Daniel Potter
Creative Director
Natalie Rose
Creative Producer/Access and Inclusion
Lauren Oakes
Young Leader
Georgia Tyrril
Websiteshopfront.org.au
Old Façade of Shopfront

Shopfront Arts Co-op is a theatre facility, with three rehearsal studios, sound studio and digital film editing suite, located in Carlton, New South Wales, Australia. Also known as Shopfront Theatre For Young People, its stated aim is to provide space, resources, training, and development opportunities for young artists, aged between 8 and 26.

Company history

Comedian and Artistic Director Julia Zemiro has been one of the teaching staff at Shopfront.
Trevor Ashley, seen at the Helpmann Awards, began his acting and performance career at Shopfront.

Shopfront was formed in 1976 in Penshurst, by Errol Bray and Garry Fry, two theatre directors, devoted to providing opportunities for upcoming writers, actors and directors, because, in the words of Bray: "Too often the expression and creative ability of young people is patronised or ignored."[1][2][3]

Australian actors have started careers there or taught there, such as actors Trevor Ashley and Paul Capsis, director Andrew Upton and comedian Julia Zemiro.[4][5][6][7]

Productions have been as diverse as The Greening of the Common in 1983 (about the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp), Detective Story by Sidney Kingsley and Jean-Paul Sartre's In Camera both in 1991 to Romeo and Juliet in 2015.[8][9][10][11] Its company was invited to perform its play Piece by Piece for International Youth Year at the United Nations in June 1985.[12]

Shopfront started running workshops in Hurstville under the name St George Theatre for Young People.[3] It began in a dancehall on Carlton Parade, an adjacent house and two shops – a women’s fashion store and a butcher shop – hence the name Shopfront Theatre.[3] In 1979 the co-operative raised money to buy the building – through 50-hour Actathons, costume parades, raffles, income from show, donations they raised $43,000, and with the additional help of Rockdale and Hurstville Council, the NSW Government, with a bank loan the building was purchased by the young people's coop.[3] Thirty years later Shopfront was still at the venue but had shortened its name to Shopfront.[3] The organisation shut down 1990 for seven years, by 1997 it had "risen from the ashes."[8] Thanks to funding from Australia Council for the Arts and the Member for Banks, the site was redeveloped as a three-storey creative arts and community centre for the region.[13]

Current building of Shopfront Arts Co-Op

Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend and "Interplay"

From 1977 Shopfront initiated and hosted the Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend.[2] Held annually, this weekend congress brought together youth from all over the country who were actively writing for live theatre. Local professional acting and writing talent such Max Gillies as Anna Volska and Pamela Van Amstel volunteered as mentors, and attendees' plays would be workshopped privately or performed in full in the Shopfront theatre space.[2][14] The event ran into the 1990s.[14]

In 1984 the concept evolved to become the ambitious "World Interplay", billed as The 1st International Festival of Young Playwrights, which drew more than 40 participants from the UK, Europe, Central America and the USA.[15] The first patrons of the festival included Dorothy Hewett, Edward Bond and Stephen Sondheim.[15]

Notable former members

Productions

Year(s) Title Notes
? Bella's Caravan Conducted by Christina Mimmocchi
Za Dusa
Detective Story Directed by Jeremy Rice
Mary Queen of Scots Directed by Gemma Garner
St George and the Dragon Produced by Christina Mimmocchi
Picnic at Hanging Rock Directed by Jeremy Rice
Gannon's Forest Gothic
Laugh or Die Directed by Julia Zemiro
Laugh and Have No Care Directed by Alison Richardson
Rated X Directed by Jeremy Rice, winner of AWGIE for best play
1977 The Playground Play[17]
Thirteen
1978 Cappelletti by John Turnbull
Kid's Cabaret
Playground Re-Play[17]
Concrete Sox
1979 Childmyth
Quest for the IYC Touring Company
The Playground Play Touring Company
1980 A Rose For Zhivord Gardovich
Replica
The Caravan Touring Company
1983 Room – The Musical
1985 Piece By Piece As part of the 1985 US/Canada Tour
1986 Power Play Directed by Kingston Anderson, as part of the 1986 UK Tour
Great Australian Family Show Directed by Cathy Henkel
1990 Types Like Us Directed by John De Feu, as part of the Pacific Rim Tour
When the Sky Falls Directed by Michael McLaughlin, as part of the Pacific Rim Tour
1992-1993 RATED M Directed by Kaela Scott, winner of the Australia Day Award 1994
2002 Live By The Die
2003 Make RAW Not War
CODA Directed by TJ Eckleberg
Frog Rocket
2004 RAWAir
Wadya Call Me? Directed by TJ Eckleberg
Menus 4 Madness
Off the Wall
Shimmerer
2005 Drop It Like It's RAW
Angels in the Architecture Directed by TJ Eckleberg
The(Neo)Sun
Shifting Spirits
2006 RAW On Fire
POP UP! Directed by TJ Eckleberg
The Tuesday Clan
2007 Polyphonic Bonus Features Directed by Chris Ryan
RAW – Shaken & Stirred
A City of Shadows and Ice Directed by TJ Eckleberg
Kaboom: ArtsLab Residency Showing
2008 Dracula's Cabaret Disco
RAW No Use-By Date
(Lost Toy Story) Directed by TJ Eckleberg
Atomiser: ArtsLab Residency Showing
Villainous Business
2009 Rambos on Rollerskates
RAW Reanimated Meat
Superperfect
Three: ArtsLab Residency Showing
Too Good To Be True
2010 Detours and Destinations
At the Drive-In
Imagine Title Here
2011 Machine Atlas
Island
2012 Arcade Assembly
DanceHall Daze
2013 Travel Songs of Sea and Land
A Walk in the Dark
The Drawing
2014 CITADEL
Out of Line
The Hungry Games
2015 Romeo and Juliet
Chasing Your Shadow
2016 Piece by Piece Redux
Welcome To My World
The Greg Show
2017 ArtsLab: TREATS
Telling Myths, Telling Lies
Star-Crossed
Umami
Un(Talented)
2018 Voices and Visions
ArtsLab: BREAK GLASS (IN CASE OF EMERGENCY)
Organs!
The Magnificent, Terrible, Hottie Avery
The Pecking Order
2019 Cake
The Unknown
2020 To My Younger Self
Never, Ever
Elevate Festival
2021 ArtsLab: Unreliable Witness
Tiny Universe
Hit Reset
Prisms
2021-2023 The Lies We Were Told Directed by Natalie Rose
2022 ArtsLab: Have We Been Here Before?
Drag in the Daytime!
Little Jokes in Times of War Created and performed by Charlotte Salusinszky
Exquisite Corpse Directed by Malcolm Whittaker
In the Event of Moon Disaster Members show, directed by Nick Vagne 
Teen Angst Directed by Lucy Heffernan
Negotiation Tactics for the Weak-Willed Members show, written and directed by Kevin Tran
Where Shall We Meet? Directed by Natalie Rose and Jane Phegan
Mums Tell Dad Jokes Too Directed by Nicole Pingon and Tasha O'Brien
ArtsLab: Here We Are Again!
Escape Together
2023 ArtsLab: Body of Work
Stop. Drop. And Listen. Directed by Hayden Tonazzi and Lily Hayman
ArtsLab: WNW
In Between Moments Directed by Lana Filies and Lauren Oakes
Tender Directed by Lana Filies and Lucy Heffernan

References

  1. ↑ "THE SHOPFRONT SHOW". Tharunka. 3 March 1981. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Theatre Australia 2(5) September-October 1977 by UOW Library - Issuu". issuu.com. 12 March 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Trembath, Murray (15 November 2016). "New arts centre for St George". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Rugendyke, Louise (29 June 2019). "'They don't think I'm as big a force to be reckoned with as I am'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  5. ↑ Low, Lenny Ann (26 August 2011). "Too wog. Too gay. Too short". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "Shopfront theatre company faces axe as funding cuts to youth arts companies bite". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 16 December 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Carmody, Broede (18 April 2020). "Arts leaders warn of Australian youth theatre's 'steady demise'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 "TREADING THE BOARDS". Tharunka. 16 September 1997. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "IN CAMERA Jean Paul Satre Shopfront Theatre". Tharunka. 20 May 1991. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "LIFE STYLE". Canberra Times. 18 November 1983. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "Talented star Ruben Hadges to shine as new Romeo at Shopfront". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "UN youth theatre invitation". Canberra Times. 15 May 1985. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  13. ↑ Trembath, Murray (15 November 2016). "New arts centre for St George". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  14. 1 2 "NIDA". Tharunka. 27 August 1990. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Young playwrights festival in Sydney". Canberra Times. 7 December 1984. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Leave It To Diva". Archived from the original on 13 April 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  17. 1 2 Holst, Gail (1978). "SHOPFRONT THEATRE". Hemisphere. pp. 28–31. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
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