Shopfront Arts Co-op is a theatre facility, with three rehearsal studios, sound studio and digital film editing suite, located in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. 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

Shopfront was formed in 1976 in Penshurst, by Errol Bray and Garry Fry, two theatre directors, devoted to the of providing opportunities 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." Australian actors have started careers there or taught there, such as actors

Trevor Ashley Trevor Ashley (born 27 February 1980) is an Australian musical theatre actor, cabaret and drag artist based in Sydney. He also has appeared on television in "The Very Trevor Ashley Show" Early life Ashley grew up in the south of Sydney and stud ...

and

Paul Capsis Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, director

Andrew Upton Andrew Upton (born 1 February 1966) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter and director. He has adapted the works of Gorky, Chekhov, Ibsen and others for London's Royal National Theatre and the Sydney Theatre Company. He wrote the original p ...

and comedian

Julia Zemiro Julia Zemiro () (born 14 April 1967) is a French-born Australian television presenter, radio host, actress, singer, writer and comedian. She is best known as the host of the music quiz and live performance show '' RocKwiz''. Zemiro is a fluent ...

. Productions have been as diverse as ''The Greening of the Common'' in 1983 (about the

Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a series of protest camps established to protest against nuclear weapons being placed at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England. The camp began on 5 September 1981 after a Welsh group, Women for Life on ...

), ''

Detective Story Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

'' by

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

and

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

's ''In Camera'' both in 1991 to

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

in 2015. Its company was invited to perform its play ''Piece by Piece'' for

International Youth Year The year 1985 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Youth Year (IYY). It was held to focus attention on issues of concern to and relating to youth. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1985, by United Nations Secretary Gen ...

at the United Nations in June 1985. Shopfront started running workshops in Hurstville under the name St George Theatre for Young People. 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. 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 Hurstville is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south of the Sydney CBD and is part of the St George area. Hurstville is the administrative centre of the local government area of the Georges Riv ...

Council, the

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Government, with a bank loan the building was purchased by the young people's coop. Thirty years later Shopfront was still at the venue but had shortened its name to Shopfront. The organisation shut down 1990 for seven years, by 1997 it had "risen from the ashes." Thanks to funding from

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

and the Member for

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

, the site was redeveloped as a three-storey creative arts and community centre for the region. Front-of-building-sign-300x225

Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend and "Interplay"

From 1977 Shopfront initiated and hosted the Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend. 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 Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM (born 16 November 1941) is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group. Early life and education Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Tea ...

Anna Volska Anna Volska (born 1 December 1944 in Milanówek, Poland) is an Australian stage and television actress. She arrived in Australia when she was young and has acted from a young age. Television work Volska has appeared in many Australian televis ...

and Pamela Van Amstel volunteered as mentors, and attendees' plays would be workshopped privately or performed in full in the Shopfront theatre space. The event ran into the 1990s. 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. The first patrons of the festival included

Dorothy Hewett Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author, and a romantic feminist icon. In writing and in her life, Hewett was an experimenter. As her circumstances and beliefs changed, she progressed ...

Edward Bond Edward Bond (born 18 July 1934) is an English playwright, theatre director, poet, theorist and screenwriter. He is the author of some fifty plays, among them '' Saved'' (1965), the production of which was instrumental in the abolition of the ...

and

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

Notable former members

* Hillary Bell *

Past Productions

Over the years, Shopfront and their members have hosted a large number of Theatrical Productions including: * ''Negotiation Tactics for the Weak Willed (Members Show)'' 2022 * ''Teen Angst'' 2022 * ''The Lies We Were Told'' 2022 *''Senior Ensemble - Hit Reset'' 2021 *''Elevate Festival'' 2020 *''Never, Ever'' 2020 *''To My Younger Self'' 2020 *''The Unknown'' 2019 *''Cake'' 2019 *"The Pecking Order, 2018" *"The Magnificent, Terrible, Hottie Avery, 2018" *"Organs!, 2018" *"ArtsLab: BREAK GLASS (IN CASE OF EMERGENCY), 2018" *"Voices and Visions, 2018" *"Dignity of Risk, 2017" *"Un(Talented), 2017" *"Umami, 2017" *"Star-Crossed, 2017" *"Telling Myths, Telling Lies, 2017" *"ArtsLab: TREATS, 2017" *"The Greg Show, 2016" *"Welcome To My World, 2016" *"Piece By Piece redux, 2016" *"Chasing Your Shadow, 2015" *"Romeo and Juliet, 2015" *"The Hungry Games, 2014" *"Out of Line, 2014" *"CITADEL, 2014" *''"The Drawing, 2013"'' *"A Walk in the Dark, 2013" *"Travel Songs of Sea and Land, 2013" *''DanceHall Daze, 2012"'' *"Arcade Assembly, 2012" *"Island, 2011" *''"Machine Atlas, 2011"'' *""Imagine Title Here, 2010"" *''"At the drive-in, 2010"'' *''"Detours and Destinations, 2010"'' *''Too Good To Be True, 2009"'' *''"three:Artslab Residency Showing, 2009"'' *''"Superperfect, 2009"'' *''"RAW reanimated meat, 2009"'' *''"Rambos on Rollerskates, 2009"'' *''"Villainous Business, 2008"'' *''"Atomiser:ArtsLab Residency Showing, 2008"'' *''"(lost toy story), 2008"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"RAW no use-by date, 2008"'' *''"Dracula's cabaret disco, 2008"'' *''"Kaboom:ArtsLab Residency Showing, 2007"'' *''"A City of Shadows and Ice, 2007"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"RAW-Shaken&Stirred, 2007"'' *''"Polyphonic Bonus Features, 2007"''directed by Chris Ryan *''"The Tuesday Clan, 2006"'' *''"POP UP!, 2006"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"RAW On Fire, 2006"'' *''"Shifting Spirits, 2005"'' *''"The(Neo)Sun, 2005"'' *''"Angels in the Architecture, 2005"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"Drop It Like It's RAW, 2005"'' *''"Shimmerer, 2004"'' *''"Off the Wall, 2004"'' *''"Menus 4 Madness, 2004"'' *''"Wadya Call Me?, 2004"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"RAWAir, 2004"'' *''"Frog Rocket, 2003"'' *''"CODA, 2003"''directed by TJ Eckleberg *''"Rated X"'' directed by Jeremy Rice – won AWGIE for best play (PP Cranney and the participants) *''"Laugh and Have No Care"'' directed by Alison Richardson *''"Laugh or Die"'' directed by Julia Zemiro *"Gannon's Forest Gothic" directed by Jeremy Rice *''"Picnic at Hanging Rock"'' directed by Jeremy Rice *''"St George and the Dragon"'' produced by Christina Mimmocchi *''"Mary Queen of Scots"'' directed by Gemma Garner *''"Detective Story"'' directed by Jeremy Rice *''"Za Dusa"'' *''"Make RAW Not War, 2003"'' *''"Live By The Die, 2002"'' *''Bella's Caravan"'', conducted by Christina Mimmocchi *''"RATED M, 1992–1993, Directed by Kaela Scott, Winner of Australia Day Award 1994"'' *"Types Like Us" and "When the Sky Falls" 1990, Pacific Rim Tour to Thailand, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Directed by John De Feu and Michael McLaughlin. *''"Piece By Piece", 1985 US/Canada Tour'' *''1984 UK Tour'' *''1986 UK Tour - "Power Play" - Dir. Kingston Anderson and "Great Australian Family Show" - Dir.

Cathy Henkel Cathy Henkel is a South African documentary filmmaker who lives and works in Australia. Her works have typically focused on subjects of environmental activism, and to a lesser extent, the performing arts. Career Her career in documentary film ...

'' *''"Room – The Musical,"'' 1983 *''"The Caravan Touring Company, 1980"'' *''"The Playground Play Touring Company, 1979"'' *''"Quest for the IYC (ie International Year Of The Child) Touring Company, 1979"'' *''"Childmyth", 1979"'' *''"Concrete Sox", 1978"'' *''"Thirteen", 1977"'' *''"Playground Re-Play"'', 1978 *''"Kid's Cabaret" 1978'' *''"Cappelletti"'', by John Turnbull, 1978 *''"The Playground Play"'' 1977 *''"Replica"'' 1980 *''"A Rose For Zhivord Gardovich"'' 1980

References

External links

* http://www.shopfront.org.au Official Website
Review on POP UP!
Sydney Morning Herald 2006 {{authority control Theatres in Sydney Theatre companies in Australia