Curtain to fall?

By Nicole Williams
DANDENONG’S long-standing theatre company could be on the brink of collapse.
The Dandenong Theatre Company (DTC) has been operating in the region since 1972 but withdrawal of council funding and the demolition of its storage space could mean it has to shut up shop.
DTC President Colin Morley said a lack of suitable performance venues meant the company was forced to look outside Greater Dandenong and because of this, its funding could be cancelled.
“We need to get this grant money in order to survive; otherwise we’ll have to fold,” Mr Morley said.
“It’s as simple as that.”
To be eligible for the grant, one performance must take place within the City of Greater Dandenong each year.
Having previously performed at The Castle and Drum Theatre, the DTC found it was losing too much money.
“It was just wasn’t viable to continue doing shows there – as great as the facilities are,” he said.
So the group started looking around the city but was knocked back time after time, Mr Morley said.
The closest and most suitable venue was Hallam Secondary College, in the City of Casey, where it has staged its last two productions.
City of Greater Dandenong Community Services Director Mark Doubleday said the DTC had always been charged the community rate for the facilities including the Drum Theatre and The Castle, which was less than the full professional rate.
Mr Morley said the theatre company was ‘damned if we did and damned if we didn’t’.
“Essentially one of the conditions of the grant is we have to do one show each financial year within the City of Greater Dandenong,” Mr Morley said.
“We’d be more than happy to do a show in the City of Greater Dandenong if we could find a suitable, affordable building.”
Mr Doubleday said although the theatre company had not met the grant condition requiring one performance in the city, it could still be eligible if it completed other reporting requirements.
“There have been discussions about meeting the reporting requirements for this grant and they will continue until a successful outcome is achieved,” Mr Doubleday said. To make matters worse, the council will also soon demolish the theatre company’s storage shed in View Road, Springvale as part of a project to upgrade civic facilities in Springvale.
The shed has been slated for demolition since the theatre company moved in 15 years ago, but no demolition date has been confirmed with the DTC and Mr Morley said the council had offered no alternative solution for the group.
“They told us this year that they’re going to demolish it in a couple of months, which leaves us nowhere to go,” Mr Morley said.
“We’ve got nearly 40 years of costumes in that space.”
Mr Doubleday said demolition would not occur until appropriate arrangements were made with the range of groups that used the site for storage, including the DTC.
“Discussions are ongoing and council will continue to work with the theatre company and other groups to resolve these matters,” Mr Doubleday said.
Mr Morley said the DTC was looking to sell some of its sets and costumes and possibly go into partnership with other theatre companies but ‘it’s not going to happen overnight’.
In the meantime, costumes will be stored in people’s garages and DTC may be forced to hire a shipping container for the bigger sets.
If the DTC survives these hurdles, Mr Morley said the theatre company would do all it could to reduce its reliance on the grant.
“We want to be in a position that we’re not relying on this grant money.”