Kia Ora from the Theatre Manager
Gus Sharp
You may have already seen the Waikato Times article below about us talking to a Waikato Regional Council meeting about the challenges that the Theatre project faces - which are all financial.
To be clear, we are still within budget, there have been no cost blowouts and these financial challenges are not unexpected or critical.
Of course, nothing worth doing is easy, so personally I welcome challenges, they encourage us to dig deeper, work more efficiently, innovate and generally get a better result for our communities.
In my view, financial challenges are the best kind because there’s a simple solution - money!
When contrasted with challenges that are harder to solve, like reputation, market-fit, lack of amenity, purpose etc, simple financial challenges aren’t that bad.
All of the figures thrown around have been construction figures – whereas operational expenditure is a different bucket. We’re confident we can wash our face day-to-day from opening, which we’ll do by making sure our opening programme is strong and engages our audiences, that our employees are well-resourced to do their mahi, that our equipment is top of the line etc etc.
After all, a building is a building is a building, it’s the people in it that make it a theatre, and that’s what the operational funding we’re seeking goes towards - people, whether audience, performers, or employees.
I want to talk a bit about how a theatre or performing arts centre actually operates - there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes!
Generally, a theatre is divided into two main areas of responsibility – ‘back of house’, that is all the places the public can’t go, and ‘front of house’, as in all the places they can go.
The focus for front-of-house is on your experience as a guest - ticketing, hospitality and cleanliness. The focus for back of house is on health and safety, pro-active maintenance, technical excellence and basically setting up whoever and whatever is on stage for success.
My role sits over those two areas and my focus is on accessibility, filling the calendar with great shows and making sure everyone who comes through our doors has a great experience, whether they are audience, performers or employees. I’m committed to delivering on all these counts!
'Among the select ranks of world-class auditoria'
When our Development Director Janice Lapwood visited London in July to promote our Waikato transformational projects, she connected with CharcoalBlue, the team behind the design of the Waikato Regional Theatre.
Key amongst them was Elena Giakoumaki, the lead designer of the auditorium now rising out of the ground on the riverside in Hamilton’s CBD.
In this article, Elena answers our questions about her role in this and her previous projects and the vision for the Waikato’s new world-class performing arts centre. Here's a taste...
Where do you think the new Waikato Regional Theatre sits within the realm of theatre design around the world?
The Waikato Regional Theatre will no doubt sit among the select ranks of world-class auditoria. But while it will share similar qualities in functionality, flexibility, acoustic and technical performance, it has been shaped by the community it will be serving, designed as a response to their vision, wishes and cultural aspirations.
Thomsons ITM backs the Waikato Regional Theatre
Having lived in Hamilton for many years and with a strong passion for connecting with people through arts, music, and touring theatre, it is a natural fit for Greg and Trish Thomson of local building suppliers Thomsons ITM to donate to the Waikato Regional Theatre via its Business Collective Support programme.
Innovation, creative flair and success in business run in the Thomson family, so they are thrilled to have the opportunity to help bring the Waikato Regional Theatre to life.
New Waikato Regional Theatre facing financial ‘challenges’
The under construction $80 million Waikato Regional Theatre remains on track to open by “the end of next year” but regional councillors have heard it’s facing a range of financial and other challenges requiring tight management.
Theatre officials told Thursday’s council meeting the challenges include finishing the building on a fixed price contract without compromising build standards in a tough inflationary environment.
Also, $2 million in build costs has still to be found to take funds raised to the $80 million target.
Having the funds needed to hit the ground running when the theatre gets going is another and an unspecified amount of post-opening operational funding is also being sought.
Getting coffee to the cranes
The construction crew building the new Waikato Regional Theatre in downtown Hamilton are giving numerous nearby businesses a financial pick-me-up.
Now one of those businesses is returning the favour with a literal pick-me-up in the form of coffee deliveries for the Foster Construction crane operators doing the picking up and putting down at the theatre site.
The coffee is brewed by Maria Senear, who runs The River Kitchen café directly across the road.
“I do really feel for the crane drivers,” she said. “In the mornings I watch them climbing up to their cabs. And once they are up there, that usually means they have to stay up there for a long time.”
And that means if the operators need something - say, a good, strong cup of coffee - then a little innovation is required.
Construction team member building new theatre aims to sing there
The 60-strong crew of Fosters Construction workers who are building the new Waikato Regional Theatre in downtown Hamilton are learning a lot about how to create a world-class performance venue.
But one of their number has a particular vested interest in ensuring the new theatre is the best in the country.
Quantity surveyor Kolitha Jayatunge just happens to be an opera singer - and he is relishing the prospect of performing at the very venue he is helping create.
Jayatunge will be a familiar face - and voice - to anyone acquainted with Kirikiriroa’s music community.
A vibrant nightlife - After-dark economy to get massive boost from shows
The opening of the Waikato Regional Theatre in downtown Hamilton next year will trigger a major evolutionary leap for the city’s nightlife.
That’s the prediction from Waikato Regional Theatre general manager Gus Sharp, who says he will be eagerly awaiting to see what changes will be spurred by the addition of the new 1300-seat theatre to Hamilton.
And Sharp has some personal experience of such changes, having been involved in the $42 million revamp of the revered Saint James Theatre in central Wellington.
He observed a corresponding loss of vibrancy in that city’s nightlife hub - Courtenay Place - when the theatre was closed between April 2019 and June 2022, and the area largely became the preserve of pubs and bars.
New ‘Brickies’ as bouquets at city business awards
They’re a bit of a contrast to the shiny gold of an Oscar, but a slice of Hamilton’s past.
Half-bricks from the old Hamilton Hotel are set to be handed out at this year’s CBD awards for businesses in the central city and could be called “the Brickies”.
Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams said her team had been looking for a new material to make the awards out of, after using wood last year.
“We thought, wouldn’t it be great to use something iconic that’s from the Hamilton central city?”
They came up with the idea of using bricks from the old Hamilton Hotel, built in the late 1800s, which had previously been on from the site where the new Waikato Regional Theatre is being built.