About Us
Anglesea Performing Arts Incorporated has been providing entertainment to the surfcoast for over 35 years. The group previously known as the Anglesea Entertainers traditionally performed musicals at the Anglesea Hall, these nights usually included dinner and was well supported by the community. However in 2003 the core group disbanded, a desperate editorial was put in the local paper calling for any members of the community to come to a “crisis” meeting. New blood was injected into APA at this time and the theatre company took on a different direction. APA is currently made up of a small but committed group the members. Due to its geographical location the company struggles to attract a large membership base due to the fact that many of the residents locally are often retired or holiday makers. Whilst the group operates out of a transitional community it has no trouble attracting audience members, performing to full houses most nights.
APA continues to operate out of the Anglesea Community Hall where they are lucky enough to house there own storage facilities and wardrobe, renovated ten years ago the hall still has the original ticket booth and a newly built lighting platform. A good size dressing room and warm up space are other great assets to the facility. Even though the space is shared with half a dozen other user groups they are very considerate of APA “taking over” the space at production time. The hall accommodates between 100-120 seats depending on the staging configuration. And yes we have been known to put the audience on the stage and perform on the floor.
APA produces one major show a year in May, usually running for two weeks at the Anglesea Hall and then relocates the play to a different performance space, which creates a lot of extra work but a very rewarding performing experience for the actors. APA no longer does musical, however it is not unusual to use musicians as part of the creative process. The group prides itself on producing challenging and thought provoking theatre. A series of workshops are conducted through the year helping to nurture the writers in the group and giving content for possible theatre projects. The group does not restrict themselves to plays, participating in writing festivals and wearable art are other creative arms of performance the groups extends itself.
For the past twenty years APA has been host to the Anglesea One Act Play Festival. This is held on the last weekend in August when Anglesea is generally in hibernation. Entries range from 12-25 plays for the entire weekend from all across Victoria. Many of the local businesses sponsor the festival, it's a great opportunity to show case our unique township. APA generates a One Act Play for this occasion trying to utilise the skills of local writers. The festival tries to nominate adjudicators that have a local connection to our region.
APA aims to continue to enrich the surfcoast community with arts and culture and welcomes any individuals who would like to be a part of this small but dynamic team.