A new home for the Old 505 Theatre
A$17,935
of $15,000 targetyrs ago
Successful on 22nd Aug 2015 at 12:46AM.
This September, 505 embarks on an exciting new chapter adding a third venue to it's collection of artist run spaces. The Old 505 Theatre has well and truly outgrown it's beloved old home in Hibernian House so we are getting set to create a brand new custom built 70 seat theatre and cocktail lounge.
Above: Hibernian House Surry Hills
The new theatre will offer a permanent home to Sydney's independent theatre makers, allowing us to extend our subscriber season and build new audiences. The new theatre will also provide us the opportunity to test out new ways of working, a new model for the future. A space where artists can have the freedom to create the work they want, in the way they want, while also trying out new models of operation to help build a more sustainable future for the Independent sector.
We will be testing out new pay structures, new ticketing models and other bright ideas that we think might offer artists greater security and more opportunities.
For the past ten years, 505 has supported Independent artists with our two artist run performance spaces the Old 505 Theatre and Venue 505. This year we celebrate our tenth birthday and the memories of over 2000 productions and gigs that have been produced in our spaces. It's now time to build a stable and secure home for our theatre program and we need your help.
Above: The foyer, Old 505 Theatre, Surry Hills
Over the past decade 505 has remained entirely self-funded, running on contributions from our founding Directors and a hefty team of volunteers. Our theatre space has been underwritten by our big brother venue up the road Venue 505. But it's now time to stand on our own two feet. To have a fighting chance of surviving the current landscape of Independent arts in Sydney we need a little help to get started. So we're asking our community of artists and audiences, those who remember the good old days up in the warehouse, those who met their future husbands and wives there, who started their career there, who saw the best gig ever there, who met a creative partner there, everyone and anyone who values the community that has been built around 505 and the place it holds in our City, to dig deep and be part of a new project that will in turn continue to shape our community and support new artists and work.
Kerri Glasscock - Director
Beyond the walls of 505 Kerri Glasscock has worked in various roles in the Sydney arts scene for the past 15 years. She has worked as an actor in film/television and theatre since 1997. Appearing in numerous works as varied as Capricornia in 2005 (Company B) to Home and Away in 1998. Over the past five years she has worked with the Old 505 Theatre Co and appeared in critically acclaimed works Seeing Unseen, The Twelfth Dawn and Ride.
Her commitment to the arts sector increased on a grass roots level when she started working in arts administration in her early 20s as:
Arts Administrator: Newtown Entertainment Precinct Association (2004-2006)
The Seymour Centre (2004-2007)
Manager: The Sound Lounge (2005-2007)
General Manager: The Jazzgrove Association (2007-2012)
Festival Director: Jazzgroove Summer Festival (2009-2012)
Most recently, Kerri was appointed a three year tenure as the Festival Director of the Sydney Fringe Festival from 2013.
Kerri was included in the Sydney Morning Herald's Sydney Magazine annual 100 Most Influential and Inspiring People List of 2011. A vocal advocate for the independent sector she also sits on a number of boards and committees including:
City Recital Hall Board of Directors (2015), Joint Live Music Task Force Marrickville and Leichhardt Councils (2014) and Lord Mayor of Sydney's Live Music and Performance Task Force (2013).
Cameron Undy - Director
Cameron carved out a formidable career as a bassist in the 90s in Australia playing with 'all' the luminaries and prodigies of the day from Mike Nock to James Morrison. He spent the early part of the 2000s travelling and performing throughout Europe with the 'Nu Jazz' wave of dance floor artists, returning to co-found 505 in 2004. His performance and musical programming continues to draw on diverse musical experiences in jazz, rock, funk, afro-beat, dance and world music.)
Cameron was included in the Sydney Morning Herald's ‘Sydney Magazine’ Annual 100 Most Influential and Inspiring People List of 2011.
Gareth Boylan - Associate Artistic Director (Old 505 Theatre)
Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts’ theatre directing course in 2000, Gareth has directed: Breaker Morant (Seymour Centre); As You Like It (Platform 12); Seeing Unseen, The Time Machine, Ride, Shakespeare’s Will, A Woman Alone, The Bear and The Proposal (Old 505 Theatre); The Frail Man and Between the Seabed and the Sky (Darlinghurst Theatre); Scapin, The Venetian Twins,Competitive Tenderness, F’lack o’ Felucca, The Miser and Fen (Darlo Drama); and Monolads (Melbourne Fringe). Devising / performing credits include The Twelfth Dawn (Old 505 Theatre).
Gareth has been a judging panel member for the 2014 NT Literary Awards (Drama), an Australian Script Centre script assessor and has taught performance studies, acting technique and theatre history at the VCA Winter School, Shopfront Theatre for Young People, Macquarie University, Darlo Drama, Wollongong University and privately since 2000.
Above: Hibernian House Surry Hills
The new theatre will offer a permanent home to Sydney's independent theatre makers, allowing us to extend our subscriber season and build new audiences. The new theatre will also provide us the opportunity to test out new ways of working, a new model for the future. A space where artists can have the freedom to create the work they want, in the way they want, while also trying out new models of operation to help build a more sustainable future for the Independent sector.
We will be testing out new pay structures, new ticketing models and other bright ideas that we think might offer artists greater security and more opportunities.
For the past ten years, 505 has supported Independent artists with our two artist run performance spaces the Old 505 Theatre and Venue 505. This year we celebrate our tenth birthday and the memories of over 2000 productions and gigs that have been produced in our spaces. It's now time to build a stable and secure home for our theatre program and we need your help.
Above: The foyer, Old 505 Theatre, Surry Hills
Over the past decade 505 has remained entirely self-funded, running on contributions from our founding Directors and a hefty team of volunteers. Our theatre space has been underwritten by our big brother venue up the road Venue 505. But it's now time to stand on our own two feet. To have a fighting chance of surviving the current landscape of Independent arts in Sydney we need a little help to get started. So we're asking our community of artists and audiences, those who remember the good old days up in the warehouse, those who met their future husbands and wives there, who started their career there, who saw the best gig ever there, who met a creative partner there, everyone and anyone who values the community that has been built around 505 and the place it holds in our City, to dig deep and be part of a new project that will in turn continue to shape our community and support new artists and work.
The people behind the project
Kerri Glasscock - Director
Beyond the walls of 505 Kerri Glasscock has worked in various roles in the Sydney arts scene for the past 15 years. She has worked as an actor in film/television and theatre since 1997. Appearing in numerous works as varied as Capricornia in 2005 (Company B) to Home and Away in 1998. Over the past five years she has worked with the Old 505 Theatre Co and appeared in critically acclaimed works Seeing Unseen, The Twelfth Dawn and Ride.
Her commitment to the arts sector increased on a grass roots level when she started working in arts administration in her early 20s as:
Arts Administrator: Newtown Entertainment Precinct Association (2004-2006)
The Seymour Centre (2004-2007)
Manager: The Sound Lounge (2005-2007)
General Manager: The Jazzgrove Association (2007-2012)
Festival Director: Jazzgroove Summer Festival (2009-2012)
Most recently, Kerri was appointed a three year tenure as the Festival Director of the Sydney Fringe Festival from 2013.
Kerri was included in the Sydney Morning Herald's Sydney Magazine annual 100 Most Influential and Inspiring People List of 2011. A vocal advocate for the independent sector she also sits on a number of boards and committees including:
City Recital Hall Board of Directors (2015), Joint Live Music Task Force Marrickville and Leichhardt Councils (2014) and Lord Mayor of Sydney's Live Music and Performance Task Force (2013).
Cameron Undy - Director
Cameron carved out a formidable career as a bassist in the 90s in Australia playing with 'all' the luminaries and prodigies of the day from Mike Nock to James Morrison. He spent the early part of the 2000s travelling and performing throughout Europe with the 'Nu Jazz' wave of dance floor artists, returning to co-found 505 in 2004. His performance and musical programming continues to draw on diverse musical experiences in jazz, rock, funk, afro-beat, dance and world music.)
Cameron was included in the Sydney Morning Herald's ‘Sydney Magazine’ Annual 100 Most Influential and Inspiring People List of 2011.
Gareth Boylan - Associate Artistic Director (Old 505 Theatre)
Since graduating from the Victorian College of the Arts’ theatre directing course in 2000, Gareth has directed: Breaker Morant (Seymour Centre); As You Like It (Platform 12); Seeing Unseen, The Time Machine, Ride, Shakespeare’s Will, A Woman Alone, The Bear and The Proposal (Old 505 Theatre); The Frail Man and Between the Seabed and the Sky (Darlinghurst Theatre); Scapin, The Venetian Twins,Competitive Tenderness, F’lack o’ Felucca, The Miser and Fen (Darlo Drama); and Monolads (Melbourne Fringe). Devising / performing credits include The Twelfth Dawn (Old 505 Theatre).
Gareth has been a judging panel member for the 2014 NT Literary Awards (Drama), an Australian Script Centre script assessor and has taught performance studies, acting technique and theatre history at the VCA Winter School, Shopfront Theatre for Young People, Macquarie University, Darlo Drama, Wollongong University and privately since 2000.
How The Funds Will Be Used
We are investing in the future with this project, we are building a theatre that will inspire and last. Gone are the good ol' days where we banged up a few seating banks or got Dad to weld up a lighting rig!
Above: one of our many working bees in the old space
This new space will have all the bells and whistles, will be 100% compliant and offer our community a stable and terrific facility to present their work in.
Above: floor plan of the new space
That of course comes at a hefty price tag. The start up of this project will cost close to $50,000. We're asking our community to contribute the cost of our new seating bank. $15,000 is our target and for that we will have a glorious bank of tiered beauties that will ensure there isn't a bad seat in the house.
Should we exceed our target, we will reduce the capital that is being put up by individuals to pay for the other aspects of the fit-out: a free standing lighting rig and new lights; new curtains; new furniture; a stage floor - the list goes on. Only if we raised over $50k would we truly be starting in front, so - don't be shy!
Above: one of our many working bees in the old space
This new space will have all the bells and whistles, will be 100% compliant and offer our community a stable and terrific facility to present their work in.
Above: floor plan of the new space
That of course comes at a hefty price tag. The start up of this project will cost close to $50,000. We're asking our community to contribute the cost of our new seating bank. $15,000 is our target and for that we will have a glorious bank of tiered beauties that will ensure there isn't a bad seat in the house.
Should we exceed our target, we will reduce the capital that is being put up by individuals to pay for the other aspects of the fit-out: a free standing lighting rig and new lights; new curtains; new furniture; a stage floor - the list goes on. Only if we raised over $50k would we truly be starting in front, so - don't be shy!
The Challenges
As always funding is the biggest challenge in this project. After a decade running un-funded and self-sustainable venues we feel very strongly that we have shaped a model that now works.
This new space will finally offer the Old 505 Theatre and it's artists a sustainable future, with a larger capacity, inbuilt hospitality offerings and possible ancillary income streams, so we are sure that once we get there we can make it work. Getting there however is our biggest challenge.
Setting up venues is an expensive business. Most small-medium sized culturally focused venues in Sydney either don't make it or survive by the skin of their teeth. It is a hand to mouth existence. This means that most organisations like ourselves don't have a great deal of capital and cash flow is always tight. An investment of this level is a very big challenge. We are here for the long haul and will contribute all that we can, but we need a little help to get there.
This new space will finally offer the Old 505 Theatre and it's artists a sustainable future, with a larger capacity, inbuilt hospitality offerings and possible ancillary income streams, so we are sure that once we get there we can make it work. Getting there however is our biggest challenge.
Setting up venues is an expensive business. Most small-medium sized culturally focused venues in Sydney either don't make it or survive by the skin of their teeth. It is a hand to mouth existence. This means that most organisations like ourselves don't have a great deal of capital and cash flow is always tight. An investment of this level is a very big challenge. We are here for the long haul and will contribute all that we can, but we need a little help to get there.
A little love
Throw a little love our way and we'll return the favour: -Your name will be on our 'thank you blackboard' in the new space -You'll receive a very special I heart 505 badge (bound to become collectors items)
30 chosen / 170 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15
Try out our new digs
Dig a little deeper and you never know what delights await you! - your name will be on our 'thank you blackboard' in the new space -you can choose a ticket to a show of your choice in our 2016 season AND we'll give you a glass of bubbles when you arrive
34 chosen / 166 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15
Music and bubbles = fun
Yep times are tough and we appreciate your support so we are going to be extra nice with this one: -your name will be on our 'thank you blackboard' in the new space -a double pass to a gig of your choice at Venue 505 in Surry Hills + a glass of bubbles on arrival for both of you -an invite to our very swanky and special opening party for the new theatre
34 chosen / 66 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15
Love all things 505
Immerse yourself in all things 505 at all our venues including: -your name on our 'thank you blackboard' in the new space -a very special I heart 505 badge (bound to become collectors items) -a 2016 membership to 505 -a double pass to our first two productions in the new space 'we the lost company' and 'Dot Dot Dot' -a glass of bubbles for you and your guest
9 chosen / 91 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15
One of the family
Ok so you're now officially part of the 505 family, and to welcome you into the clan we are going to: -put your name on our 'thank you blackboard' in the new space -name a drink after you in our new cocktail bar -invite you and a guest to our exclusive and oh so swanky opening night party -let you come into Venue 505 for free all year in 2016! (Yep that's the VIP treatment) -send you a 505 family photograph to put on your mantlepiece -We'll have you over for a family dinner in the theatre
6 chosen / 19 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15
Take a seat
Oh you are good, very good. This type of investment warrants something lasting, something solid, something tangible. How about your very own seat? We will: -put your name on your very own chair in the theatre! -invite you to sit in said chair at every opening night for 2016 -provide you with a tasty beverage every time you sit in your chair -invite you and a guest to our exclusive and oh so swanky opening night party -shower you with love and gratitude forever
5 chosen / 20 available
Est. delivery is Oct 15