A new era of Performing Arts – St George’s Church redevelopment St Michael’s acclaimed Performing Arts program is about to enter a new era with plans in place for an exciting new immersive theatrical space to be available to students by early 2023.
When the refurbishment is completed, the Church will provide much needed, enhanced facilities including:
The School is justifiably proud of its Performing Arts program which both nurtures students of outstanding talent and encourages all students to discover the joy of creativity. In recent years the Performing Arts program has been based in the heritage-listed St George’s Church. This much-loved building has a rich history as a vibrant hub for the community. However, over time the building has degraded making it increasingly unfit for the School’s purpose and putting at risk its distinctive heritage features.
• A performance space that can respond to the diverse performance requirements across a range of art forms including dance, drama and solo and group musical performances.
We are therefore delighted that, in 2022, St George’s will be redeveloped to house state-of-the-art performance facilities, including a 400 seat auditorium. The design will leave intact the original fabric of the building and preserve the many heritage features, so that on completion, the Church will be a striking blend of tradition and innovation. The refurbishment will benefit our students by providing high quality dedicated facilities for Music, Drama and the Performing Arts as well as much-needed space for general School use.
BENEFITS TO OUR STUDENTS The former St George’s Presbyterian Church has been a part of the St Michael’s campus since it was originally leased in 1987. In 1991 it was first used as a Music School and the precinct has subsequently become the home of the Performing Arts program at St Michael’s. The School purchased the Church and surrounding buildings in 2013.
• A flexible auditorium which can be adapted for multiple uses and which can be modified to accommodate future needs.
• A high-quality sound system that supports a range of performance opportunities. • Sympathetic and effective lighting solutions which not only enhance performances and productions, but which highlight and celebrate existing and new architectural features. • A sprung floor suitable for dance performance and aerobics. • A new and inviting foyer providing an accessible and attractive entrance to the Church, professional box office facilities and additional classroom space. Not only will the new facilities provide an enhanced student experience they will result in considerable savings on venue hire, reduce disruption to student learning and reduce risk as students will no longer need to travel to as many external venues. Additional functional venue space will be available for the School, an important factor on a campus where space is at a premium. The project is integral in facilitating our Strategic Direction: Towards 2030 which includes developing engaging and contemporary spaces for learning and providing enhanced opportunities for us to develop strategic partnerships with key cultural, business and community organisations. The Crest Issue 6 2021 | 11
