More About RTC - Rockingham Theatre Company
The group “Rockingham Entertainers” was formed in 1972, operating out of the Rockingham High School Gym where they performed 4 musicals per year. The aim of the group initially was to raise money for local charities but, as the membership grew, it became necessary to re-invest the funds raised into the activities of the theatre. Nonetheless, Rockingham Theatre Company (RTC) has continued to support local charities and not for profit groups in various ways, such as charity performances and donations to local charities and not for profit groups.
Due to many changes around the mid 1980's the City of Rockingham (CoR) allowed us to relocate to McLarty Hall in Shoalwater. RTC later negotiated with the CoR to obtain a loan to build an annex onto McLarty Hall for storage of sets and costumes, etc. This was our home for many years producing musicals, comedies and variety shows - mostly under the direction of Eileen Frith who was the original founder of RTC with her late husband Roy Frith (who was also the first President). Over the years RTC has won many awards for their productions.
By the mid 90's the membership of RTC had further expanded and RTC needed to either modify McLarty Hall or purchase it from the CoR. It was getting more and more difficult to secure bookings for rehearsals and shows.
It was even double booked for a wedding on a show night!!
Unfortunately purchasing or modifying the building wasn’t an option, so plans were initiated for a purpose-built, RTC-owned theatre.
After a long road and a lot of hard work we had a brand-new theatre building completed in 1997 and opened on 23rd July 1998.
The Theatre building and its contents were funded by RTC through fundraising, various grants and a loan secured by a mortgage from the CoR. The land on which the Theatre building sits is owned by Rockingham Entertainers as it was transferred, in conditional freehold, for a nominal sum by the State Government.
We have continued to grow from there and are constantly working towards improving our theatre. We have raked theatre seating and underwent a technology upgrade in 2023 where a short throw projector and screen were installed. We also upgraded our sound system and equipment and this will allow RTC to integrate the sound, lighting and digital screening to provide our patrons with an even better experience.
We usually stage four productions a year under the guidance of several different directors and actively encourage new members to participate in the theatre. These productions are very well attended and attract group bookings from local and nearby retirement villages, age care facilities and seniors groups - along with many other patrons.
Until early 2022, the building was used predominately for these shows - although a regular weekly hiring of the Theatre to a local church group has been ongoing for some years. With our upgrades we will be able to consider other activities that our fabulous facilities can be utilised for.
Our mission as your local theatre is:
To provide high quality live theatre for, and by, the Community, both now and into the future.