On the 13th of October, a dreary evening that splattered Brisbane and surrounding areas with rain, Brisbane Arts Theatre held their annual Season Launch announcing their shows for their 82nd year. It was an event not to be missed, and a week and a half before the event I pondered whether I should or should not attend. A message from a friend one evening asking me whether I was going made me think. There was something else on that evening and I wasn’t sure which event I should attend. I told her so and the message she replied with was basically, ‘Season Launch, definitely better than anything else you have planned’.
And so, only a week before the event, I booked my free ticket for general admission and began looking forward to the evening. I knew it would be one of good company, of friends old and new, of snacks and drinks, as well as it would be at a place very close to my heart and filled with all things theatre. What could be better?
A couple of days before the event I discovered that a sports game would be on on the same night, which meant there was a very large possibility that parking would be restricted. Brisbane Arts Theatre is located on Petrie Terrace, which is just on the outskirts of Lang Park which surrounds the Suncorp Stadium. Parking on side streets is restricted during game times. This means you can either pay for parking in Roma and walk 15 minutes to the theatre, or attempt to find free parking closer. Which, on occasions, is an impossibility.
After careful consideration, I decided against buying a park and walking, partly due to the hot muggy weather, chances of rain, and a strain on my bank account. I decided to brave instead an attempt to find a park outside the theatre. Due perhaps to my furtive prayers beforehand, Petrie Terrace was almost bare of cars, with parking spaces aplenty, and I grabbed a spot a dozen metres from the theatre.
Arriving at 7:30, I was met immediately by friends and in the following half hour the courtyard gradually filled with roughly a 100 people. Many people I knew, and many I had only said a passing hello to. By 8pm, the door to the theatre was opened, and, with the friend I was meeting plus various others who joined us, we trudged in to find out seats and settle in for the launch.
The launch began with the President of the Arts Theatre welcoming us all, followed then by a speech by one of their sponsors, speeches by others, acts from upcoming shows performed by the vary talented youth program, and then finally the part we were all eagerly waiting for. The announcing of the 2018 shows. And what a bunch of shows they are! From A Clockwork Orange, to Shrek: The Musical, to Arthur Millers’ The Crucible, Ben Elton's We Will Rock You! And a selection of parodies that in the past two years the Arts Theatre has been presenting to eager audiences. Plays such as X-Files: The Musical, and That 80s Time Travel Movie: A Back to the Future Musical Parody are just a couple of the shows you can see at Brisbane Arts Theatre. Their 2018 season is one not to be missed.
Following the season announcement, we all retired back to the courtyard for snacks supplied by the Tibetan restaurant next door. We mingled for another two hours, catching up with friends we had not seen in a long time as well as friends we had seen the week before. We chatted and caught up with each other until the clouds broke and poured rain down upon us. Seeking shelter under the small roof over the box office and bar we chatted for a further half hour until the night drew in and people braved the rain to rush to their cars. The sky ceased its downfall for a moment and I and a friend took the opportunity to say our goodbyes and seek our car.
The evening was one not to be missed and I am so thankful to have been able to share the evening with good friends, as well as support a theatre that is very close to my heart. A Season Launch is not just a chance to see what shows a theatre is putting on the next year, but it’s an opportunity, if you’re interested in acting, to network, to put your face out there and remind people you exist. It’s putting an interest in community and supporting a company that works tirelessly to provide quality entertainment for their neighbours. It’s an opportunity to reacquaint yourself with friends old and new and share, even though briefly, life together. A season launch is an opportunity for anything, if you take a chance to take it.
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