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Since its inception in 1980, The Hills Players
amateur theatre group has grown from a small band of very
inexperienced but enthusiastic people performing
secondary school one-act plays to an equally
enthusiastic, much more professional and larger group
performing, directing and in some cases writing its own
comedies, dramas, musicals and revues.
Our first meetings were held in a classroom at
Ferny Hills State School but this was soon abandoned for
the more permanent base at St Williams Catholic Church
Hall at Grovely, where a stage was built by members
families and church supporters. Our first production was
staged on borrowed drama boxes in the Arana Hills
Community Centre.
In 1986, we received a Service Award for
Community Involvement from the Pine Rivers Shire Council,
in 1990 we became The Hills Players Inc. and in 1993
obtained a grant from the Regional Arts Development
Fund.
We now have a membership in excess of thirty
and a mailing list of over 100 people who regularly bring
their friends and families to enjoy our three (usually)
productions per year.
The aim of The Hills Players Inc. has always
been to provide family entertainment to the community at
reasonable cost while offering members the opportunity to
learn and grow in their theatrical skills as well as
sharing in that tremendous fun which is
Theatre.
THE HILLS PLAYERS INC
30 YEARS ON
The Hills Players Inc amateur theatre group has
been providing good family entertainment in the Hills area for 30
years and we’re still going strong. The amateur theatre group was
formed in 1980 at Ferny Hills State School with the idea of using the
amenities hall as their home. At that time, the hall was not completed
but it was soon realised that it would not be suitable for the type of
theatre the group was performing. It would also be beyond our means as
a struggling group of players to meet the fees asked. We then moved to
The Hills Neighbourhood Centre at James Drysdale Recreation reserve
but this was also unsuitable.
Our first production in 1981
was staged at the Arana Hills Community Centre where we had to erect
our own stage using school drama boxes and offcuts of carpet and we
dressed in a caravan (all in together) outside the back door. The
program was shared with a local dancing school and it was quite a
success. We were off and running!
Fortunately, Father Daley at
St Williams Catholic Church was sympathetic to our plight and offered
St Williams at a very nominal rental. The old church was to be our
home with a stage being built by parishioners and husbands of theatre
group members. Father Daley even brought in some old theatre seats
he’d acquired from the old Regent theatre in town which was being
renovated and we thought we were just ‘it’.
Since the beginning of 2003,
we’ve left St Williams Community Hall behind due to their church
renovations and become entrenched at St Matthews Anglican Church Hall.
We have often dreamt of having our own place: somewhere we could have
raked seating, more storage area and better stage facilities. But, all
these things are very costly and as we have always tried to keep our
prices within the budget of families and pensioners, we do not have
the financial backing to have our own theatre. The positive side of
using St Matthew’s Hall is that we still have a stage – higher than at
St Williams (1 plus); the entry at the front is ideal for ticket sales
and has an access ramp for our elderly audience members and those in
wheelchairs; we have support from the Church and it’s still local. The
down side is the size of the stage with it’s built in cupboards;
access to the stage from only one side; limited parking for audience;
lack of dressing rooms; and limited lighting facilities. In the early
days of using this hall, it was not available on Monday evenings, so
we rehearsed under All Saints Anglican Church at Arana Hills on
Mondays and at St Matthews on Wednesdays. After a year or two of this
toing and froing, we were glad to be able to gain the use of this hall
for Mondays as well.
Recently, we have gained a little more room on stage by removing the
old piano (in pieces) with the approval of Reverend Jan Crombie. We
have also added a more permanent lighting control box and our stage
extension now covers the full width of the old stage. This, of course,
also benefits the church hall users. We are very grateful to the
Anglican Parish of Grovely for allowing us to make St Matthew’s hall
our home and also storing our props under the hall.
PRESIDENTS:
1982 Denis Healy
1984 Peg Algate
1985-87 Fay Fuhlbohm
1988-89 Jim Hammond
1990 John Fleming
1991 Margaret Reid
1992 Ann L Johnston
1993-94 David Klein
1995-96 John Fleming
1997 Margaret Reid
1998-2000 Sylvia Smith
2001-06 Peter Carmichael
2007 Sylvia Smith
2008 Margaret Reid
2009 Joanne Prove
VICE-PRESIDENTS:
1982 Sandra Dowdle
1983 Fay Fuhlbohm
1984 Denis Healy
1985-86 Marie Evans
1987-88 Margaret Reid
1989 John Fleming
1990 Margaret Reid
1991 Jim Hammond
1992 David Klein
1993 Sylvia Smith
1994 Barbara Goodwin
1995 Sylvia Smith
1996 David Klein
1997-99 Sylvia Smith
1999-2000 Peter Carmichael
2001-04 Sylvia Smith
2005-06 John Daniells
2007 Ann L. Johnston
SECRETARIES:
1982 Margaret Reid
1983 Ann L. Johnston
1984 Florence Swan
1985 Julie Foster
1986-87 Lyn Pysden
1988-91 Sandra Dowdle
1992 Narelle Reeves
1993 Margaret Reid
1994 Sarah Hayden
1995 Margaret Reid
1996 Peta Douglas
1997 Annette Todd
1998-2007 Margaret Reid
2008 Joanne Prove
2009 Margaret Reid
TREASURERS:
1982 Iris Couper
1983 Barry Holland
1984-85 John Holmes
1986-88 Sylvia Smith
1989-94 Val Morgan
1995 Rhondda Fleming
1996 Tina Reid
1997 Coral Innes
1998-2000 John Daniells
2001-02 Jim Hammond
2003-07 Joanne Prove
2008 Peter Carmichael
2009 Veronica Witham
PUBLICITY OFFICERS:
1982-83 Chris Giblin
1984 Iris Couper
1985 Florence Swan
1986 Beth Gordon
1987 John Holmes
1988-89 Ann L Johnston
1990 Brian O’Connor
1991 Peter Brown
1993 Dennis Moore
1994 (6 mths) Ray Simonds
1994 (6 mths) Margaret Reid
1995 Cecily Schuh
1996-97 Jim Hammond
1998-99 Lin Ross
2000-03 Gillian Phillips
2004* Kate Beck
2005-08 Ann L. Johnston
2009 Gary Farmer
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