PLAYHOUSE NAME FOR ARTS CENTRE

Taupo Times, Volume 23, Issue 56, 16 July 1974, Page 1

PLAYHOUSE NAME FOR ARTS CENTRE

Playhouse is the name that has been chosen for the Taupo Operatic Society's hall in Matai Street. The title was selected from entries in a naming competition. The society bought the 3500 square feet building late in 1972. Society members and friends have spent the past 18 months on renovations. The hall now provides excellent facilities for social, rehearsal and workshop activities — and it is hoped to stage the first public performance in the Playhouse towards the end of the year. The hall will seat more than 200 and — when renovations are completed — is expected to bring a new era for the performing arts in Taupo. ' Dramatic, operatic, musical and other organisations will be able to use the facilities.

The Playhouse was originally built as a cookhouse/dining room for construction workers at the Wairakei geothermal project. The building was later moved to Aratiatia and then to its present site, where it served as a storage shed for beehives and honey for several years. Since it was bought by the society steam cleaning, interior lining and painting, plus the addition of partitions, toilet and kitchen facilities, have transformed the building. Being shifted twice has also improved the building's construction. It is possibly the only one in the district with double flooring, walls and roof. Recently 100 seats were bought from an old Auckland theatre. Some have already been refurbished, with the balance soon to be completed. The society expects to spend several thousand dollars yet before the hall is finally completed.