SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY (STC)
Sydney Theatre Company (STC) has been a major force in Australian drama since its establishment in 1978. The Company presents an annual season of diverse productions at its own venues at The Wharf and nearby Roslyn Packer Theatre at Walsh Bay, and as the resident theatre company of the Sydney Opera House. Andrew Upton became Co Artistic Director with Cate Blanchett at the beginning of 2008 and commenced his solo tenure as Artistic Director in January 2013.
Sydney Theatre Company offers audiences an eclectic program of Australian plays, interpretations of the classic repertoire and the best of new international writing. It seeks to produce theatre of the highest standard that consistently illuminates, entertains and challenges. It is committed to the engagement between the imagination of its artists and its audiences and the development of the theatrical art-form. As the state theatre company of NSW, it also produces a significant education program, and work devised by, and for, developing artists. The Company reaches beyond its home state, touring productions throughout Australia and internationally. It plays annually to audiences regularly in excess of 300,000.
Sydney Theatre Company actively fosters relationships and collaborations with international artists and companies. Renowned directors Benedict Andrews, Michael Blakemore, Max Stafford-Clark, Howard Davies, Declan Donnellan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liv Ullmann, Steven Soderbergh and Tamás Ascher have worked with STC in recent years. STC has launched and fostered the theatre careers of many of Australia's internationally renowned artists including Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne and Cate Blanchett. STC has presented productions by Abbey Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Complicite, Cheek by Jowl, Out-of-Joint, the National Theatre of Great Britain and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
In recent years, the company's international profile has grown significantly with productions including Hedda Gabler, A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya and Gross und Klein (Big and Small) touring extensively to great acclaim.
Sydney Theatre Company offers audiences an eclectic program of Australian plays, interpretations of the classic repertoire and the best of new international writing. It seeks to produce theatre of the highest standard that consistently illuminates, entertains and challenges. It is committed to the engagement between the imagination of its artists and its audiences and the development of the theatrical art-form. As the state theatre company of NSW, it also produces a significant education program, and work devised by, and for, developing artists. The Company reaches beyond its home state, touring productions throughout Australia and internationally. It plays annually to audiences regularly in excess of 300,000.
Sydney Theatre Company actively fosters relationships and collaborations with international artists and companies. Renowned directors Benedict Andrews, Michael Blakemore, Max Stafford-Clark, Howard Davies, Declan Donnellan, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Liv Ullmann, Steven Soderbergh and Tamás Ascher have worked with STC in recent years. STC has launched and fostered the theatre careers of many of Australia's internationally renowned artists including Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne and Cate Blanchett. STC has presented productions by Abbey Theatre, Traverse Theatre, Complicite, Cheek by Jowl, Out-of-Joint, the National Theatre of Great Britain and Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
In recent years, the company's international profile has grown significantly with productions including Hedda Gabler, A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya and Gross und Klein (Big and Small) touring extensively to great acclaim.
ARTISTIC VISION |
STC's vision 'Theatre without borders' is put into action every day as we perform in Sydney, around the country and around the world; as we partner with other organisations and other art form practitioners to explore the edges of theatre practice; and as we continue to inspire theatre appreciation and participation not only in theatres but schools, community halls - wherever people get together.
Beyond its creative ambitions as an artistic entity, the Company is also mindful of its place as a leading Australian arts organisation. Our position and scale challenge us to promote the place of art in Australian society through advocacy and the activation of our networks. We provide experiences to audiences, but we also want to help build ongoing artistic capacity amongst the individuals and communities with which we interact. We play a part in making a creative, forward-thinking and sociable future by engaging with young people, students and teachers. And we also celebrate and explore the traditional role of theatre as a place for the discussion of the great ideas of the day. |
SYDNEY THEATRE COMPANY
|
Sydney Theatre Company tours its productions throughout the nation and overseas to audiences upwards of 90,000 annually.
Touring in 2015 STORM BOY20 – 23 May 2015 Illawarra Performing Arts Centre, Merrigong Theatre Company 27 – 30 May 2015 Geelong Performing Arts Centre 3 – 6 June 2015 Canberra Theatre Centre 2 – 4 July 2015 Mandurah Performing Arts Centre 8 – 11 July 2015 State Theatre Centre of WA, Perth WAITING FOR GODOT 4 – 13 June 2015 Barbican, London. Part of International Beckett Season. Read more THE WHARF REVUE 2015 26 - 39 August Merrigong Theatre Company, Wollongong 3 - 5 September Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith 9 - 12 September Riverside Theatre, Parramatta 15 - 26 September Canberra Theatre Centre 7 - 17 October Glen Street Theatre |
SUSTAINABILITY |
Theatre has always stimulated both visionary conversations and practical action. In this tradition, STC has committed to an ambitious, long-term and multifaceted environmental and social sustainability program that brings benefits to our Company, our environment and the communities in which we work.
Our Greening The Wharf project transformed the beautiful, heritage-listed Wharf building into an inspirational example of environmental leadership. Completed in 2011, the award-winning project is widely considered to be an exemplar in its scale and comprehensive approach. Sydney Theatre Company is committed to extending this program into social sustainability, focusing on the areas of reconciliation, diversity and disability. |
HISTORY |
Sydney Theatre Company was formed in December 1978, following the closure of The Old Tote Theatre Company the month before.
The then Premier, the Hon. Neville Wran, approached Elizabeth Butcher who had been seconded from NIDA to administer the Old Tote, and asked her to set up a new state theatre company, to perform in the Drama Theatre of the Sydney Opera House. Butcher established its legal identity and managerial structure, and proposed the name, Sydney Theatre Company. With John Clark (Director of NIDA) as the Artistic Adviser of the first season, five theatre companies were invited to produce six plays to be presented by STC as the 1979 Interim Season in the Drama Theatre. The first production, by The Paris Company, was A Cheery Soul, by Patrick White, Australia's Nobel Laureate for Literature, directed by Jim Sharman, featuring Robyn Nevin as Miss Docker. In June 1979, Richard Wherrett, then one of Nimrod Theatre's co-Artistic Directors, was appointed Artistic Director of STC to plan and organise activities for the 1980 season. The first STC-produced play was The Sunny South, 1 January 1980, by George Darrell, with music by Terence Clarke, directed by Richard Wherrett, assisted by John Gaden. In its early years the company operated out of several rented premises around the city, producing 38 productions in five separate venues. Elizabeth Butcher, STC Administrator, was given the task of finding one location that could house all the activities of the company, and a theatre. After an extensive search, Butcher had the vision to propose the derelict Walsh Bay Wharf 4/5 as STC's new home, immediately envisaging the capacity of the building to fulfill all requirements of space, location and additional venue. More than three years of obstacles budgetary and bureaucratic overcome, on 12 September 1983, NSW Premier, the Hon. Neville Wran, announced that the State Government had approved the expenditure of $3.5 million dollars to finance the re-cycling project. The 60-year old ironbark timber wharf warehouse built to load cargo onto ships tied up alongside, was converted into premises suitable for creating, producing, performing and enjoying theatre, without sacrificing its historical integrity or context. The Wharf was officially handed over to STC in a plaque-unveiling ceremony on 13 December, 1984. In 1985, The Wharf, by architects Vivian Fraser in association with NSW Govt Architect JW Thomson, won the Sir John Sulman Medal awarded by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (NSW Chapter) for a work of excellence in public and commercial architecture. The first STC production in The Wharf Theatre (now Wharf 1), 17 January 1985, was Late Arrivals, by Pamela van Amstel, directed by Wayne Harrison in his directorial debut. (Wayne Harrison went on to become the second Artistic Director of the company, in 1990.) The play was part of a season of one-act plays called Shorts at the Wharf. Since 1984, and the visionary adaptation and re-use of an industrial site by Sydney Theatre Company, Walsh Bay has been transformed into an arts precinct and residential area, which continues to attract adjunct services. Other performing arts companies and organisations now enjoy premises at The Wharf, including Sydney Dance Company, Ausdance, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, Gondwana Choirs, Sydney Children's Choir, The Song Company, Australian Theatre for Young People, Regional Arts, Accessible Arts, Bangarra Dance Theatre. Nearly a quarter of a century's use later, The Wharf, by Vivian Fraser, in association with the NSW Government Architect, was presented the RAIA 25 Year Award for Enduring Architecture by the Institute. Sydney Theatre Company Artistic Directors
|
ARCHIVES |
In 1996, Sydney Theatre Company was the first performing arts company in Australia to employ a trained archivist and establish its own dedicated archives repository to house its corporate records.
STC has produced over 1,400 plays, workshops, playreadings and events since inception in 1978. Archived material and information is used in the daily operation of the Company, and adds to the heritage of performing arts in Australia. There are two main groups of records: Administrative records including annual reports, minutes of meetings, licences, contracts, departmental operating files, correspondence, etc.; and Production information found in season brochures, programs, posters, archival recordings, production photographs, reviews, prompt copies, scripts, designs for sets, props, costumes, lighting and sound, etc. (Please note: amount and variety of material differs from play to play.) Access is available to most records, some material may be copied, archival recordings of productions may not be borrowed or copied, but may be viewed, by appointment. There is a $10 archival research service fee; and an image-preparation and provision fee may be levied for publication of STC images. Limited searches can be conducted for remote researchers or those unable to come in to the archives. Access to the STC Archives is available to the public and school groups on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 10am and 5pm, by appointment with the archivist, Judith Seeff. Telephone (02) 9250 1745 or email [email protected] STC is grateful for the support of the STC Pier Group and the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation in the establishment and subsequent refurbishment of the archives. 2015 HSC Drama Text List RecordingsClick here to download a list of recordings available at STC of plays listed on the 2015 HSC Drama text list. The Walkway Project, curated by Tania Kelley, is a retrospective of Sydney Theatre Company production photographs, dating from the Interim Season of the Company in 1979 to the present. Designed to be an evolving exhibition, The Walkway Project is a testament to the creativity of the Company and its commitment to its history, and would not have been possible without the generous support of Ian Darling. |
CAREERS |
Sydney Theatre Company produces theatre created to illuminate, entertain and challenge. We are committed to engagement between the imagination of our artists and our audiences, to the development of the artform of theatre, and to excellence in all our endeavours.
STC has been a major force in Australian drama since its establishment in 1978. The Company operates out of our home venue, The Wharf, on Sydney's harbour, is the Resident Drama Company of the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre and both performs in and manages the state of the art 850 seat Roslyn Packer Theatre at Walsh Bay. We offer staff a creative and supportive environment in one of Sydney best harbourside locations. All staff are entitled to complimentary tickets to STC productions.
Work Experience Week is open to students in Years 10 and 11 from across NSW. Find out how to apply here. Internships Sydney Theatre Company runs an internship program with key tertiary institutions in NSW, and internationally with Boston University. These internships are managed and coordinated directly through these institutions. Unfortunately, due to the busy nature of a large theatre company, we are unable to accept unsolicited Internship applications outside of these established programs. Positions currently available Customer Services Representative, Season Tickets - Applications due 9am Wed 1 Jul. Download the job pack here. Customer Service Supervisor, Season Tickets - Applications due 9am Wed 1 Jul. Download the job pack here. |
MEDIA |
Contact the Media Relations OfficeTim McKeough
Media Relations Manager +61 2 9250 1703 [email protected] Georgia McKay Publicist +61 2 9250 1705 [email protected] Image libraryLog in below to download press images. Please note that images are only available to media and are not for personal use. Please contact the Media Relations Office for login details. Log into the media library Media releases
|
BOARD & STAFF
|
Board of Directors
|