The Nowra Players will celebrate 70 years of bringing high quality theatre to the Shoalhaven this weekend.
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The celebrations on Saturday, April 30 will see Nowra Players members, old and new, come together in its Bomaderry theatre to mark a milestone in the group's history, as well as officially opening a renovated studio.
The studio will be officially named in the honour of one of its long standing members.
It is actually the group's 71st anniversary, however, COVID put a halt to the celebrations last year.
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In 1951, a small group of community members came together to share their love of all things theatre in Nowra and from there the Nowra Players were born.
Since this time the "Players" has grown into a strong community group with more than 100 members.
Nowra Players president Alyson Whiteoak said the Players is a not-for-profit organisation which is completely run by volunteers.
"We present at least four productions each year which incorporate a wide variety of styles from the classics, to children's pantomimes, to musicals, right through to contemporary Australian dramatic pieces," she said.
The group also offers youth drama classes for more than 100 students each week, hold an annual youth drama competition and regularly donate to local schools and charities.
From the early days of meeting in different community halls and venues, the Nowra Players now has its own beautiful 141 seat theatre in Bomaderry as well as a dedicated studio space which is used for drama classes, rehearsals as well as being used by other community groups.
During the COVID shut down the Nowra Players invested more than $80,000 in upgrading the studio space making it the most modern drama workshop space in the area.
"Even during the COVID lockdown, the Nowra Players were able to continue their performances via online shows and events like Scenes from the Quarantines where local performers were able to showcase their talents," Ms Whiteoak said.
"Rehearsals even took place online!"
The Nowra Players was also the first theatre to stage productions after the lockdowns in our area.
