Amongst the theatre support group was Robin Sutherland, who had had a successful career as a commercial producer, so we got Robin onto the job.
He set out to visit some of his old theatre contacts, and eventually came back to the Trust with the idea of Cavalcade. He believed that there was potential to attract to the new theatre some of the country's leading performers and performing ensembles who, for a variety of reasons, do not currently play Blenheim. He had seen the model on which Cavalcade is based when working on the UK touring circuit in the early 1990s and developed from this a model he believed could be successful in Blenheim, could attract some of New Zealand's best to our theatre, and present them at very reasonable prices.
So the Theatre Trust formed - with Robin - The Cavalcade collaboration. We'll leave Robin to explain, for those who are interested, the technical aspects of the model. Robin's an accountant, so his explanation can get a little heavy.
From the Trust's point of view, the aspects of Cavalcade which please it most are:
- The quality of the acts he has contracted for the inaugural season,
- The variety of these acts - they range from opera singers and a symphony orchestra on the one hand, to a guitar-playing composer and a group of top American song-and-dance men from Las Vegas on the other! And he has also been able to include some of our leading local groups, including - I am pleased to say - Marlborough Brass!
- The price at which he is able to present the season - $48 monthly - represents tremendous value for acts of this quality.
- The Cavalcade collaboration will generate for the ASB Theatre the hire revenue from 20 more booking days, an increase in hospitality business, and, we hope, a profit!
Cavalcade has the potential to change the way we view theatre in Blenheim. A once a month evening out with friends, perhaps a early pre-show dinner, followed by a great show, could become - not a "special occasion" - but part of everyday life in Blenheim.
Kevin Moseley