adminThe upcoming new Theatre in the Park venue which will be of world class standard is set to introduce new products for the benefit of theatre patrons in an attempt for them to own the venue and have a say in upcoming productions.
Rooftop Promotions’ new 500 sitter Theatre in the Park venue will be endowed with state-of-the art facilities and will open its doors in September in Harare Gardens.
This stunning venue for performing arts will also have unique conference amenities, WiFI internet and productions will be streamed live.
One product that is likely to incite theatre patrons is that of membership facility for patrons and organisations. This facility will enable thespians to subscribe for a period of time to the venue and they will have unique benefits for their pleasure.
“Some of the unique benefits are discounts of tickets, inviting a friend on discount, priority entrance and sitting in the venue as well as occasional invites on premiere nights. This facility is not only limited to individuals but extended to organisations as well.
“For organisations they will have the privilege of inviting their staff members to plays with discounted tickets and the organisation will have the opportunity of using the venue either as a workshop or conference facility on discount,” said Robert Tapfumaneyi, the media and information officer of Rooftop Promotions.
He said membership will be in three categories that is individual, organisations and youth.
“The second product is called Friends of Theatre in the Park where individuals are going to be drawn from patrons who have shown a keen interest in the development of theatre and arts and in particular Theatre in the Park seriously.
“We have seen the need to appoint and share ideas with dedicated people who can be the bridge the gap between the institution and the patrons, the team of few people will be made up of members of the public and will be mandated to familiarise the venue and its programs and work hand in hand with the producer and resident artistic director on how best productions can be improved and what content should be included in upcoming productions,” he said.
And lastly in an effort to indentify and nature talent the venue will now have a resident artistic director who will help the upcoming and community based groups on how best they can approach the industry at a professional level.
“This resident artistic director will be used for purposes of quality control and evaluation of all productions coming to Theatre in the Park and will also be hands on with community based groups who needs professional guidance for their work to be accepted locally regionally and internationally,” he said.
Other benefits are for production houses based in Harare who will have free rehearsal access to the new venue and some of their products will showcased at the new venue.
Zimbabwean theatre lovers will also have a chance to buy productions (DVDs) that has been showcased for the past two decades because a kiosk stocked with Rooftop Promotions and other production houses’ works will also be common feature at this new venue.
All these are being implemented after having leant and shared experiences with other international theatre venues at various gathering that Rooftop Promotions has been attending for the past year internationally.
The new venue will have two impressive entrances as well as a separate path for people living with disabilities.
The venue is what the arts industry has been waiting for.
It will answer the challenges that the industry has been facing in terms of state of the art venue and in terms of playing our role to re-generation of our city, we have had to ensure this venue does fit in well with the City of Harare’s vision of being a World Class City by 2025. – Rooftop Promotions.
Online Reporter