Shopfront



Shopfront Arts Co-op has members between the ages of 8 and 26, located in Carlton, New South Wales, Australia. Shopfront provides a place, resources, training, and development opportunities for young artists. The Shopfront building is a theatre facility, with three rehearsal studios, sound studio and digital film editing suite.

Company history

Shopfront was formed in 1976, by Errol Bray and Garry Fry, two theatre directors with a goal in mind that young people needed their own space to create work with independence and creative freedom. Shopfront started running workshops in Hurstville under the name St George Theatre for Young People. In 1977 Shopfront started renting a venue on Carlton Parade with a dancehall, adjacent house and two shops and renamed itself as Shopfront Theatre for Young People. Thirty years later Shopfront is still at this venue but have since shortened its name to Shopfront. In 1979 the co-operative raised money to buy the building – through 50-hour Actathons, costume parades, raffles, income from show, donations they raised $43,000, and with the additional help of Rockdale and Hurstville Council, the NSW Government, with a bank loan the building was purchased.

Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend and 'Interplay'

From 1978 Shopfront initiated and hosted the Australian National Young Playwrights Weekend. Held annually, this weekend congress brought together youth from all over the country who were actively writing for live theatre. Local professional acting and writing talent such as Anna Volska and Pamela Van Amstel volunteered as mentors, and attendees' plays would be workshopped privately or performed in full in the Shopfront theatre space. The event ran for many years into the 1990s.
In 1985 Errol Bray used his experience with the National Weekend to open up the concept to young writers beyond Australia, launching the ambitious "World Interplay", billed as The 1st International Festival of Young Playwrights, which drew more than 40 participants from the UK, Europe, Central America and the USA. This was not held at Shopfront's main Carlton site but Shopfront Theatre was very much its spiritual home. World Interplay proved popular, and was held biennually until at least 2007, spawning several overseas sister-festivals such as Interplay Europe and Interplay Africa.

Current Staff

Kingston Anderson,
Lynne Atkinson,
Marianne Bragge,
Errol Bray,
Greg Bull,
Justin Byrne,
Peter Callinan,
Aylin Cimilli,
Kate Clugston,
Samuel Dalley,
Gabrielle Dalton,
John De Feu,
Gemma Deacon,
Katrina Douglas,
Paul Dwyer,
TJ Eckleberg,
Sarah Emery,
Amanda Foote,
Garry Fry,
Gemma Garner,
Hannah Grant,
Kathy Henkel,
Mishline Jammal,
Robert Love,
Howard Matthew,
Michael McLaughlin,
Christina Mimmocchi,
Don Munro,
Caitlin Newton Broad,
Kevin Ng,
Andy Paviour,
Margot Politis,
Jeremy Rice,
Beck Ronkston,
Kaela Scott,
Rob Simpson,
Meg Simpson,
Hannah Strout,
Saskia Vromans,
Michael Webb,
Faye Westwood,
Richard Williams,
Nerida Woods

Past Shows