South Canterbury Drama League

The small port town of Timaru on the South Island of New Zealand has a community theatre company with a remarkable heritage. Even though the town has a population of just under thirty thousand, the company stages ten productions a year in venues large and small. Anne M Ellis reports.

For eighty-two years now the South Canterbury Drama League has been serving its community with distinction.
It began in 1926 when the founders, a local Doctor and a local newspaper editor were reading Drama, the official publication of the British Drama League, and noted how popular community drama was in England.
They discussed the possibility of something similar for South Canterbury and the few groups who were active at that time were all in favour of such a venture. In 1927 eight groups took part in a one-act play competition.
The South Canterbury Drama League holds the honour of being a pioneer of community drama in New Zealand and the senior branch of the British Drama League outside the United Kingdom.
It is doubtful if either of the founders, keen as they were, ever envisaged the Drama League developing into the large organisation it is today, with five different sections, each with their own committee.
They stage ten productions every year, ranging from large-scale musicals, to plays, to dinner theatre and children’s theatre. All SCDL members belong to every section and are frequently seen helping or performing with every production.
SCDL have our own fully equipped and very comfortable theatre complex, which seats around 100, called The Playhouse. It has two large rehearsal areas for the large musical shows, and with the Playhouse theatre stage this allows for more than one section to be in rehearsal at one time.
The complex also has a large workshop area available for building sets, a well-equipped properties department and a stand-alone wardrobe house from which the public can hire costumes.
The Repertory Section staged its first three-act play in 1933, The Women Have their Way, the successful Spanish comedy by the Quintero Brothers. This section also arranged regular play readings and workshops, lapsing during the war years, and reconstituting as a Repertory Society in 1951.
The late 1950s saw a growing interest in staging musical shows and since 1958 the Musical Theatre Section, as it is known today, has staged an annual production which runs for one week in the Theatre Royal, which seats around a 1000 patrons. This section was also responsible for the popular end of year Tavern Shows and, if possible, they try to include a second, smaller show in their year’s program.
As far back as 1936 the South Canterbury Drama League had shown interest in promoting theatre among school children and for some years had held Junior Drama Festivals. There had always been the differing opinions of whether children should perform in public, but after considerable debate it was decided to form a Junior Section of the League, with 10 years being the age of acceptance. Their first show was staged in the Theatre Royal in 1961.
Late in the 1960s an intimate theatre group, which performed their plays in private homes, was formed. At that time the League was building the present Playhouse, having demolished the original 85-year-old hall in order to rebuild on the site.
While a builder had been engaged to do the work, the work was carried out on a time and materials basis, so it fell to a hardworking group of the men to reduce costs by carrying out the labouring work in the evenings and at the weekends. At the same time the women had formed a Ways and Means committee and they raised money for the interior of the building.
The intimate theatre group became interested in the theatre part and decided to become a section of the League called the Little Theatre Section and from that time on raised considerable funds towards the completion in 1970 of the concrete-block structure.
Like the Repertory Section, this section stages two productions a year, both running for a week, and, like the Repertory Section, enjoys rehearsing on their actual stage.
In the 1990s the Management committee decided to expand the activities of the League and take up the lease of a local nightclub that had gone into recess. A steering committee was formed and the Mill Section had arrived. Almost immediately the venue was hired for private functions and continues so today. The first show was staged in 1993 and caught the imagination of the public with the low ceilings, subdued lighting, rich velvet-red upholstery and candlelit tables.
At the beginning the ladies of the League did all the catering for the week-long run, but as finances improved caterers could be hired. Two shows are performed there each year, with performances now running either side of the weekends as this has proved to be the popular way to go. Professional out-of-town entertainers also frequently hire The Mill.
Again in the late 1990s plans were drawn up to modernise and improve The Playhouse complex, as over the years we had been able to purchase the properties on either side of the building. It meant that 2002-2003 were difficult years as the program continued midst extensions and demolishing of buildings, but it was all worthwhile when the larger foyer, bar and coffee areas were complete and refurbished, the frontage landscaped and freshly planted and the new, larger rehearsal area went on at the back. This area is always in use and not only for the large cast musical shows.
The League has been well served by many unseen members who are willing to give of their time. For many years a keen sewing team has met once a week to make costumes for the shows or for hire. Some members of that team are involved with the costume hire, which is a most lucrative venture for the League.
The Building Committee has overseen any improvements necessary and their practical skills are often sought, coming to the fore during set construction time. The properties department, while small in space, is well organised and if anything is not on hand, our properties lady knows where one can be found. The Play Reading group, which meets monthly, has been revived so there would not be many nights when the Playhouse is dark.
The South Canterbury Drama League continues to serve its community well. Long may it last.