CLOC Musical Theatre

Overview : Management : Organisation : Community Service : Marketing : Customer Base : Finance : Awards for Excellence : Past Productions/Photo Archive : What They Say

ABOUT CLOC - OVERVIEW

CLOC Musical Theatre is one of Victoria's largest and most successful non-professional music theatre companies. Established in 1964, CLOC commenced performing in church halls and on school stages prior to moving to the Alexander Theatre at Monash University with its 500 seat auditorium. After performing for 38 years at the Alexander Theatre, CLOC has now relocated to its current performing venue - the historical 783 seat National Theatre in St Kilda.

Implicit in the objectives of CLOC (listed below) is the desire to create and present the highest quality non professional music theatre, while at the same time ensuring the long term economic viability of CLOC Musical Theatre Inc.

Promote an appreciation of the arts – particularly live theatre - within the community.
Present public performances of live theatre, concerts and any other activity which promotes the arts.
Encourage, assist and develop the full range of talents associated with the development of the arts.
Achieve the highest possible production standards with the resources available.

Since its inception, CLOC has staged over ninety productions (see list of past productions), ranging from operettas such as Die Fledermaus and The Merry Widow to contemporary works like Evita, Chess and Les Miserables to period pieces like The Scarlet Pimpernel. Moreover, the company has presented several firsts in Melbourne non-professional theatre. In 1983 CLOC premiered Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd – the first professional or non-professional production in Australia. Other non- professional premieres followed: Annie (1985), 1776 (1988), Sunday in the Park with George (1992), Song and Dance (1997), Singin' in the Rain (1998), Steel Pier (2005), The Boy From Oz (2008), Miss Saigon (2009), Dusty, the original pop Diva (2010) and the Australasian Non-Professional Premiere of the Andrew Lloyd Webber sensation CATS (2006).

CLOC is a large and sophisticated organisation - one that continually strives to achieve the highest quality outcome for each production. Against a background of challenging economic times, and often with considerable competition from professional productions, CLOC has adopted a bold production policy and is committed to presenting two major musicals each year – firmly believing that "while there is a paying audience there is no such thing as amateur".

CLOC's pricing policy is structured to assist and encourage a wide range of groups and individuals to attend productions. An average ticket price of less than $40.00 puts top quality musical theatre within the means of many who would be otherwise unable to afford it. CLOC productions attract an audience of up to 15,000 each year - a significant proportion (over half) being children, students, pensioners and seniors at concession rates.

Recently the Federal Minister for the Arts - Simon Crean MP visited CLOC's Scenery and Costume making facilties at Heatherton and met with cast, crew and company management. Click here to see photos of this visit. (close the page to return here)

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