A NEW orchestra pit is the latest revamp helping to keep Frankston Arts Centre up to the minute.
The new motorised pit is part of a $1.3 million investment to bring the venue up to the highest standard.
The centre’s 800 seats have already been replaced and other parts to be upgraded will be the lighting and visual and audio equipment.
Venue operations manager Brian Coghlan said the new orchestra pit would help local groups who used the venue as well as touring acts.
“When the centre was first built there was a proposal to put a motorised pit in but it didn’t happen,” he said.
“There was always a lot of labour involved when different things were done to the pit.
“It’s a great piece of engineering and you can now easily do at a touch of the button what it took four or five guys a while to do before,” Mr Coghlan said.
The centre was opened in 1995 by then-Prime Minister Paul Keating and was designed by renowned Australian architect Daryl Jackson.
It is one of the largest metropolitan and regional arts venues in Australia. The facilities include a full stage with fly tower, along with contemporary technical and staging equipment.
Funding for the improvements has come from Arts Victoria and Frankston Council.
Mr Coghlan said: “The pit is great and it makes everything so much easier.
“It makes the Frankston Arts Centre a more attractive venue.”
Two of the local groups set to benefit from the upgrades are the Peninsula Light Opera Society and Panorama Theatre Company.
“This really helps them,” Mr Coghlan said.
“If they wanted to use the pit before it was always an extra cost for them to get labour in to do it manually,” he said.
“It makes everything more flexible and easy.”
Original Article is located here:
http://frankston-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/centre-pit-top-for-arts/
Source: Frankston Leader