STAG president Fiona Kennan said the group was happy and excited to be back in the spotlight once again and on stage in person.
“The cast of this small-scale musical show is excited to be part of this momentous occasion. Live performance is our bread and butter and STAG is proud to finally welcome the community back into the theatre,” Ms Kennan said.
The new show, Encores, features 12 performers presenting songs from musicals in a stripped-back format at Chapel on Maude.
Creative director Justin Dohrman said the idea came to him as a strong starting point for the return of live theatre in Shepparton.
“I was finding it difficult just sitting at home and trying to keep the gears turning. I thought there's got to be something we can do that meets the performance needs of all our talented singers and our loyal audiences,” Mr Dohrman said.
A Shepparton-born musical theatre graduate, Mr Dohrman, 24, said he was aware of the successful format of STAG's A Month of Sundays concerts in which songs are delivered on stage with simple musical accompaniment for a short season.
“I thought we could take that original framework and make it COVID-safe so that performers are still able to have something to work towards and audiences have something to look forward to,” he said.
He said online auditions were held for the show during January with a cast announcement made earlier this month.
Mr Dohrman said the performances would feature musical treasures from relatively unknown shows.
“We will have music from Disney shows and a lot of contemporary and older style songs too. It will be a wide variety,” he said.
Encores will be presented at Chapel on Maude, Maude St, Shepparton (the former Wesley Church) on Sunday, March 28 with two performances, at 2 pm and 7 pm.
Tickets will be available nearer the date from www.stagtheatre.com
Calling all playwrights
STAG has also put a call-out for playwrights to get creative and send in scripts for its popular 10 in Ten season, which will be presented as part of the 2021 Shepparton Festival in June.
Ms Kennan said the format was a great opportunity for amateur playwrights to see their work performed.
She said plays must incorporate the festival theme "unify" and the word "virus" and be no longer than 10 minutes long. The deadline for submissions is April 9.
To submit a script, go to 10 in Ten 2021 Season | Shepparton Theatre Arts Group (stagtheatre.com)