2015-09-15 Infrastructure and Services Committee Att 2 to Item 4 The J Service Review 2014-15

                                                                     Service Review 2014-15
                                                                                                    The J

Feedback from promoters and tour managers is that The J’s facilities are of a satisfactory standard
including quality lighting and sound provisions. The variety of configurations available thanks to the
provision of retractable seating is also appealing to hirers.

Configurations include:

        Formal theatre (338 seats), add upper mezzanine (additional 45 seats) – total capacity 383
        Tiered seating (176 seats) with open flat floor and high bars suitable for bands – capacity
         approx. 300
        Theatre/Cabaret (tiered + round tables) – capacity approx. 225
        Cabaret (round or trestle tables) – capacity approx. 250
        Flat Floor (no seating) – capacity 500

When considering The J Theatre space alone, the preferred capacity for rural theatre performance
venues is a minimum 400 up to 800 seats (promoters have indicated that a range of 400 to 500 seats
would be optimal for The J). This is supported by the 2003 Community Auditorium Working Group
Report where the working group nominated a preferred capacity of 450-500 seats based on issues
relating to the size of the catchment, assessed local demand, treatment of acoustics, aspects of
theatre design, intimacy and capital and operating costs. Original plans for The J included a larger
theatre space; however a section had to be removed due to funding limitations.

While promoters and some user groups (see letter from the Noosa Long Week End Attachment F)
would like to see an increase in seating capacity at The J, this needs to be balanced against the
capital works required and the level of demand within the catchment for the types of events suited to
the proposed changes.

Initial exploration into the possibility of increasing the seating capacity at The J to 450 seats has been
undertaken by theatre architect Peter Roy (refer Attachment G). In his investigations he also looked
at the possibility of increasing the size of the backstage area and enlarging the size of the stage to
allow for dance and other large scale performances.

With regard to the acoustics of The J which some classical music promoters deem to be poor Peter
notes that the theatre is acoustically fairly dull and consequently the presentation of live music
especially classical music could be improved but that the current acoustic is reasonable for the
spoken voice and amplified sound. With appropriate treatment it is possible to improve the acoustic.

Peter’s estimate of the cost to significantly upgrade the J to become a successful theatre space is
between $5- $6 million

Furthermore, in regards to the venue and possible future building works, The J management have
highlighted improvements to enhance operational efficiency and patron experience. These include;
theatre entrance and bar/café configuration, venue frontage aesthetics and venue access including
reclaiming the Pick Up/ Drop Off’ zone.

   OPPORTUNITY – Significantly upgrade The J Theatre.

  Caveat; If Council wishes to pursue a significant upgrade of The J theatre a full cost-
  benefit analysis is required to determine the impact on the rate base.




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