Pioneer Village Theatre and Cinema
Mon, 12 Feb 2007, 12:43 amjonko10 posts in thread
Pioneer Village Theatre and Cinema
Mon, 12 Feb 2007, 12:43 amHello everyone and anyone,
I'm writing to see if I can get some feedback on the Pioneer Village Theatre /Cinema in Armadale. I've done quite a bit of research about this building and it was last used as a cinema back in Autumn last year (Oct/Nov time). I'm considering emigrating to Australia and I was considering an option to lease this bulding and run it as an independent cinema/theatre. Obviously, this is only a thought at this moment in time. Trouble is I know little about this town only that it seems to be quite a way out of Perth and in a small touristic village of middle class/middle age population. I spoke with the owners agents and they suggested I should do more research and try to contact people who know of the area to get an idea of what they thought. My idea would be to run it as a independent cinema showing independent, art house and quality mainstream films but I don't really know of the likly hood of such a venue working in Armadale as I don't know the place at all.
I would dedicate some time over to theatre groups and maybe look at putting on music, cabaret, comedy etc to diversify the programme a bit as I don't think that as a normal cinema it wouldn't be able to compete with the nearby Piccadilly Cinema complex (incidently owned by the same company which is why they closed the Pioneer).
There is a real danger that if the owner doesn't find someone to take it on soon he will redevelop it as a Lodgings House - as he already has a few and wants more.
I wondered if anyone who knows the area could give my some idea of the area and if they thought such a project would be likely to work in Armadale or would I be committing financial suicide!!??
Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.
Thanks for you help.
jonko
Hello JonkoThe Piccadilly
Mon, 12 Feb 2007, 04:09 pmHello Jonko
The Piccadilly cinemas would not compete with Pioneer villiage, too far away.
Possibly your best chance for viability would be gaining council support for performing arts in the area. They could provide financial assistance through different grants if they wanted live theatre and alternate cinema in their growing region. See if council meetings minutes are on the web.
In your research, look at what schools have performing arts facilities, if not you could put TEE plays on for their studies. A mixture of film and live theatre may keep you viable.
Cinema complexes are moving into shopping centres to be viable, mid city cinema complexes are giving way to inner city housing, it is a constantly changing environment.