Wed 11 Sep
Lifting The Curtain On a New Era, Part 2:
Reintroducing, reimaginging and recontextualising Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat for the next generation of performers with Kristy Witmitz
By Always Live
Image Credit: @visitballarat
In part 2 of our series on Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat with Kristy Witmitz, we explore how Her Maj is supporting regional arts practitioners for the future, and dive into some memorable moments from the past. Catch up on Part 1 of this series here.
Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat plays a vital role in supporting the arts community in the Goldfields region. With 80% of regional venues being owned and operated by local governments, these spaces are invested in sowing the seeds for the next generation of practitioners, to ensure arts in the regions thrives for decades to come. The next Warren Ellis (famously of The Bad Seeds) may already walk among us!
Kristy was kind enough to share some urban legends from Her Maj’s long history. Like all historical venues worth their salt, Her Maj hosts a mischievous ghost, fondly referred to as Katherine.
The lower foyer of the Theatre is known as Lucky’s Foyer in honour of an embalmed cat and three mice found in the wall during the renovations. It is believed he was placed there during construction by Chinese workers as a mark of good luck for the theatre. Lucky is being kept safe off site but may be on display in future.
@visitballarat
Lastly, a meet-cute that Nicholas Sparks himself couldn’t come up with, a teenage girl fell off the dress circle balcony and into the arms of a boy of similar age in the stalls below. The couple reconnected years later and got married, and still live locally in Ballarat. Talk about falling in love. Kristy said the team at Her Maj are excited to welcome the couple back to where their story started all those years ago.
Kristy Witmitz is the Manager of Cultural Venues for City of Ballarat and has a long history in contemporary music. Growing up in rural western Victoria, she fostered a deep love of community and a drive to strengthen opportunities for artists in metro and regional areas around the state. No one better understands the unifying power of performance like she does, and her passion is a gift to the community. Thank you to Kristy and the team at Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat for their hospitality.
You can check out Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat for yourself this November when indie powerhouse St. Vincent performs as part of the ALWAYS LIVE program. Tickets are on sale now.
