231:"I got the idea for La Mama when we went to New York in the sixties. We were poor. It was impossible to go to the theatre – even to see a film was expensive – but there were these places where you paid fifty cents for a cup of coffee and you saw a performance, and if you felt like it you put some money in a hat for the actors. I saw some awful stuff and some good stuff. It was very immediate and exciting and when I came back to Melbourne I wanted to keep going, but there didn't exist such a place. So I talked around a bit, to a few actors and writers and directors, sounding them out about doing their own stuff, Australian stuff, for nothing ... I decided on Carlton because in 1967 it was a lively, tatty area with an Italian atmosphere and plenty of students ..." (Betty Burstall)
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On 19 May 2018, La Mama was largely destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt, and reopened to the public on 9 December 2021, with the existing theatre building being restored and with a new structure to the front. The size of the performance space is the same, along with its original features (the internal
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The simple two-storey brick building housing the La Mama
Theatre was built originally as a printing works for AR Ford in 1883. After serving various industrial purposes it was leased in 1967 for use as a small theatre to nurture new Australian drama. Designed by Carlton architect George S Clarke, it
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At a time when the production of
Australian plays was almost non-existent (and financially risky), La Mama's non-for-profit organisation provided the venue for the performance of new experimental Australian theatre works. The first play performed at La Mama was a work by a new Australian writer
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proposition for artists and encourages a high volume of activity. In addition access to rehearsal and meeting space, administrative, marketing and technical support and ticketing reduces the barriers posed by a lack of money or infrastructure for artists.
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La Mama also nurtured new works by composers, poets, and filmmakers. The opening of the alternative theatre provided a home base for many important figures in theatre and film including
Hibberd and
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opened there in 1969. The production of
Australian works at La Mama soon became a staple, and within the first two years of its life twenty-five new Australian plays had premiered there.
223:, had just returned from a trip to New York and wanted to re-create the vibrancy and immediacy of the small theatres there. La Mama was modelled after the similarly named New York venue
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La Mama's model of giving artists upfront funding to present work in a rent-free venue, with 80% box-office return, is unique in
Australia. This model supports a high artistic risk/low
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faced a right-of-way off
University Street, which is south of and parallel to Faraday Street. The land in front of the Theatre is currently used as a forecourt for the community.
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La Mama operates out of two buildings: the original La Mama
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In recent years, La Mama artists such as The Rabble, Daniel
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staircase, the trapdoor and the fireplace). The administration team will be separately housed.
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this includes theatres in the
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Buildings and structures in the City of
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La Mama Theatre operates today under the direction of
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1079:Eureka Tower
1021:Institutions
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775:Little Italy
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485:144°58′04″E
287:Judith Lucy
240:, entitled
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765:Government
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482:37°47′57″S
400:22 October
349:References
69:newspapers
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1276:Transport
1159:Kia Arena
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982:Melbourne
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420:ABC News
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472:, 2001)
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