The Katoomba Amusement Company, last sighted juggling and clowning to packed houses of the thousand-seater Trocadero in 1911, will be abroad in Katoomba once more thanks to a Festivals Australia Grant. MHR for Macquarie , Mr Kerry Bartlett, presented the cheque for $10,880 at the Winter Magic AGM last Thursday. Mr Bartlett praised the contribution of Winter Magic to the artistic life and economy of the Blue Mountains .
The Festivals Australia grant will fund two weeks of workshops to equip emerging artists of the Blue Mountains with skills in street theatre performance and costuming. The immediate result will be two street theatre shows for the Winter Magic Festival on Saturday June 23rd next year. The longer term intention is that the troupes formed for these shows will become the founding members of the Katoomba Amusement Company, a federation of local artists skilled in musical and theatrical performance that draws on the traditions of circus, pantomime, carnival and vaudeville. The project was inspired by a 1911 photo of the original Katoomba Amusement Company whose antics and silly faces while posing for the Brownie prove that even starchy Edwardian clothes can't stop Blue Mountaineers having fun. Winter Magic President Warren Ross said, “The new Katoomba Amusement Company will tap into the old ways of our community — the celebration, relaxation, fun and cultural wealth for which the Blue Mountains were famous in the early twentieth century.” The theme for the two street shows that will inaugurate the Company is “Victory in Katoomba”. It is also inspired by a photograph, this time of tens of thousands of residents filling Katoomba Street in 1917 to celebrate the end of World War I. With no room to swing a cat, the street looks remarkably like a Winter Magic Festival with everyone in old-fashioned fancy dress. Mr Ross said, “We chose the Victory Celebration as a theme because, like Winter Magic, it was a day of genuine community unity. But with Winter Magic, there is no vanquished foe. Everyone is victorious. Everyone's a winner.” Local circus groups Circo Blurto Youth Circus, Ruby Bloomers Women's Circus and Juggling Jam have all welcomed the opportunity that the workshops with ….. will offer their members. The Winter Magic Festival to celebrate the winter solstice is the Blue Mountains largest annual event. The festival, which last year showcased sixty-five performances and activities across ten venues and attracted 40,000 people, has become central to the development of arts and culture in the Blue Mountains . For more information http://www.wintermagic.com.au/, or phone 0413 205 668 |