Taking centre stage during phase two of the Frank Osborn Centre redevelopment will be a 200-capacity Black Box Theatre, providing a purpose-built performing arts facility for students to greatly extend their creative discovery experiences.

Reflecting the outstanding talent of St Catherine’s performing arts students and its expert teachers, the new Black Box Theatre will provide a specialised and professional performing space for students to showcase their talents and passions.

Included in the Theatre design is a large sprung floor to deliver enhanced performance and greatly minimise the risk of injury, state of the art lighting, sound and media technologies throughout the Theatre that not only enhance the creative process but also provide further opportunities for students interested in the technical and backstage management roles within the Performing Arts.

The Theatre has the technological capabilities to provide context and visual imagery throughout the students’ productions, using projection, lighting, sound and space for flexible settings and staging. It will also serve as the new Drama Room, providing our Drama and Theatre Studies students a wealth of possibilities for curriculum exploration and engagement. The space also provides opportunities for Year level and House assemblies to utilise the technical capabilities and capacity.

The dedicated space will encompass all of the Performing Arts disciplines; Drama, Music, Theatre and Dance, coupled with a devoted performance space for co-curricular rehearsals, Music soirees and concerts, as well as Junior and Senior School plays and musicals.

The new Theatre has been designed with the needs of all our Performing Arts students and educators in mind, ensuring our students are in the best environment to learn, rehearse and perform across a number of disciplines, as well as delivering high quality productions to audiences and educational enrichment for our students.

Performing Arts empowers our students to understand and respect their craft, collaborate together on the creative process, problem solve and find their voice and personal leadership within a team and across the School. Students often begin to truly value the importance of balance, community, teamwork and persistence during their time in Performing Arts.

The construction of the Black Box Theatre forms the central phase of the redevelopment of the Dorothy Pizzey Centre. As part of St Catherine’s, Towards 2025 Strategic Plan, this stunning Theatre will be the natural encore to the recent refurbishment of the Epstein and Myer Studios.