Dear Members and friends of Panorama.
The last 2 years have been a great challenge for everybody. Sadly, Panorama has also been badly affected.
Before COVID hit, we were preparing for what was hoped to be a very successful season of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Sadly this was postponed just a week before heading to the theatre in 2020.
We were very fortunate that we were able to stage Chitty a year later in 2021. However, with the restrictions and uncertainty of the times, the patronage was less than half what we would normally expect and this resulted in a huge financial hit for us.
In addition, as most of you will know, we have a large shed in Hastings where we store all of our costumes, sets and props. We also build our sets here. Just before Christmas, we were dealt a major blow when Mornington Shire advised us that we would have to vacate Hastings by June 2022 as they were demolishing the buildings and looking to redevelop the site for an Emergency Services Hub. This was totally unexpected and the alternative offered by Council is barely suitable for our costumes store, let alone set construction and storage. It would also create substantial additional cost to us.
As a result of this news, we as a Committee are actively seeking a new home to accommodate all of the above, together with a rehearsal space.
For all of these reasons, we are sadly not in a position to stage a production in 2022. Our focus is on moving home and raising funds to be ready for a 2023 “reboot”.
We are currently working on fundraising ideas also including an upcoming Sausage Sizzle at Mornington Bunnings on Saturday 12th March.
We hope to see you all at Bunnings and can offer some help when the time comes to move.
Kind regards
The Panorama Committee.