IF you want written proof that something was a good idea, Nathan Males has it on his notepad.
Derwent Valley Players, it says. Then, Concert Band Juniors, Yoga studio and Motherload.
For the owner of the former St. Pauls church in New Norfolk, his notepad is now crowded with a list of the community groups, musicians and performers already booked into the multiple performance spaces at the former Methodist church, which he’s named 9B Studios.
The building served faithfully for 184 years, closing its doors just two years ago as Covid restrictions and a declining congregation took their toll.
As the Sunday Studio, the old Sunday School is already used for yoga twice a week, and the Derwent Valley Players are rehearsing a play called ‘Harvey’ in the ballet studio. Motherload’s piece, about wrangling kids and family, is also being performed in the same space in August.
The Rotary Club has its book fair coming up, and Nathan’s big event is the Chamber Music Festival, delivered in partnership with Derwent Valley Arts, is due for October. It will be the first use of the main body of St. Pauls, which retains its pews and specially doored cubicles to seat 160.
“We’ve got a near-full roster of users for the building leading up to Christmas. Clearly, there was a pent-up demand here in the Valley, and we’re meeting that need.”
As he looks around the building on Burnett Street, Nathan Males acknowledges a core element of his thinking about buying this place earlier in 2023.
“The place was in good shape, well built and fundamentally sound,” he says. Critically, the roof and walls were intact, its kitchen and toilets operating and its necessary council permits up to date.
“Really, all it needed was a thorough cleaning, allow us to see the character of the three main spaces in the building, even the shine of the old wood floors,” he says.
“We’ve added fresh paint where needed, some sound-proofing, and for the 200-seat auditorium at the rear of the building, every bit of the black velvet that the Spotlight stores had across Tasmania.”
To complete the array of theatre equipment, Nathan is now on the hunt for a lighting rig to be mounted to face the stage.
As far as those elements of the old church that have religious significance, they’ve been returned to the Uniting Church or in the case of photographs, retained so that Nathan can draw on them as he refurbishes the walls and floors.
“We’re being respectful of the spiritual origins of building, as well as the materials used, the building fabric,” he says. That includes beautiful gothic-arched exterior windows, installed in memory of early pioneers in the Valley.
Nathan most recently picked up 200 good quality, stackable chairs for $2 a piece. Like most things, the purchase was funded out of his own back pocket.
“They’d been on various worksites and needed pressure-washing three times to get them clean, but they’re at work in the building already,” he said.
“All I have to do now is move them!”