ORANGE'S Civic Theatre has notched up its busiest season in five years, selling nearly 36,000 tickets to major shows, school functions, the eisteddfod and community theatre productions.
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The show season, which brings major productions to the city each year, experienced high public demand in the 2005-2006 financial year, with eight shows recording more than 60 per cent of available seats sold.
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the cabaret show, Night and Day, performed best with sell-out performances, while Circus Oz came close with a 96 per cent sale of available seats.
Overall, 6250 seats were sold at major shows, with another 29,662 tickets being sold to other events.
Activity use of the venue is also at an all-time high, being in use an average of 3.5 days each week last financial year.
Events manager Michelle Pearce said the high usage rate was probably as important as the attendance rate, because it showed the venue was heavily supported by the community.
"We have had nearly 36,000 people come through our doors last year, and it shows how popular the arts are in Orange.
"We run everything here, from Shakespeare through to school productions and dance groups, because this venue is central to activities in Orange," Ms Pearce said.
The council's subscriber program, which encourages people to go to at least five performances a year at a discounted price, is also soaring in popularity with 700 members signed up from across the Central West.
The theatre normally operates at an annual overall loss due to its commitment to support community groups and schools through subsidised fees, but aims to break even on major shows.
Major performance ticket sales last year totalled $179,303, which left council $21,799 out of pocket as show expenses reached $201,007.
The gap was mainly due to a loss of State Government subsidy for the annual Bell Shakespeare Group visit, according to Ms Pearce.
The Bell troupe's tour still managed to sell the highest individual number of tickets: 1250 seats during its five-show run of 'Measure for Measure'.