Milson Rotary Club — Speaker Night Q&A
Questions asked of Kate Louise Elliot, Artistic Director & General Manager, following her presentation to Milson Rotary Club
Is the outreach programme funded from the same budget as your main stage shows?
No — they are entirely separate. The main stage show budgets cover professional fees for actors, directors, designers, travel, set construction, and costumes. The outreach programmes each have their own funding, sourced through individual grants, sponsorship agreements, and funding applications.
Mercury Energy currently sponsors the Basement Collabs youth programme, making it free for young people to attend. Age Concern supports the Attic seniors' programme. Other projects are funded through a mix of trusts and sponsors — all on an annual basis, which means the funding cycle never really stops.
"Every project that we do, we find money for. I'm constantly writing funding applications for different things or trying to get sponsors." — Kate Louise Elliot
How does the show budget work? Why are productions mostly one or two people?
The economics are tighter than most people imagine. A fully professional production — covering actors' fees, four weeks of rehearsal, a season of up to four weeks, plus directors, designers, set, and travel — can cost anywhere from $80,000 to $140,000.
The maximum income a four-week season can realistically generate is around $89,000, and Centrepoint budgets at 50% of that. Anything above break-even is a genuine bonus, often going directly into the building fund.
This is why most main bill productions feature one, two, or occasionally three professional performers, and why Centrepoint frequently co-produces or purchases productions from other companies to share financial risk.
"You're always only one show away." — Kate Louise Elliot
How are you going about raising money for the building project?
Kate was candid that it's a genuine challenge in the current funding environment. Centrepoint is currently about a third of the way toward its building campaign target, with a goal of beginning construction next year.
The campaign focuses on practical improvements: a more welcoming foyer, better working conditions for the seven-person team, and improved backstage facilities — without touching the auditorium itself, to keep costs realistic.
Kate's message was clear: helping to tell the outreach story is the most powerful thing supporters can do, because demonstrating community impact strengthens every funding application Centrepoint makes.
What can we do as individuals to support Centrepoint?
Kate's answer was simple: tell people. Most of the community knows Centrepoint puts on shows. Very few know about the 115,000 people engaged through outreach in just three years, the young people finding their voice, or the seniors building friendships through the Attic programme.
Beyond spreading the word:
Buy tickets — and gift them to someone who might not otherwise attend
Encourage friends, family, and colleagues to visit the theatre
Support a specific outreach programme — the Improv for Everybody programme currently needs $6,000 to continue
Visit centrepoint.co.nz to learn more and get in touch
"If you need a script, I'll write one. Just get the message out." — Kate Louise Elliot
Do the professionals who come to your outreach programmes get paid?
Yes, always. Centrepoint pays professional fees and, where necessary, covers travel and accommodation. Kate was emphatic — these are skilled professionals and should be remunerated properly for their time and expertise.
It also reinforces one of Centrepoint's core messages to young participants: that a career in the arts is legitimate and viable. It would be counterproductive to teach that lesson while asking industry professionals to work for free.
"They're not going to do it for nothing. Why should they? That's their profession — and that's what we want to support." — Kate Louise Elliot
Where did Centrepoint Theatre originally start?
Centrepoint began in 1974 at 81 George Street — an old musicians' club whose owners offered the space after the previous tenants left the bills unpaid. By 1978, the theatre had moved to its current home on Pitt Street, a site previously used as railway carriage workshops and, later, as a miniature toy museum.
The Palmerston North Theatre Trust owns the Pitt Street building and a large workshop space on Snelson Street — currently being explored as a potential set and prop library for emerging theatre companies across the region.
What is the ratio of professional to community performers in productions?
For main bill productions, the cast and creative team are entirely professional — actors, director, designers, and stage management are all paid industry practitioners.
There is one open-stage production each year, typically the Sunday Script Sessions showcase or the Christmas show, where community performers work alongside professional directors and designers. This gives local actors a meaningful opportunity to perform in a fully supported professional environment.
Centrepoint also takes on school interns throughout the year who, Kate noted with affection, they try their best to put off, but who invariably catch the bug and go on to pursue professional training.
Questions answered by Kate Louise Elliot at Milson Rotary Club Speaker Night | centrepoint.co.nz