Imagine a surreptitious theatre venue, a creative space lurking behind an unexpected facade; a quirky venue ideal for boutique events and for pop-up presentations by emerging artists. 

Imagine the possibilities and let us take you on a journey ...

We’re Moonlight Aviators, a Hobart-based performance ensemble, specialising in the dance styles of the Jazz era and with a reputation for providing vintage-inspired and Vaudeville-esque entertainment. Our Flight Crew is a seven-strong squadron with a varied collection of experiences in the entertainment industry, including the full suite of swing dance styles; ballet, jazz, tap and Irish dancing; circus; and theatre production. Drawing on these varied skills, Moonlight Aviators’ signature styling has been developed by playing to the strengths of our crew when creating choreography and developing new performance pieces.

Photo Credit: Moonlight Aviators

When we started out, several years ago, we offered our performances for events and festivals in smooth, flowing ten-minute sets. But in 2016 we pushed our crew to achieve new heights and presented our first, full-length show – a cabaret-style production, 'Moonlight Aviators presents Opening Night'.

We received such fantastic feedback and encouragement from this - our first foray into ‘proper’ theatre - that we wanted to expand on what we had created and present another, even better, cabaret show. Having such strong roots in vintage jazz and with a vision not just for one, but also for semi-regular or pop-up events like this, finding an appropriate venue in Hobart turned out to be tremendously challenging. For some reason, it just didn’t seem appropriate to present our cabaret in a modern building or in a traditional theatre.

And now we’ve finally found the perfect solution! The Sepulchre is a truly amazing space, steeped in history and oozing mystique, it’s tailor-made for presenting creative works, and for hosting boutique events. Built around 1851 and originally designed for ecclesiastical purposes, those features that make it challenging to use for anything else will now work hand-in-hand with performers as audiences are taken on a ride of emotion and wonder.

Photo Credit: Moonlight Aviators

As it happens, turning an empty church into a functioning performance space doesn’t come cheap. At present the venue has no infrastructure - it’s pretty much completely empty - and what passes for lighting and power is as old as Methuselah! Since discovering this space, we have been working with the venue manager to identify the best options for making it operable as an entertainment venue and suitable for use by performers.

What about the future, you might ask. And rightly so ... as the venue is owned by a developer who will, we imagine, discontinue the current leasing arrangement at some stage in the future. In preparation for this time, all our plans for developing the space have been designed to be easily re-located to the next performance venue that comes along! So, not only are we looking at enhancing this unique venue, we’re also establishing the equipment for a mobile, or pop-up, theatre.

But we need your help to make this dream a possibility - not just for our cabaret, but also for other creative groups and individuals who are desperate for an inexpensive, versatile space for expression.

Photo Credit: Inspired by Love Photography

Being the creatives that we are, we’ve already started plans for presenting our first event in this venue. And it’s not just about the show; we want to create a full ‘Moonshine’ experience. Your evening starts with ‘Moonshine Cabaret’ – a classic cabaret-style event exploiting the varied skills of the Aviators and our special guests - and then continues as the venue transitions into The Moonshine Club, a vintage-vibed jazz lounge with live music, dancing and cocktails.

And that’s not all, following on from the success of 'Moonlight Aviators presents Opening Night' last year, 'Moonshine Cabaret' will further extend the collaboration between performers and musicians to include greater levels of live performance. Working in conjunction with the Matthew Ives Little Big Band and a selection of fabulous local singers, we are creating a show that utilises the full scope and potential that both Moonlight Aviators and The Sepulchre have to offer. The Moonshine Club provides an opportunity for patrons to enjoy a unique night out. This 'Moonshine experience' will be available for two nights this time round, but we hope, on the back of a successful first season, that we will be able to explore our options for returning in a similar format in the future.

Photo Credit: Moonlight Aviators

This is where you come in!

We’re hoping to raise funds to establish The Sepulchre as a functioning entertainment space - and you can help us get there.

What needs to happen:

• Restore power and ensure house lighting is correctly reinstated

• Installation of a basic lighting rig and PA system

• Seating - the venue no longer contains the pews that would once have filled the floor so we will need to source (hire or purchase) seating for our audience

• Bar installation - what is an entertainment venue without a bar?
  
  Looking ahead, if we can achieve these goals to restore The Sepulchre, it will give us a home for future events and performances, as well as providing an intriguing and alluring social venue. It will also create a space that others can hire for presenting performances and for sharing their art with the community.

Photo Credit: Inspired by Love Photography

In a Jam Jar: 

MOONSHINE CABARET
Dates: 13-14 October 2017
Times: 8:30pm Friday, 5:00 & 8:30pm Saturday
Where: The Sepulchre, 47 Davey Street, Hobart, Tasmania

THE MOONSHINE CLUB

Continue your evening's experience in a speakeasy-style blues club

Enjoy live music from some of Hobart's finest jazz musicians

Open till late (or early) Friday and Saturday night

Photo Credit: Inspired by Love Photography

We've laboured long and hard over how best to address the deficiencies of the building and to make it into the incredible venue we see it becoming. This is how we'd go about it:

• $10000 towards purchase of new lighting equipment to start building a basic lighting rig
  - This installation would also be available for use by other hirers of the venue.

• $2000 for our electrician to replace wiring and reinstate power and lighting circuits
  - With only one operational power point and no functioning house lighting, our endeavours would make the space safer and easier to use.

• $575 for the hire of height access equipment for installation of house lights and lighting rig
  - The stunning vaulted roof and exposed rafters are tremendously high, requiring the use of a 12-metre personnel lift to install the lighting rig, and house lighting.

• $1000 for audience seating
  - Although picnic-style seating would be kind of fun, we’d much prefer audiences were able to enjoy our show in comfort. We anticipate a variety of purchased, hired and specially created seating arrangements.

• $850 for the installation of an operational bar
  - A cabaret venue must have a bar! This would also be an installation available to all hirers of the space.

• $500 for heating or, more appropriately, chill removal
  - As a classic gothic building, the ceiling is fabulously high and The Sepulchre is naturally cool. We’d like to be able to take the frostiness out of the air when the space is used in colder weather.

• $75 Pozible fees
  - The team at Pozible make this whole process possible, and the support and advice they provide make this fee well worth paying!

Photo Credit: Peter Robey

There are and will be a variety of challenges along the way. These are some we have identified:

• Due to the nature of working in a heritage listed building, we may run into unexpected difficulties re-establishing the lighting and power throughout the building.

• Once this space is rigged out and operational, we may be inundated with hordes of people wanting to use it!

• Being such an old building, there is currently no wheelchair access but we have a plan for nifty, portable ramps that would make events at this venue more inclusive.

• The lack of facilities (minimal amenities, no running water) is also a challenge that we are rising to meet. Solutions for both running water in the bar and additional toilets for events have been mulled over, discussed at length, and solutions discovered.

Photo Credit: Peter Robey