Message from the President – End of Year 2025
- Gemco Players
- Nov 25
- 5 min read
As 2025 draws to a close, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to every member, volunteer, supporter, performer, technician, board member, committee representative and creative soul who has contributed to Gemco Players Community Theatre Inc. this year.
Since our AGM in May, we’ve achieved an enormous amount together—on stage, behind the scenes, and across the many areas that keep our organisation moving. Everything we’ve accomplished reflects the strength, dedication and community spirit that has always defined GEMCO.
Who We Are – and Where We Come From
For those new to our story, GEMCO has never been just a name. It has long been the subject of friendly local debate. Some say it stands for Gembrook, Emerald, Macclesfield, Cockatoo. Others add Monbulk, Menzies Creek, Clematis, or even the Community itself.
But the true meaning has never been about choosing the “right” letters.GEMCO represents our hills — our patch of townships — and the people who call them home.It honours the communities that built this organisation and continue to sustain it.
Our history stretches back more than 45 years, when locals — including my dad — recognised that our region needed a creative home. GEMCO started by performing wherever space could be found: school halls, borrowed rooms, open spaces at Emerald Lake Park, and frequent collaborations with Puffing Billy Railway for much-loved events like A Day Out with Thomas.
After countless volunteer hours, the former Uniting Church building (relocated from Tecoma) was transported to Emerald, reassembled by community hands, and opened in 1995. The purpose-built theatre extension followed later, achieved through decades of volunteer effort, technical expertise and hard-won funding. Together, these milestones formed what we now know as The Gem Community Arts Centre — home of GEMCO Players.
Today, our site at 19 Kilvington Drive is far more than a stage. It includes a warm foyer and bar, a full hall with a commercial kitchen, workshops for props and set-building, a dedicated costume room, and our beautifully restored 1910 Tait railway carriage (the Red Rattler). That carriage is now evolving and so close to becoming a versatile space for meetings, readings, rehearsals, pop-up events and creative gatherings, giving new life to a piece of Victorian Railways history.
This year we also moved significantly forward in sustainability with the installation of a major solar-battery system, enabling The Gem to function as a local hub during power outages — a place for warmth, power, connection and community support.
We are not simply a theatre company.We are a community arts organisation, and custodians of an important community facility — something affirmed by our constitution and strengthened through our mission.
Our Purpose, Vision & Community Role
Gemco exists to:
• nurture, celebrate and grow the performing arts in the hills
• provide creative pathways for people of all ages and backgrounds
• support volunteers, creative teams and emerging young artists
• deliver high-quality community theatre and arts programs
• safeguard The Gem Community Arts Centre on behalf of our community
• strengthen social connection, resilience and belonging through creativity
Our vision is clear:
To be a vibrant, inclusive, community-driven arts organisation that honours its history, empowers its people, and remains a creative home for the hills.
Our Progress 2025
this year has included so many events, The celebration of Gemco's 45th Birthday in Febuary, Including a reveamped truope of performers that were part of the gemco family back in the early days dubbed "the Odd Bods" reimagined as "the Olde Bolde's" and another successfull Murder Mystery dinner, held in the Gemco Hall.
since the AGM in may May, we have made significant progress across the organisation:
• advancing a complete governance overhaul, including a modernised constitution aligned with current legislation — to be formalised at an upcoming SGM in early 2026
• strengthening VoCom, PepCom and Youth GEMCO through clearer roles, responsibilities and reporting
• delivering major productions and programs including:– Charlie and the Chocolate Factory– the Dandenong Ranges One-Act Play Festival (the “friendly festival”)– Welcome to Little Grimley — a trilogy of one-act comedies
• continuing our long-running Youth GEMCO programs (Juniors, Inters and Seniors) with weekly term classes and mid-year/end-of-year productions now spanning more than three decades• ongoing partnership with Puffing Billy Railway, providing GEMCO performers for Murder on the Puffing Billy Express and Day Out with Thomas• supporting the annual PAVE Festival, including hosting THE HIVE pop-up bar — the first official event held inside our heritage carriage
• providing affordable access to community groups including U3A for monthly movies, Emerald Primary School for performances, and hosting open stage nights and other hall hires
• improving venue infrastructure, safety and maintenance across multiple areas
• upgrading essential technical equipment, including the lighting board, sound desk, and various stage, audio and lighting control systems.
• rolling out clearer budgets, operational procedures and governance tools
• growing our volunteer base across hospitality, creative work, administration, maintenance and technical production
• delivering another successful Take Ten Writers Festival, showcasing local and international playwrights, with GEMCO publishing the shortlisted works
None of these achievements happen alone.
They come from collaboration — from many people doing small things, big things, and everything in between.
Thank You to Every Volunteer — Past and Present
To everyone who has given their time, energy, skill, enthusiasm, patience or quiet determination to GEMCO this year — thank you.
And to those who came before — past committees, presidents, directors, builders, performers, technicians and community champions — your work laid the foundations we continue to build upon. GEMCO thrives today not because it has been reinvented, but because generations of volunteers carried it forward.
This year also saw substantial behind-the-scenes achievements. To those who worked on grant applications, compliance, design, consultation and project management — your efforts have secured vital upgrades, including:
• the fully funded solar-battery system installation
• the deck redevelopment
• reopening and refurbishment of the hall toilets and added laundry, the much needed mezzanine level for the costume room, backstage utility spaces and multiple ongoing projects in partnership with Cardinia Shire Council, including the:– future disability access ramp redevelopment, a plan to redevelop the interior design of the venue to enhance the experience for everyone who walks into the Gem.
Quietly but importantly, we’ve continued to invest in the technical backbone of our theatre — modernising equipment and systems that directly support the quality, safety and professionalism of our work.
A community arts centre is a living organism — always evolving, always needing care, and always shaped by the people who look after it. The work behind the scenes never stops, but it is what enables The Gem to remain strong, functional, creative and future-ready.
We are not “changing” GEMCO. We are strengthening it.Supporting what works, honouring the history, and preparing the organisation for decades to come.
To our current volunteers — whether working backstage, front-of-house, in the bar, in the kitchen, running budgets, fixing things, performing on the train, building sets, supporting youth programs or stepping in at a moment’s notice — you are the lifeblood of this organisation.
Every hour given strengthens our legacy.
Every contribution keeps The Gem alive.
Your dedication is seen, valued and deeply appreciated.
Save the Date – GEMCO Christmas Party
Join us for a relaxed end-of-year celebration:
Sunday 7 DecemberFrom 4:00 p.m. at The Gem
• Free sausage sizzle
• BYO alcoholic drinks
• Soft drink provided
Please RSVP so we can organise catering.
It’s a chance to unwind, reconnect, and meet the many people who contribute to GEMCO across different projects — including those you may not normally cross paths with.
Looking Ahead to 2026
The year ahead promises continued progress as we finalise governance reforms, strengthen our committees, develop new opportunities and continue to build a GEMCO that is welcoming, resilient and creatively vibrant.
We enter 2026 with clarity, unity and deep respect for the history that brought us here.
Together, we are shaping the next chapter of an organisation built by community, for community.
Thank you for your support throughout 2025.
Wishing you all a safe, joyful Christmas and a happy New Year.
Warm regards,
Mathew Greenaway
President 2025
Gemco Players Community Theatre Inc.
Comments