At the announcement on January 18, Glasshouse venue manager Pam Milne said the new, improved seating is in response to customer feedback.

“We have received increased feedback from people who see performances in the Ross Family Studio that the seating could be improved,” Ms Milne said.

“While the seats have served us well in the past we are grateful for the State Government’s Regional Cultural Fund grant of $127,828 for new seats in the studio.

“They will still be retractable but will be individual seats rather than the bar seating we currently use and will have an increased capacity from 100 to 116 seats.”

Adam Zakarauskas, the Glasshouse’s back of house manager, said the new seating will save setting up time when performances change.

“With the new seats we will be able to save around 40 minutes if we need to set up the seats for a performance in the Ross Family Studio,” Mr Zakarauskas said.

“The newer seats will also offer greater safety features for both visitors and the backstage crew.”

The new seats are expected to be similar to the seats in the main Glasshouse theatre and will be installed before the end of June.

Port Macquarie-Hastings mayor Peta Pinson said she was very excited about the funding.

“I want to thank Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams for getting this grant,” Ms Pinson said.

“The new seats will reflect the space and the quality of performances we are seeing come to the Glasshouse.

“It is a very exciting day and we can’t wait to get them installed.”

Port Macquarie MP Leslie Williams said she was delighted the Glasshouse was successful in their funding application.

“I am very pleased that this project has been successful with its funding application and I look forward to seeing the progress.”

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