Williamstown Musical Theatre Company Inc (or more commonly known as WMTC and affectionately by the theatre community as “Willy”) is a not-for-profit incorporated association with its origins as Williamstown Light Opera Company (WLOC or “Willy Light Opera”).

We believe our company provides an ideal opportunity for local community involvement, at any level, with musical theatre.  A theatre company isn’t all about acting, dancing and singing, but offers the opportunity for all sections of the community to get involved, from performers, musicians to set builders, sewers, scenic artists, lighting designers and operators, production team personnel, local businesses, and promoters; allowing all to get together and support the local community whilst putting on a great show.

Our story began with the founding of Williamstown High School’s Gilbert & Sullivan Society by Miss Serena Tierney, a music teacher at the school, who produced HMS Pinafore in December 1954 and The Pirates of Penzance in November 1955. The productions were such a success it started the Arts people talking in the general community, many believing a Light Opera Company was needed to further develop the students coming out of the High School as well as others in the community, including the budding actors within the Williamstown Little Theatre group. On the 31st March 1955, Miss Serena Tierney and local actor Dennis Wain called for a public meeting of all those interested in forming the Williamstown Light Opera Company, and so WLOC was formed. The Gondoliers was chosen to be the first production, leading roles were assigned and rehearsals commenced, combining school students, ex-students and members of the general public. The show went on for a three night season in April, 1956. 

From this humble beginning, WLOC developed into a family friendly community environment where parents may be on stage alongside their children and various generations of a family could be involved in the many facets of mounting a production. This saw whole families becoming involved, whether onstage or backstage or taking part in running the company by being on the committee of management. Many also took the love of theatre they had developed through their involvement with the company and shaped it into a professional career.

The company found a permanent home at the beloved Williamstown Mechanics Institute on the corner of Melbourne Road and Electra Street, Williamstown until the 1970’s when building renovations saw performances conducted at Altona Civic Hall, St John’s Hall (Footscray) and Williamstown Technical School before returning to the Mechanics on the works’ completion. Up until 2001, WLOC produced a total of 109 productions, an average of 3 productions per year.Although a variety of genres were performed over this period, some of the company’s favourites included: The Gondoliers (1956, 1960, 1977, 1989), Oklahoma! (1959, 1966, 1982, 1992), Calamity Jane (1963, 1972, 1985, 2001), The Mikado (1957, 1965, 1982), The Pirates of Penzance (1961, 1987, 1994) and The Merry Widow (1958, 1967, 1980).

2001 however turned out to be a tumultuous year for WLOC as the local Hobsons Bay City Council, owner of the Mechanics Institute, planned to close the theatre for some more needed renovations. Given this, and with no other local venue available, it was decided that WLOC would take a short hiatus while the renovations were completed. At that stage it was not known, however, that the hiatus would last four years.

The reopening of the Mechanics Institute in 2005, with new dressing rooms and extended performance space, saw WLOC back, and the new and old members of the committee of management took the opportunity for a rebranding to occur. Williamstown Musical Theatre Company Inc (WMTC) emerged and with that a new chapter began. WMTC’s first production in 2006 – Work in Progress – In Concert – brought together an invited group of 7 choreographers and 24 performers from WLOC back to the Mechanics’ stage to relive songs from the past and present songs from a projected future, backed up by a team of familiar WLOC faces. This was followed by the sold out season of the Victorian Amateur Premiere of Shout! – The Legend of the Wild One. 

The last thirteen years has seen a total of 38 productions under the WMTC logo including the Australian Premieres of Frankenstein: A New Musical (2014) and Catch Me If You Can (2016), as well as some all time favourites: Into The Woods (2008), Gypsy (2004), RENT (2017), Chicago (2011) and newer shows: Next to Normal (2012), The Addams Family (2015), and Dusty – The Original Pop Diva (2011). In 2011, WMTC introduced Season Ticket Subscriptions, giving their audiences an opportunity to feel more a part of the WMTC community through their support. That same year also saw the introduction of a junior program with the aim of providing younger performers (aged 8 to 18) high quality creative learning experiences in the theatre arts and in so doing, added its first junior production to the WMTC calendar: Beauty and the Beast Jr. 

2017 brought the WMTC/ WLOC story to a full circle. The Mechanics Institute was closed by the council again for extensive renovations and WMTC needed a new home and performance space. Fortunately, at this time the Williamstown High School had just completed their new theatre (The Centenary Theatre) and since 2018, WMTC has staged their performances at this theatre – thus returning back to the grounds where WLOC first became a thought in the minds of a small group of musical theatre lovers! 

And now, in 2024 the next evolution of the company will see performances moving to Altona Theatre from August. This new performance venue marks another significant chapter in WMTC’s history, providing a fresh stage for their productions and continuing to engage with the local community in new and exciting ways.

Over WMTC’s and WLOC’s combined history, a total of 28 Life Memberships have been awarded for outstanding contributions to the company. WMTC currently has a management team of eighteen volunteers and continues to present three productions a year (two open productions and one junior production), attracting over five thousand patrons to performances annually. 

At the heart of the company is still WLOC’s original core objectives:

1. Community Involvement – combining the efforts of performers, musicians, set builders, scenic artists, lighting designers, production team personnel and local businesses – and with so, combining efforts from members of the amateur and professional worlds of theatre.

2. Family – this may not be as it once was, but everyone involved with WMTC knows and feels they are part of the WMTC family – a family whose link is not through blood but a love of musical theatre experience and a strive for excellence. 

And that is why you may note lots of familiar faces on and off stage and among the volunteers in the foyer; as we all keep coming back to be with and visit family. 

See you in the foyer!