They say the family that plays together stays together, and that old chestnut is no clearer than in the case of the Corrin clan.
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Stalwarts of the Arcadians theatre group, the Corrins have seen decades-long friendships form and marriages blossom as two - soon to be three - generations of the family tread the boards of the iconic Miner's Lamp Theatre at Corrimal.
This year marks 50 years of the Arcadians group, the Illawarra's most beloved musical theatre company.
The Corrins - patriarch Derek, wife Christine, daughters Jennifer and Linda, and now grandchildren Chloe and Charlotte - are some of the most prominent pillars of the company, Derek first joining as part of Arcadians' sixth-ever production, South Pacific, in 1967.
''There was nothing like it in Wollongong, nothing purely for musical theatre.''
Nearly 160 shows down the track, Arcadians marked its golden anniversary with the Illawarra-first production of Phantom Of The Opera, which sold out its entire 10-performance run at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre in August. In a touch of symmetry, a role once occupied by Arcadians' most famous alumni, Anthony Warlow.
"I'm extremely proud of the milestone because I know what the group started as and all the tremendous things we've done over the years, like raising money for charities and promoting young people through music," Derek said.
"It's about a love of musical theatre. When you look at it, musical theatre is sometimes a dopey story, when people just burst into song. But they are good stories and I'm very proud of what we have done."
The ragtag founding group of Arcadians lifted the curtain on their first production The Boyfriend in June 1964. Present-day Arcadians president Liza Allen said the company's central philosophy has remained unchanged.
"It grew from one person's idea, to get a few people together for a group about musical theatre. There was nothing like it in Wollongong, nothing purely for musical theatre," Ms Allen said.
Derek said the early 1960s gave scant opportunity for local actors to practise their craft. Group founder Dallas Blake coined the name Arcadians, derived from the Greek word "Arcadia" referring to a place of bounty and happiness. Today, it is simply "Arcos" to those crowds that flock to each show.
"It was a good time because all these shows were coming off Broadway and the West End and available for us to use," Derek said.
"At that time, the only musicals in Wollongong were the choral society doing Gilbert and Sullivan. They were excellent, but we wanted more."
Arcadians had a name, a stable of willing actors and crew, but no place to settle. They skipped around the region in search of a home, with sets constructed in backyards and stages set up in whatever space could be found on an ad-hoc basis.
"In the early days we were gypsies, and rehearsed wherever we could," Derek said, recounting performances at Wollongong Public School, in college auditoriums, the old Town Hall and churches around the region.
"We built our sets at the home of a supporter, who had a garage and no car. We constructed and painted sets on her lawn and then the artists would climb on top of the garage to get perspective on the sets," he laughed.
It was 1967 when Derek joined the group, which he said numbered about 60-strong at the time, for South Pacific. Arcadians ran through shows including Oklahoma, Calamity Jane, Bye Bye Birdie and Camelot, through the late 1960s and early 70s, but it was 1972's production of Oliver which Derek remembers fondly - the run where he met his wife, Christine.
"She had been roped into doing costumes, and I was in the chorus. We met at a barbecue," Derek said.
Christine had just returned from a trip visiting family in England, while Derek had recently come home after a working holiday to his homeland in Northern Ireland.
"His friend said we should have a chat because we had both just come back from the same area," Christine said.
"He was living in Dapto, I was in Fairy Meadow."
They call it a "show-mance" - when two theatre-lovers get cosy, get together and get married. The Corrins married in the early 1970s, but they were not the first - nor the last - marriage in the Arcadians ranks. Their daughter, Jennifer, owes her own marriage to the group.
"I met my husband doing West Side Story with the Guild Theatre, but I snared him and brought him over to Arcos," Jennifer laughed.
"It is quite nice to have a show-mance. You can usually suss out the singles during a rehearsal period, drop some hints to them and sometimes things happen."
The Corrins estimate the number of Arcadians marriages numbers in the dozens. Shows produce marriages, marriages produce kids and the kids follow their parents into theatre, restarting the cycle again and ensuring a ready supply of new blood for the successful Arcadians Children's Theatre. Such a lifecycle may be the cause or effect (or both) of the group's most defining trait - an emphasis on family and community.
"Arcadians has always been about a sense of belonging and inclusiveness," Ms Allen said. "When I think of Arcadians, I think of community and passion. It becomes a surrogate family environment, something you share with your partner. When you commit to a show, you give up four months of your life. Arcadians becomes your home for that time, so to do that with your partner makes it more bearable."
Arcadians found a makeshift home in the Town Hall annex, a space with a tiny stage and room to squeeze in 280 seats; a space so small, every set, backdrop, prop and actor had to fit through a single-width door to make it on to the stage.
"Any set that came on had to come through a standard door," Derek said.
"If it was any bigger, it had to come on before the show started and remain on for the whole performance. Given the size of theatre, we did some astonishing shows."
The setting of the 1970s marked a new dawn for the company, as they relocated to their first-ever permanent home in Tarrawanna in 1979. Taking up residence on land donated by BHP and later purchased by Arcadians, big-name shows and pantomimes like Chicago, The Mikado, Annie, Sweet Charity and Calamity Jane followed in quick succession in the early 1980s as the group staged 19 shows in just five years.
Their new Tarrawanna home was not the only theatre Arcadians worked on, however. A decade after moving into Tarrawanna, Arcadians members were part of the push that established a premier theatre facility in Wollongong - the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre.
"We were putting major plays on in this tiny Town Hall annex, but we were always cutting corners while trying to do our best," Derek said.
"We were keen for a big venue to be built in town, where visiting tour companies could bring theatre to the region. We weren't afraid of the opposition, but instead thought they would complement the shows we were doing."
The IPAC was opened in 1988, with Arcadians members putting money and expertise into the venture in consultation with Wollongong City Council.
The IPAC would not be the last theatre Arcadians had a hand in establishing.
Arcadians has been an incubator for love and a community where marriage was common. Following the logic of the rhyme, the group needed a way to entertain the children of their show-mances.
Enter the Arcadians Children's Theatre, or ACT for short.
"Arcadians has provisions for the whole family, with young ones growing up through the children's theatre," Christine said.
"Our leading lady in Phantom Of The Opera was an ACT child."
Formed as a makeshift daycare service for small children whose parents were busy rehearsing or performing, the children's theatre has been a breeding ground for future members of the senior group. Performing several pantomime and fairytale plays each year, children rise through the ranks while giving parents a chance to concentrate on their lines rather than hiring a babysitter.
"You were meant to be five when you joined, but the director needed numbers so Jennifer joined early," Christine said.
"She has been on stage her whole life."
Now with two young girls of her own, Chloe and Charlotte, Jennifer said the Corrin bloodline's ties to Arcadians will soon stretch another generation.
"They joked my daughters were on a waiting list since they were born," Jennifer laughed.
"I hope they do start. Chloe already sings all around the house and knows a few funny lines from shows. The path has been set for them in a way, but I'm just trying not to be a pushy stage mum."
The Arcadians philosophy is very much "get them young". From the children's group to the oldest members of the group who have been there from day one, the Arcadians team span the generations and co-exist in one of the most age-diverse ecosystems in the region.
"There is this real sense of continuity in the group. There are 18-year-olds working with 60-year-olds, but it is all this mutual respect," Ms Allen said.
For many, however, it is simply an extension of family, a place to regularly meet friends, a microcosm of community.
"Mum and Dad have a group of 20 friends they have been with since way back in the day, and I've got a group of about 10 friends who all did Grease 10 years ago. We've seen children, deaths, marriages," Jennifer said.
The Corrins' near-50-year association with Arcadians has seen the family occupy positions including president, treasurer, director, producer, box office manager, on-stage lead, chorus, costuming, musical director, lighting, sound and makeup. The years have spawned many memorable moments, but none more so than 2008's production of Blood Brothers.
"Linda and Derek co-directed, Jennifer was the leading lady, I costumed the show and Jen's husband Michael was in the cast," Christine said.
"It was a wonderful moment for our family to put on a show like that."
Arcadians moved into their current digs, the Miner's Lamp Theatre in Corrimal, in 1997. Formerly the Corrimal community hall and library, the building still bears traces of its former life. The costume room - racks groaning under the weight of Shakespearean finery and Roman robes - was previously home to towers of bookshelves; the stage, used for public forums or bingo games, has been extended back as Arcadians members carved into what were previously meeting rooms.
"There are still people who were involved way back when, who still go in the shows, but new people are always coming in and taking new ownership of the group," Ms Allen said.
"Everybody is proud as punch we got to 50 years, and we will continue delivering theatre for as long as people keep coming to watch."