These are just a few things The Dog Theatre is doing right now...

1. Establishing a Professional Theatre & Performance Venue in the western suburbs of Melbourne for those practitioners living in the western suburbs. Promoting the Theatre for all practitioners in the Professional Theatre Arts Community to use, irrespective of postcode, so as to invest their art in an environment that will create new audience for them and enrich the overall artistic life of the western suburbs community and in turn Melbourne, as a whole.

2. Encouraging and promoting Creative Development and Presentation through the role of Production Partnering of Professional artist's be they Individuals or Companies or, simply, excellent ideas.

This stream of development will also encourage the idea of self-determination for those artists practicing at this venue. Questions asked of the artists will not predetermine their eligibility to use the space; they will however be encouraged to see themselves as an ongoing business proposition to both the venue and themselves.

We will build shows so they may grow into larger venues, tour regionally, interstate or internationally.
We will provide information about funding opportunities that may be relevant to the particular artist or company. We will provide workshops for those artists who have proven, time after time, that the art is good, but the application form seems undecipherable. We will encourage and support all those that feel that it is time to move forward to the next level of their professional life.

3. Classicism & Comedy: The Dog Theatre does not fear them.
Classics are those beautiful plays that we fell in love with when we discovered theatre in the first place.
This stream of development within the structure of The Dog Theatre's practising policy is a very important one. Comedy has been mainstreamed and built to a formula over the past 3 decades, and we love our stand up comics too, but The Dog Theatre will give light to many more possibilities in comedy.

The Dog Theatre is inclusive. We are ready to hear your ideas. We are ready for a conversation. We will not cold you out. We will try to make it possible for you to create and deliver in an environment that supports you as an artist and most particularly, with good business ideals in mind.

"For some time now the arts community of the west have been working to establish Footscray and its surrounding suburbs as a major player in the arts scene in Victoria. The Dog Theatre stands as a testament to that foresight and commitment to the permanent and exciting development of quality arts practice in the western suburbs of Melbourne." Peta Hanrahan, Artistic Director - The Dog Theatre.