Theatre is the occupation of romantic nerds.

We believe in ideas. We believe that ideas can change people- and people can change the world. We are, as Alana Valentine suggested in her key note speech last year, conservatives- http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2009/captivated_reality.shtml we love to conserve what we have. We are loyal. We feel the injustice when loyalty is betrayed or abused. We believe that there is nothing more powerful than the potential of space. We are compelled to express ourselves in an ancient art form which we participate in with other people, for other people.

And like any romantic- we don’t think about signing pre-nuptial … and when the cheque comes at the end of the dinner- we don’t want to squabble about the cost of haloumi… it seems against our high ideals. It seems coarse. Ungrateful. Ugly.

And like thwarted romantics we get defensive.

First- I’m going to do a little bit of reporting here- just for those who weren’t able to make it along to the discussion-

Tonight, Ralph Myers stood on a chair amongst a sea of Independent artist- a fiercely intelligent crowd of theatre practitioners- established, and emerging: all under the banner of “independent.” Some have worked in some capacity in the Downstairs Theatre at Belvoir St, some have been artists who have made pitches, some staff from other theatre companies.

Myers declared that B-Sharp has been “the most artistically vibrant theatre, arguably in the country.”

As in the incoming Artistic Director- Myers has asserted a major shift in the industry. The downstairs theatre will no longer be a place of co-op theatre. It will no longer be a place where profit is shared. The downstairs theatre from 2011 onwards will be programmed alongside the main stage (upstairs season) with 4 shows which will be fully funded by Company B.

According to General Manager, Brenna Hobson, if Company B were to fully fund (at award rates) all the artists who in a year contribute to the downstairs theatre, the cost of running the space would be in the order of $1.4 Million – instead 4 artists/shows will be selected a year to be produced by Company B. The artistic directorate- which consists of Myers, Simon Stone, Eamon Flack (and a yet to be confirmed literary manager) will choose the artists based on what, who and how they want to make work and will fund them. (At a loss to the company). There is no more submissions, and infact- the 4 artists programmed for 2011 will be finalised this week.

The rest of the year (approx 33 weeks) the theatre will be dark. Possibly used for rehearsals for other independent shows- provided that they are fully funding their artists Equity rates.

The main thinking behind this is that the audience can’t tell the difference between an independent show and a main stage show – Myers said tonight if you ask the punter which show had the fully funded artists and which were under a co-op arrangement- most wouldn’t be able to tell… which says just as much about the upstairs shows as it does about the downstairs ones.

In the SMH article http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/belvoir-revamps-pay-structure-in-drive-to-capitalise-on-talent-20100704-zvrq.html Myers sites one of the reasons as Neil Armfield’s departure from the company as AD: ” Neil [Armfield] is one of the great attractors of great artists,” Myers says. ”His leaving [in December] means that there is a pressing need to pay artists something that is at least close to what they deserve.”

The pitch to the room from Myers was more about an opportunity for Company B to produce the work of specific artists- to full fund them to do what they do- knowing full well that the show will make a loss- and the company being ok with that… perhaps making up the loss with a success somewhere else.

There were moments of great vocal support for the move- initially from Tracy Mann, who said “this is the best news, and I applaud this decision”… “stuff changes, live with it…”

Also agreement from Mirra Todd.

Before too long- questions started:
Questions around:
* the selection process, and what will happen to the programming team (Annette Madden and Tahli Corin) who have been the champions of the space?
* The no-warning to submit for 2011.
* why was the decision made after the whole year had been programmed?
* where are the safe and nurturing spaces for emerging artists?
* What happens to the cultural/ethnic diversity of the downstairs theatre?
* Will new plays with large casts be discouraged because they will be uattractive/too expensive for Company B to produce?
* How does paying people and providing less opportunity affect Sydney’s theatre culture as a whole?
*Why is it all or nothing?
* Will Company B enter into co-productions?
* what about rights for devised work?
*Do you think there will be any girls ever?
* will Annette and Tahli be involved in helping programme the spaces?
* Will there be a script reading service?
* will you still be looking for similar shows that B-Sharp has programmed in the past?
* what about projects that have received seed support from B-Sharp?

After the questions. There was a pause.

“Good we are finished,” said Myers.

(Applause)

_________________________________________________________________

Ok- the minutes are over- they are rough- but that’s an outline of what happened at the meeting.

Firstly, I would like to first and foremost acknowledge that the spectacular turnout at the Belvoir Rehearsal space today was largely to the community, pride, passion and commitment of Independent artists who, in the face of everything- change, financial instability etc- give a shit. I’d also like to acknowledge that the strength and the diversity and the vibrancy of the independent sector is due to the work of Lyn Wallis, Annette Madden and Tahli Corin, and of course Sam Hawker who was care-taking in the interim between Wallis and Madden eras- who have been nothing short of supportive and nurturing of the artists and shows that have been born out of B-Sharp… it is without the care, vision and approachability the venue would not be what it is.

Secondly, I would also like to acknowledge the Independent producers. All the responsibility, none of the glory- the producers of independent theatre are invisible champions of this vibrant artform. They are perhaps known as their pseudonyms “Arts Radar” for example, and they are intergral to the industry… this model effectively cuts them out- unless they have a show that is fully funded or has financial backing (to support wages of equity minimum). It is the strength of these producers that have made the shows look so good- brought the high quality artists to the venue and have built the reputation of the downstairs venue at Belvoir. I’d also like to declare that the best feeling in the world is paying artists- and when producers don’t pay their artists- they often aren’t paying themselves either.

Thirdly, I’d like to acknowledge that “independent” is not a euphemism for “emerging” or “poor,” though sometimes it feels like it is.

Let’s be clear. There is a door closing to independent artists at Belvoir St Theatre. There is a shift. The established artists who have worked in the Independent sector will be delighted they can get paid and not be treated like they are “emerging” and “poor.” The emerging artists will feel hard done by- unable to be seen, or given opportunities. They will feel an opportunity/avenue has been taken away. When provided with the moral/ethical dilemma “would you rather be paid or would you rather there be no work?” every artist will answer differently.

The misnomer here is that we are still using the word “independent.” No. Company B is expanding to include 4 extra shows a year in the downstairs space… the artists will be selected like any other mainstage company- but they’ll get to suggest the participants on their projects AND it will be in a venue 1/6th the size of the upstairs theatre.

What has been created is a middle tier.

What this will do is push a surplus of artists to the remaining co-op spaces- Darlinghurst, The Old Fitz, Griffin independent, Newtown theatre, Sidetrack theatre, Tap Gallery, Seymour Centre- thus creating more demand there. Belvoir will be seen as more exclusive to be a part of (perhaps less of an open arms family rhetoric)…

Let me just get this straight- I absolutely believe artists should be paid. No question about that. But this is no longer Independent Theatre.

I still have many lingering questions.

Will the subscribers to upstairs be happy to attend shows in a less glamorous space?
Who’s selecting/curating?
Will the artistic directorate see all work, anywhere in Sydney?
Will Belvoir’s National scope mean that works will be imported on a touring venue basis if they can foot the bill?
Will the artistic associates be given this space to work in?
What about the Philip Parson’s award?

This decision has a massive effect on the whole industry. And I am keen to hear your thoughts on this radical shift- (And I am not talking about the shift in paying people) in HOW the season is curated. WHO is selecting the artists.

The surprising and difficult thing really is how this information was passed onto the sector… that there was no consultation. That we were told without warning of the structural changes… that artists were given no option to apply for 2011 season. That the uncertainty of Annette and Tahli’s roles (well the fact that the roles “don’t exist”).. the lack of clarity behind the choice of that particular structure. How the media was handled… for a sector so invested in B-Sharp.. a massive show of support and care and camaraderie could only have existed amongst a bunch of romantic nerds…

…and I can’t help but feel that though the sentiment is in the right place, that the process by which this sector has been addressed has been carelessly delivered to us- the vulnerable – the artistically vibrant – the hopeless romantics.

I’d just come home from seeing Bell Shakespeare’s Actors At Work’s Hamlet Intensive (written by Ned Manning and William Shakespeare and directed by Matt Edgerton), I had put my laundry on, taken off my boots- and out of casual obligation I open my email to find this image in my inbox. Sent by multiple sources.

Tonight is the briefing at Belvoir about the changes to the B-Sharp season- and the press releases, emails, articles in the SMH, have done little to quell the reaction to the decision to end B-Sharp’s existence as we know it as the “Independent” wing of Company B, Belvoir St Theatre. I have withheld my personal views and opinions- and my fears about the impact this could have on the sector and theatre culture in Sydney- and I will express these- once I have heard the plans and been given a clear picture of what this decision really means.

I am always one for hearty debate- always one for discussion… and that is why I will be attending tonight. I am keen to hear the thinking-the parameters of the participant involvement. I am keen to hear the questions from Independent artists and I was planning on reporting back later tonight (all all who are unable to attend). Though I applaud anyone having an opinion- and think highest of those who act on their opinions and judgements with conviction and idealism… I am a little saddened by these notes attached to the doors…

Primarily because this type of protest feels like it needs to be anonymous. No name attached. And what saddens me is that people don’t feel free/ able to have an honest dialogue with this theatre. Why is that? Is it because in the rennovation and expansion of Company B that there seems a greater wall between admin and artist? There was a time when artists in the bsharp space had a dressing room that shared a flimsy wall with the administrators in the main building. But this has changed. Is it a case of artist paranoia- or is this an actual shut out of the independent sector? If so, what is the best way to respond?

Is a sign taped to the front door of a theatre sign of a more systemic problem… or perception about how theatre administration and artists interact?

I recall a time when Artistic Directors went to see independent shows- I remember when Nevin’s hair was a silvern beacon in the front row of a b-sharp show… but rarely do we see AD’s or theatres operating beyond their own companies.

I find it interesting that this decision was announced first and then a meeting was called… as opposed to a decision which is founded out of a meeting of/with the sector.

What has happened that this is how we feel we can best discuss things? What is it that we are afraid of? The thing I am most afraid of, is the fact that artists are afraid of having discussion or dialogue or opinion. This is the cornerstone of our art. Dialogue. Yes, protest. Yes, be heard… but lets do it bravely and honestly and together… and let’s hear what is happening first.

In the dizzying haze of Stories from the 428- I didn’t get out much to other theatres- I spent alot of my time with a laptop on my lap top or gesticultating wildly at actors (and occasionally chasing them around rehearsal rooms)… and so was mildly shut off from my regular review circuit. During that time, however, one play was mentioned to me in passing by people who had access to “the outside world” as I remembered it- and that play was none other than Tom Holloway’s Love Me Tender.

I, of course wanted to see this play and I wanted to pay to see it too (recently a facebook friend discovered a rant/article first published on www.aussietheatre.com a few years back about the politics of comps and I still hold true to what I said then- PAY FOR WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN!)- so had to wait for the bus to roll on before I could see why everyone was asking me if I’d seen it…

I will also declare that in 2008 (The first year of Brand Spanking New) I commissioned Tom to write (any thing of his chosing) and this was on the back of his AWGIE win… it was a play called ” If I Was to Stay I Would Only Be In Your Way” (it seems song lyrics are prevalent amongst Tom’s titles.) That being said I only met him for the first time last year at the launch of Griffin Theatre Company’s short play compilation: “Short Circuit.” So this is not a review this is a reflection on what I am left with post show. (I didn’t get one of the very schmick programmes with play concealed within- sadly- there were none on the night I went). I am not going to give an account of the story- you can get that from www.australianstage.com.au and if you are after the context of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Aulis- keep an eye on James Waites’s site for a review he’s the master and has a brilliant perspective on this production and he’ll be writing it up soon (so he told me over coffee). My blurt is really what I saw/now remember.

As a co-production between Company B and Griffin Theatre Company- which has a beautiful historical symmetry to it. Belvoir grew out of Nimrod – and here’s the Griffin is (now housed in the old Nimrod space) nurtured by Belvoir in the months leading up to the rennovation of the Stables. Like a set of visual babbushka dolls- I am reminded of the Stables theatre- the show fitting in the Belvoir St Theatre beautifully. There is a lovely symmetry at work spatially- a set made of astro-turf, encased in a perspex sheild- diamond shaped for the Belvoir space- but also reminiscent of the Stables space.

The play opens with rapid fire exposition- a description told with much urgency by Arky Michael and Kris McQuade. And there isn’t much room to ease up once the foot is on this verbal accelarator. We are asked to image/remember alot- too much? We are asked to sit there and ingest a barrage of ideas/commentary as McQuade and Michaels physicalise the visceral poetry of Holloway’s work in their functionary roles of the chorus. Sometimes I found it hard to keep up- hard to listen- and I think that is the point. Alot of this is about the all consuming nature of love- of lust- how images and thoughts and feelings push themselves into us consciously and unconsciously.

Simple and impressive, Lutton’s direction is cleanly/keenly delivered. The play space for the actors is sodden, misted and shiny- glittering under lights. The performances are tight and punchy. It looks like at Lutton show (thanks to Adam Gardnir)- and feels like its coated in STC slickness.

However- looking around the audience of theatre patrons- many were asleep. Drowsy grey haired patrons- sleepy. Was it the mist? Was it the lights? Was it the rapid fire delivery? Why weren’t they awake? Why did I feel sleepy? It felt dreamlike- soft- poetic- and again- I’ll take that as it’s intention. The sneaky, taboo thoughts that press themselves into us are subtle- there is no bolt out of the blue. This is a slow leak suggestion- as sexual suggestiveness can sometimes be- it smears itself across everything like vaseline over a camera lens- and we feel the clarity slip from our thoughts.

Then-
BASH! Like being woken by ice water- or the maniacal rattle of an early morning Marrickville jackhammer- the most astounding dance sequence I have seen in the theatre in recent times. Recognisable, raunchy, repulsive, embarrassing: completely perfect. As Belinda McGory writes and gyrates and pulses her gradually soaked body to teenpop obnoxiousness- I am left shaken- horrified and broken in my seat. The sleepy heads regained their posture now their nap had been broken.

The ideas are loud and clear- the sexualisation of children- the tragedy of intimacy- the burden of sacrifice… and I am trapped an unwilling audience watching the horror of what I know too well to be wildy true about the continual sexualisation of children- played out before me. I am glued. I’m not moved. I am stuck staring- gawking compulsively. Gawking. Powerless and gawking. One reviewer said that there was no connection to the audience. Perhaps- this is a telling (not a showing). The connection is more to do with the audience’s imagination than with the actors- moments of this play could have been a radio play- it is in us. That’s the point. That’s the problem. Holloway’s play asks us to listen and think and imagine- there is very little shown… and that is also the art of seduction. I got sucked in. I went there. I was horrified by what I found.

And grateful.

This afternoon I received an open letter to Company B from Caleb Lewis, one of the Shortlisted writers for the 2009 Phillip Parson’s Award, who has decided to withdraw from the competition.

I have posted the letter below.

I believe that this must have been a difficult letter to write and to send, as Lewis is, as many are, a living breathing playwright whom I am sure, wishes to be programmed on one of Sydney’s illustrious stages. The tenuous balance between the politcs of theatre and the programming of art is something I think all artists are mindful of. In fact, it is hard to feel that programming is fair and transparent when programming comes down to personal taste.
What I admire most about this debate is how the intergrity of an artist is truly measured in the risks she/he takes in voicing what she believes and what she/he knows in her heart is the right thing to do.

Is that not what so many plays through out history ask us to remember?

To thine own self be true….

And how often is it that we bite our tongues, we close our eyes, we turn our backs only later to say “I let that go, when I should have and could have said that I really believe…” As with anyone who has weighed in on the debate (annonymously or otherwise) the fear of being blacklisted is ever present.

BUT

If we have a healthy and sustainable theatre community- we should talk, we should fearlessly talk about what works , what doesn’t, what concerns we have, what dreams and wishes we have for our industry and our artistic future. We should not be afraid of the repercussions- for what good is a victory is you are not proud of how you fought the battle? And the key is to fight the good fight with compassion, clarity and respect for your opponent.

I understand and respect Lewis’ decision… this discussion is important. Playwriting is important. This award is important. The shortlisted writers deserve their recognition as great voices in our contemporary theatre landscape and we need them… equally … of all genders… of all backgrounds… for “the play’s the thing.”

I’ll be there to hear this panel discussion and curious to hear how this letter is handled on the day. Caleb’s Letter:

An open letter to Company B,

With respect,
Caleb Lewis

Where are the women?
Booking their tickets to the 2009 Philip Parsons Memorial Lecture.
Perhaps we should all wear white- as to show up against the black seats of the theatre incase there is any misconception that we are invisible.
We are visible.
We have vision.

Rachel Healy, Director Performing Arts at Sydney Opera House and former long-term General Manager at Company B Belvoir will deliver a short opening address giving an introduction to the debate. She will then join the panel of distinguished women including: theatre notes blogger and critic Alison Croggon; emerging director Shannon Murphy; Marion Potts, Associate Artistic Director at Bell Shakespeare and Gil Appleton who will provide an historical overview. The panel will share their perspectives, pathways, experiences and thoughts for the future. Moderated by ABC Journalist Monica Attard the discussion will then be opened to the floor for debate.

The recipient of the 2009 Philip Parsons Young Playwright’s Award will also be announced at this event. Awarded annually to a playwright under 35 years of age, whose work demonstrates an original and compelling theatrical voice, the winner will receive a writer’s commission supported by Company B Belvoir. The 2009 shortlisted writers are Tamara Asmar, Van Badham, Tahli Corin, Nick Coyle and Caleb Lewis.

And I of course will be there to check it out.

Nice to note that three of the five shortlisted writers are women. I wonder how the lads feel about the lecture topic?

I am a fan of Tamara Asmar (I spotted Belle’s Line last year at The Old Fitz and approached her for Brand Spanking New) and Tahli Corin (I reviewed Bumming with Jane for www.australianstage.com.au) and Caleb Lewis (of whom I am a huge fan and have also have reviewed and hope to work with somehow someday…) I have reviewed Nick Coyle’s work (Hammerhead is Dead which was at the stables earlier this year) and you’d have to be living under a rock in the middle of the Simpson Desert NOT to have heard of Van Badham- so its going to be a corker of a day!

Also interesting to note that Joanna Erskine is not on this panel- but then again- she has started the conversation and should have the right to sit back and enjoy the banter in real time/life not just as bloggosphere wildfire.

Others I hope to hear from-
Rachel MacDonald – director (who has established her career in Opera and mainstages and has balanced career with motherhood- 4 kids!)
Kate Gaul- Artistic Director of Siren Theatre Company (also the new curator at Sidetrack Theatre)
Hilary Bell- playwright and Griffin Theatre Board Member
Lee Lewis- the only female director working ont he 2010 season at Belvoir
Kate Revz- Cry Havoc director

and I’d love to hear from the true emerging sector- that is the unknown- the directors and writers who maybe haven’t been to drama school and who are working in the industry- the ones who are doing it really tough- I want to hear from them-
Felicity Nicol
Jane Grimley
AnneMaree Magi
Scarlet McGlynn
Danielle O’Keefe

This is everyone’s discussion and I hope to see you there on the 6th!

When: Sunday 6 December 2009
Where: Belvoir St Upstairs Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills 2010
Cost: $10 available from the Belvoir St Theatre Box Office
(02 9699 3444). Tickets also available on the door.