Advance aaustralia

hello!! Citing the Malthouse in the last post was just that. We still in this country have no theatre company playing "all australian" plays with a focus on new work. Does that matter? Perhaps Black Swan may be the last? The point is yes we have spoken about this with colleagues, peers, friends and artists forever and yes funding is a problem and subsidies and support for new writers etc- however if we are going to be finanically constrained in the arts then how to we move past this to a better cultural future? Does it matter how we chose to express ourselves? - linear or arty plays, any type of visual performance, puppetry, film, radio?. The point is this is our expression for the moment in this country. Thank god for places like La mama who will take a risk and perform a new Oz work regardless of format. So how do all of us together unite and try to support ourselves and advance australia artistically, because obviously we are cultural future.

I think you'll find that even La Mama are fairly conservative in what they choose to present (yes, they present new works, yes they are usually a bit 'out there' and fringe-y, but no, they are not all risk. They have budgets to meet, sponsorship and funding guidelines to meet, and are already overwhelmed with submissions. They can't produce everything.) I agree with Tony. Look at all the people on the board of Aus Council - many have 'arts' involvement, but as an advisor on boards, or as someone who gets businesses involved (as sponsors), or who are 'arts'/business advocates. Many of them only really have business experience, being CEOs or other things. The Council only seems to really appoint people who are good with money, and not good with arts. PS. I write absurdist type stuff. Have been rejected by a number of playwrights competitions, venues (including La Mama), and other such organisations. I have only ever had success by producing my own work, and that is exactly what the situation is about - it's up to us to do it, not rely on these organisations. Yes, they are good. But not good enough to make some money out of, or to become the 'next big thing' in theatre. Perfect example is Red Stitch - a group of actors who formed a company/venue, because they weren't getting enough work, and weren't getting work that interested them or challenged them. The Prompt Copy Store www.store.thepromptcopy.com Sticky Apple Legs www.freewebs.com/stickyapplelegs Puppets in Melbourne www.freewebs.com/puppetsinmelbourne Treading the Boards www.treadingtheboards.thepromptcopy.com

I think you'll find that

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