The president speaks . . . well . . . types.

Ok, I’ve kept quiet for some time now, for a number of reasons (the main ones being that in the lead up to the Finley Awards Night I simply did not have a lot of time to be engaging in forum postings and after the night I had four wisdom teeth removed and have been on some pretty good drugs and couldn’t be trusted to string a sentence together) however there are some points which have been raised over the last month or so that I would like to address. First off let me start by saying that the ITA is not some faceless, emotionless organisation making decisions from on high. The ITA is a committee made up of people from a variety of community theatres. We have feelings and we listen to everything that is being said. Basically, if you cut us we bleed (or, if you take out four teeth then we swell up and start looking and talking like Marlon Brando in the Godfather). I joined the ITA committee five years ago because I wanted to give something back to the community which had given me so much. This is not some sappy line uttered by a person looking to get re-elected. I will be standing down from the ITA at this year’s AGM due to study commitments. Through community theatre I’ve discovered a passion for acting, for directing, a talent for publicising (or bullshitting, however you want to look at it) I’ve made lifelong friends, fallen in and out of love and have created some of my happiest memories. So, I volunteered for the ITA committee (as well as being on the Blak Yak executive committee, it is possible to give time to both “your” club and the ITA) and I have no regrets. But now it’s time for some new people to step up. It’s easy to criticise (and as Homer Simpson says “fun too”) but it’s not as easy to be willing to try and make a change, to try and make a difference. If you have something to say, come along to the AGM at 2.30pm on February 17th at the Citywest Lotteries House (2 Delhi St, West Perth). Everyone is welcome, if you don’t want to be on the committee then no one will force you. It’s one afternoon out of your life to have your say about your ITA. Off my soapbox now. I’ve quickly compiled a list of the questions which have been asked on this site over the past month or so. I’ll do my best to answer them J To those of you who are not in WA, I apologise for the ridiculous amount of space this whole thing seems to have taken up. Hopefully we’ll be back to regular programming shortly. Oh and I want to say thank you to all those people who have said nice things about the ITA, the committee and the Finley Awards Night, your comments have been noted and appreciated J So . . . “Why are there only awards for best director and best Musical Director? What about choreographer? I'm sure there are enough who have been involved with shows this year for there to be nominations. And I don't necessarily mean Best. What about Outstanding Choreographic Achievement, the person or persons who have made the biggest impact on a show through the choreography.” KTP This issue, raised by Kristen prior to the awards night as well as by a couple of people again after the night, is good one and could certainly be discussed at the AGM. If a club or individual would be interested in donating a trophy for “Outstanding Choreographic Achievement” I’m sure the adjudicators would consider it for 2008’s awards. I realise that Paul Treasure was not calling the Adjudicator’s Certificates “consolation prizes”, he was merely drawing attention to an attitude which has become prevalent. Kerri was not quoting or misquoting Paul at the Finley’s, she too was drawing attention to this attitude, ‘nuff said. Stinger (not to be confused with Mr “you’ve been STUNG” Sting) stated “I doubt the Finley judges were greatly swayed by the sizes of audiences - at least I hope they weren't!” I think the fact that Picasso’s Women won third place is proof that the judges most definitely were not swayed by audience sizes. It was a good show (yes, I am most definitely biased here) but simply did not get the bums on seats. Comps for performers . . . I agree with both sides of the argument here. It does seem rude to say to clubs “we want you to perform, but you have to pay to see the show”. However, some years we have over 150 performers, how can the ITA afford to give away that many seats? We would have to raise the price of tickets, which is unfair on those people not performing. Each club invited to perform have the right to say no, they also can subsidise their performer’s tickets. I wish there was an easy answer to this one, but there’s not. It’s not that we are trying to make a lot of money out of the Finley’s, the night is not a fundraising event, we’re merely trying to break even. Now, if someone could come up with a sponsor for the night . . . As for the BOCS fees issue, I understand that one too. However trying to arrange the ticketing for the Finley’s is a full time job all on it’s own and since most of us already have a full time job, one which pays the bills and feeds us (mostly ice cream and yogurt at the moment), none of us have the time. If someone would like to volunteer in 2008 I’m sure the committee would reconsider using BOCS . . . Skybe from Mandurah Little Theatre wanted to know what the difference between the top ten and the nominees was. The top ten list is basically those plays which had the highest scores awarded by the adjudicators. The individual awards, which we released the shortlists for, are those individual aspects of a production which stood out to the adjudicators. I just want to be clear on this, every production entered into the Finley’s is nominated. Every director, actor, set, musical performer, musical director etc is nominated. What the ITA released was the shortlist created by the adjudicators for those individual awards. Will the ITA release the shortlists again? I don’t know. It’s a decision which will be made by the 2008 committee. Be sure to tell them what you think. As for all those who suggest we cancel the Finley’s simply because every year the results prompt debate, no offence meant, but that’s nonsense. The Finley Awards are not just about walking away with a trophy, certificate or medallion. Each club who enters are striving to improve the standard of the entertainment they offer to theatre going audiences. They receive comments from the adjudicators which are designed to be constructive and help further improve standards. The night itself is about recognising community theatre as a whole and most importantly it’s about gathering and mingling with people you may only get to see once or twice a year. To cancel the whole thing because it causes a couple of disagreements every year is ridiculous. Give it a few weeks and most people will have forgotten about this whole thing. I think, on the whole, the majority of people enjoy the Finley’s. I, for one, am looking forward to coming along to the 2008 ceremony, sitting in the audience and watching the whole thing J I’ve probably missed a lot of important things here, but it’s time for me to take more medication (I should stress, it’s the prescribed kind). I would really appreciate it if all the sniping and snipping and rude comments would cease. The ITA exists to “promote cooperation and better communication between all persons or groups of persons engaged in the pursuit of theatre and theatrical arts.” If you have a question, ask away and we will do our best to answer. If you have a concern, let us know, if you have a complaint, tell us. I hope to see many people at the AGM on the 17th J I’m done. Melissa Merchant The bruised and swollen President of the ITA