Perth Fringe No More

Just read, in what passes for a local paper here in the West, that the Perth International Arts festival will no longer have a Fringe Festival.

What do we think about this kids?

Leah

I'm trying not to think about it myself:-(

Regardless of whether one thinks it's a poor decision by PIAF or simply a result of diminishing quality of creative output in recent Fringe festivals, or the result of poor media publicity leading to inadequate audiences, it's note exactly a mark of health for Perth independant theatre.

And frankly, I almost laughed when I read that the report that stated (in the space of about 17 words, I may add) that (1) the loss of fringe will allow greater emphasis to be placed on Artrage AND (2) Artrage is no longer going to be held annually (now biennial). Anyone else notice the contradiction there?

From a performer and audience member's perspective, I certainly agree that there were problems inherent in the Fringe Festival. Part of being in any festival means that your show is going to go head to head against numerous other productions, and it is easy for a quality, but low-key, production to be left virtually audienceless. This isn't helped by the fact that the media virtually ignored the Fringe Festival in the past 2 years, and when they did feature something it tended to be the work of the most established artists (which tends to contradict the point of the thing). Sadly, the worst cuplrits were even't the major newspapers - why oh why our once supportive street press magazines have deserted independant theatre (or make restrictions such as only reviewing shows that buy paid advertisements) is beyond me.

2001 - great example. Fringe award for best play went to - Filch. To say this was a great show would be an understatement. Unfortunately, most of the press didn't even say it was a crap show - because they didn't say anything about at all, it completely slipped their radar.

And if the media aren't supporting a festival - then what is it? Just a colourful booklet with a of programme events, with a couple of performer's piss-ups at either end?

Nonetheless, I still think that the Fringe Festival served a lot of great purposes. It gave writers and producers a deadline to actually get of their asses and get that script finished/show organised. It encouraged different parts of Perth's theatre community to mix and collaborate. It brought us some fantastic shows - and some goddawful ones as well admittedly, but frankly it wouldn't be a fringe festival if that wasn't the case (quote - Ben Elton opening the Perth Fringe Festival a few years back - "One day, you'll be able to recoginse a person on TV and say 'Hey! I saw them in a play in the Perth Fringe Festival, years before they became famous - and my god they sucked!'")

And even if it didn't have the audience following it deserved, the Fringe Festival still gave people like me an excuse to get off their own ass and actually get out and and see 5 plays in a month.

Just a few thoughts,
Craig

Well said Craig.

I'm being lazy and replying to you instead of writing a full essay.
>
> Regardless of whether one thinks it's a poor decision by PIAF

It all comes down to bucks. There isn't a great deal of money in theatre and festivals are resource sponges. But i feel Mainstrem festivals shouldn't be running fringe festivals. the large percentage of fringes world wide have come from artists saying their mainstrem festivals sucks, lets do our own! Also i feel the fringe's lack of linking with the universities and developing a volunteer culture was restricting but im an outsider to the process so speak without a great deal of authority

> or simply a result of diminishing quality of creative output
> in recent Fringe festivals,

I think there is a room for theatre that dosen't work. Theres got to be a risk of failure and we've all got to fail at times. Fringe's should never be judged on creative success

or the result of poor media
> publicity leading to inadequate audiences,

Yes. But its not just the publicity. (but i feel the brochure was less than great last time) We need to create and develop audinces and a fringe festival that charges more than a movie ticket and tries to compete with everyhting isn't going to work! It should have NO shows at 8pm and have accessible shows and saccessible times and accessible venues. The fringe should never be about making money. $5 shows at 6:30pm for 40 minutes then you can go and see your Black Swan etc etc. and dont underestimate the worth of this website, the Blue Room.

it's note exactly
> a mark of health for Perth independant theatre.

A bit annoyed with "Perth theatre in crisis" from the media and "we need a venue and it'll all be okay". At the moment their is an independent theatre company preparing under milkwood, Suspect is on at Rechabites and Two is playing to strong reviews at the Blue Room. Thats just the tip of the iceberg. Nearly all of the funded companies have a regional tour (if not two) happening. And all companies are going towards new shows. And i haven't even touched on shows like Noises off etc etc. We need to be constant champions for ourselves because im not sure who else will be.

>
> And frankly, I almost laughed when I read that the report
> that stated (in the space of about 17 words, I may add) that
> (1) the loss of fringe will allow greater emphasis to be
> placed on Artrage AND (2) Artrage is no longer going to be
> held annually (now biennial). Anyone else notice the
> contradiction there?
>
> From a performer and audience member's perspective, I
> certainly agree that there were problems inherent in the
> Fringe Festival. Part of being in any festival means that
> your show is going to go head to head against numerous other
> productions, and it is easy for a quality, but low-key,
> production to be left virtually audienceless. This isn't
> helped by the fact that the media virtually ignored the
> Fringe Festival in the past 2 years, and when they did
> feature something it tended to be the work of the most
> established artists (which tends to contradict the point of
> the thing). Sadly, the worst cuplrits were even't the major
> newspapers - why oh why our once supportive street press
> magazines have deserted independant theatre (or make
> restrictions such as only reviewing shows that buy paid
> advertisements) is beyond me.

$$$$$$$$$. unfortunately. Luckily we have this website for reviews!


>
> 2001 - great example. Fringe award for best play went to -
> Filch. To say this was a great show would be an
> understatement. Unfortunately, most of the press didn't even
> say it was a crap show - because they didn't say anything
> about at all, it completely slipped their radar.
>

The west did review it. Hated it.

> And if the media aren't supporting a festival - then what is
> it? Just a colourful booklet with a of programme events, with
> a couple of performer's piss-ups at either end?

But...we need to demand attention in over ways. Street theatre days promoting shows, highlight nights at the festival club, channel 31 time . Their are other ways to promote without the press. Lets not get caught in the idea we are aone paper town, 200 poster, 1000 flyer town!

thereya go some semi random thoughts

Dave Ryding

Haven't been keeping up with WA news, I'm currently in Alice Springs, but I did know this was on the cards. (Glad to see current issues posted here for discussion, thanks!)


I've been lucky enough to have been involved in the Perth Festival 'proper' many times, and from that perspective it was hard enough to find time to see other shows, let alone have any involvement in a concurrent fringe. This past two years that I wasn't in a PIAF show, I got the chance to participate in 5 fringe productions plus one short film.
Also, although you could argue the two festivals target different audiences, I believe there was some competition for the audience dollar which probably hurt houses for Fringe shows. If your interested punter has allocated $80 bucks to see two Festival shows, they may be pushing it to see even one Fringe show. At a different time of year with more cashflow they'd be more likely to see around three or more Fringe events.
So personally I'm not too upset that they've decided not to run a concurrent Fringe.

Dave Ryding wrote:
>I think there is a room for theatre that doesn't work. There's got to be a risk of failure and we've all got to fail at times. Fringes should never be judged on creative success

But I do think that for there to be a sense of artistic risk taking, there needs to be an inherent sense of artistic merit to the projects. If a project of merit fails because it is taking a brave risk, then yes of course there is room and a Fringe is the perfect location. But 'freedom to fail' is not, by itself, a good justification for poor quality ideas. Too many of these and a festival is doomed.

"Filch" was a great example for Craig K Edwards to have brought up. I found there were parts I really DIDN'T like, but I LOVED what it was trying to do artistically. The award for 'best PLAY' may be debatable, but it certainly deserved an accolade for 'BEST risk', which in a Fringe scenario is possibly a more apt name for the top award.


Craig K Edwards wrote:
>why oh why our once supportive street press magazines have deserted independant theatre (or make restrictions such as only reviewing shows that buy paid advertisements) is beyond me.

I think X-Press's excuse was because they were a major sponsor of the entire event, they found it unethical to review any one show over another.
I would have thought the logical and only valid solution would be to review EVERYTHING...somehow the usual excuses of time and resources got in the way. I do think it was a BIG MISTAKE that XPress took this stance though; their readership is a huge potential Fringe audience, and a lack of reviews only gave the impression that not much was worth reporting.


>or the result of poor media publicity leading to inadequate audiences

not just poor media publicity...poor media, full stop. Thanks Dave, for summing up well some of the inadequacies of the 'Perth Theatre in Crisis' mentality, that frankly has been undermining the potential industry for well over a decade.

And hey, this change may very well be an example of the industry getting it's house in order...trying new solutions to a situation that wasn't totally satisfactory. But of course, the media always chooses to turn an event into 'news' by making it appear to be a 'crisis'. Do you think any part of Dave's paragraph describing the hive of current activity, newsworthy as it is, will ever be printed in a news article..?

This change has also been foreseen for some time - the Fringe only received funding, a few years ago, to exist as long as it did. More than it being a venue problem, it's a problem of Arts funding in this State being nowhere near the levels received by similar States elsewhere in the world.
My only problem with Dave's Ryding's thoughts is where he says on one hand "It all comes down to bucks. There isn't a great deal of money in theatre and festivals are resource sponges." and on the other hand "The fringe should never be about making money", condemning prices that are more than a movieticket. The problem is not that I don't agree with his two contradictions, it's that the shortfall is really only going to be made up by an increase in funding.

Again, speaking personally, the last Fringe may have been under-resourced and/or disorganised. There were major errors in our programme listing for 'The Stones' that resulted in people I know turning up at the wrong time and missing our show, or planning to attend a performance that we'd never scheduled in the first place.
Hopefully, consolidating Artrage into the 'official' Fringe (as it once used to be), biennial or not, will allow for more efficiency and productivity.

Independent 'fringe' theatre will continue to fill in the gaps as it always does, regardless of whether there is a current festival or not.


Cheers
crgwllms

[%sig%]

If, indeed, the problem is attendance and funding then perhaps a more 'creative' model should be persued.

Off the top of my head, this is something that might work (pls just look at the principle, not the logistics - they can come later if anyone feels inclined to chase this up :o)

- SUBSCRIBERS not PATRONS are sought, through mailing lists of past theatre goers, etc - BOCS/Artrage database, for instance.
- The Subscribers buy a card/booklet to, say, 5 shows for $x (something lowish, say $45) - massive value, hard to resist, etc.
- The card/booklet is marked, and a note made at the box office of various shows this subscriber actually goes to.
- The show is then reimbursed the commensurate amount of $9.50 per subscriber from the system admin (assuming $45 is the price of the card/booklet)
- What it lacks in up front cash value, it should make up for in full houses.
- Any cards not used/ unallocated money goes to admin of this system & left over evenly distruibuted between *all* participating shows.
- The beaut thing is that each box office can offer a 'renewal' card for a further 3 shows, say, at $29.95 which will also go into the kitty, as above.

Probably lots of flaws, but an attempt at looking outside-in, not vice versa.

Jason Seperic

PS - GO GO GO see noises off!! You'll kick yourself from here to Sunday if you don't!

OOPS, my maths suck! It should say $9 per show, not $9.50... ;o)

Jason

what...still haven't been to Noises Off? GO!!... or feel the wrath of ZOD, thou droning clapper-clawed dewberry!

....mmmmm, dewberry.....*grhfrhwrgh*

Sad as it is to see the fringe go. The question is was it properly supported and organised in the first place. It seemed to really lack any atmosphere or energy that a fringe has attached to it. It seemd more like it was tacked on to keep the dogs at bay. I think Artrage becoming biennial while good in sum respects, means that they will have to work twice as hard to build up the energy and atmosphere it needs.

I don't know maybe fringe in general has lost it egde. I remeber artrage in the 90's it had an energy and air about it that it seems to lack now. You enjoyed working on it. But now.....

I don't know maybe it's just me!
Maybe artrage and fringe associates have to screwed to many people?

Where has the edge gone????????

I used to love Artrage in the 1990s, and then for some reason it just died in the arse.
I thought the Fringe had a lot of potential that it will now never have a chance of fulfilling, while Artrage will find any kind of continuing enthusiasm or exciting activity rendered fairly impossible by being bi-annual.
Very, very sad.