Auditions

Sorry for continuing this overly long topic, but I am SO sick of hearing this excuse that I felt like doing something excruciatingly violent to my computer monitor. Given that I can't afford a new monitor, I'm replying to the post instead. Michael said:

> People just dont have $200,000 sitting around they tend to be
> using their homes and should the show fail then thats exactly
> what they have risked and whayt they will loose.
>
> Theatre is a very risky business and shows do fail . How
> about those that think there is a fortune to be made, join
> together form a company and put their own homes, or would it
> be their parents homes, at risk and put on a show
>
No, people don't just have $200,000 sitting around to put into shows. They also don't just have $200,000 sitting around to put into buying a corner deli, or opening an cafe or ANY OTHER BUSINESS! Yes, theatre IS a very risky business - so are most small businesses. 80% of small business ventures end in bankruptcy! It doesn't justify exploitation. Yes, I guess if the local corner deli was to start taking advantage of people's naivety, they'd probably convince a few naive people willing to work for free ('You'll get valuable experience...', 'I'm thinking of paying people in the future...', 'You'll make contacts this way...'). What's more, you'd probably have a huge increase in the number of corner deli's around. And it would still be exploitation just the same.

And yes, people can wax lyrical about the joys of performing, and how said it is that people just think about getting paid etc etc...(picture the smallest violin in the world just here). The fact is, hardly anyone on this site is not prepared to perform for free. Frankly I've only ever been paid to act a handful of times in my life, I don't ever expect to give up my day-job, and I imaging I am fairly typical in that regard to most people who post on this site. Performing for free in a cooperative effort (whether for share of profits, of for a community organisation that will reinvest the money in further projects) is very different to performing for free for the sake of lining someone's pocket. And even if we are not naive enough to do so, that doesn't mean that just because it is our choice to perform or not, therefore it doesn't affect us - anymore than allowing retail stores to use free labour 'wouldn't affect' retail workers because it would be 'their choice' whether to work or not. Anyway, if someone is truly putting something on just for the love of theatre, and doesn't want the whole complicated issue of having to practice even minimal business ethics, there is no reason why they shouldn't guarantee that the money isn't going back into theatre rather than their own pocket by running it through an appropriately incorporated theatre company.

Many people, Michael, have formed theatre companies, taken risks and put on shows. Just look at the What's On section of this website. Some of those have spent the extra money (oohh...around $300 and 15 minutes these days) to register a company and put a rule in the constitution guaranteeing that its profit will go back into future shows. Maybe you could ask GRADS, Playlovers, Stirling Players, KADS, etc how they did it - I'm sure they'd help you out. Many more have decided to make a bit of money themselves, paying their performers a share of the profits like any ethical co-operative scheme. Check the Blue Room and Rechabites Hall lists, there's a stack of them. And with regards to the latter, you can't even use the 'But we give people a chance to get noticed' excuse - a very good proportion of Blue Room/Rechabites/co-op shows get reviewed in the West Australian and other newspapers, maybe because having paid performers (even when it is just a share of very small profits) actually gives a production credibility?

Yes theatre IS a risky business. But it is your choice to make it a business, rather than a shared project or even a hobby. Good on you for doing so, professional theatre is something we need more of in this city. But if it is a business, then business ethics apply, just like any other business.

Okay, I've vented most of my anger now. Time to take a breath before I turn blue.
Craig