The Problems With the Canberra Theatre Scene #1

I love the theatre scene in Canberra. It's one of the many reasons I begrudgingly get up every morning and collapse in an exhausted heap on my bed every night. But to say that it is perfect, or even "great", is absurd. It's not the best, and it's not what it used to be (so the elderly keep informing us - more on that later), but it can be. I'm not writing this because I want to slam down everything and boost my own ego. I have other outlets for that. I'm writing this because the first step in solving a problem is admitting that there is one.

1. There Are Too Many Theatre Companies. 

This is obvious to almost everyone, but nobody ever really says it in print. Most of these companies can only afford to put on two shows a year. Some can't even manage that. Even if they could, there aren't enough theatres to house them all. There's the Q, Erindale theatre, the ANU Arts Centre, the Courtyard Studio, the Belconnen Community Centre and the Tuggeranong Arts Centre. Six theatres, fought over by more than twenty companies. If each show runs for three weeks, with most companies managing to put out two shows a year, and then we account for touring productions (which take up the majority of the Q, the Courtyard and the Tuggeranong Arts Centre), there is simply not enough room

Let's not mince words: the oversaturation of theatre in Canberra stems from precious egos and tantrums. Even eighty-two years ago, Canberra Repertory was formed because a number of people didn't like the way the existing theatre company was run. That was, however, a break I would support, as the original company had become so laden with in-fighting, politics and fiscal concern (a recurring theme for the next eighty two years of theatre in Canberra) that people created their own company to revisit the passion, enjoyment and quality that theatre is meant to bring. 

I'm not the kind of person to point out problems without offering a solution. Those people have their various positions on councils, and they can nitpick and whine to each other as much as they like. My suggestion is simple, and stems from something that already happened a few years ago: start working together! We all whore from company to company anyway, with no real feeling of differentiation between production companies. When Phoenix and Supa teamed up for Miss Saigon, that was a brilliant idea. Two middlingly-successful companies teaming up to put on a high-quality production. Why not just merge the companies to create, I don't know, SupaPhoenix? Aside from sounding AWESOME, they would then have access to double the resources they currently have. It would also help with scheduling on their shared rehearsal venue in Cook (they'd only have to work around the five-odd productions that Free Rain puts on).

You have too many companies, putting on their two shows at the same times of the year, and not enough actors/dancers/singers to fill them. You need to put your egos and differences aside and work together, for both your own good, and the good of theatre quality in Canberra.

2. The CAT Awards.

How can we recognise and encourage talent and production quality in a town like Canberra? That's easy: you create an awards evening to celebrate the best that the city's theatre scene has to offer. Every production is considered, and every award winner is decided by a team of objective observers, with extensive theatrical experience, training, knowledge and appreciation. That is the perfect plan.
It's not what we've got. Not anymore, anyway. We had it, and it was a tremendously successful idea. Like any organised religion, though, it has run its course, and become so obsolete, hypocritical, inconsistent and thoroughly in-its-own-arse that the Canberra theatre scene is only being damaged by its presence.

I understand that award shows are difficult to put on. I understand that. But you have sponsors. They're the ones who have awards named after them, and give speeches every year. They are not the ones who provide you with a hideously decorated car, or provide you with wardrobe for the evening, or keep you in stock of eyelashes.
As the "elite observers" of the Canberra theatre scene, you should know about the financial trouble that some (read: most) companies are in. You should not then, if you have such a passionate love for theatre, extort them for award entry fees for the year, let alone PER PRODUCTION, as well as insisting on having twelve seats reserved over the run of each entered show. I didn't have a problem with the yearly entry fee - that helps the cogs turn, so to speak. People who don't want to be part of the awards simply don't pay them. That's fine. But to charge for each production is absurd. There are companies no longer registering for your awards because, more than the irrelevance, pretension and general butt-slapping associated with them, they simply can't justify that financial expenditure. Can you really say that you're rewarding the best in the "Canberra Area" if you don't consider, I don't know, all of the companies in Canberra?

So what do you do when you're not making enough money from the companies within the "Canberra Area"? You expand the borders. All of a sudden, Merimbula, Wagga Wagga, Orange and Shell Harbour have entered the Canberra Area, because they pay the fees. Someone alert the ACT Legislative Assembly - they're only covering the centre part of a state which appears to sprawl awkwardly across New South Wales.
More than anything else, though, is the sickening politics with which the "Awards" have become synonymous. The bending of rules, the stretching of categories, the five-hour "galas", and last year's speech by the Awards' committee president, in which he made an entire auditorium of people uncomfortably silent by bitching into the microphone about Philo leaving the Awards, and other companies thinking about doing the same. If there's one way to show that you're insecure about your position of prominence as an institution, and one sure sign that you should consider walking away from it, it's that you feel the need to publicly disparage anybody who doesn't want to be part of your monopoly.

3. Talents Aren't Trained; They're Expected

How many times have we seen a show where the director can only shrug and say "I did the best with what I could"? How did we ever allow that idea to enter the collective mindset of people who supposedly take pride in their work? 

A constant shortage of actors (see problem #1) means that directors, at a certain point, have to take whoever they can get. This is not a bad thing. I encourage everybody to participate in theatre, I think it is one of the most beautiful things a person can do, and I have met the most amazing people in my life through rehearsals and productions (and cast parties).
But simply taking untrained actors onboard, giving them a script, throwing your hands in the air and proclaiming "Now Act!" isn't going to help anyone. Acting is like any other talent - while some people may find it comes naturally, others need guidance and instruction. They need support.
There isn't a tertiary acting course in Canberra that works well with theatre. The ANU have long since canned their courses, UC even before that. Where we once had a sea of eager actors, (one needs only to look at the ANU graduate clique that fostered Duncan Ley, Duncan Driver, David Clapham, Rachael Clapham, Lainie Hart, Ed Wightman, Fiona Atkin, Steph Roberts and many, many more), we now rely on an eager-yet-untrained cohort of high-school students and college graduates who, while talented, haven't got the experience in live performance to meet the high standards set by their predecessors. 

This problem extends out beyond the cast, too. Many theatre company balk at the very thought of using a new person as a director, lighting designer, set designer, stage manager, production manager etc, and for good reason: These roles come with enormous responsibility. Unfortunately, only Repertory and Phoenix seem to have a grasp on the concept of mentoring, by which new talents can be guided and taught by experienced and accomplished veterans.

The solution to this problem appears to be simple, at least to me. We must, not should, MUST, begin to engage, train and encourage the development of talent in every field. We can't look at new actors as more competition. We can't look at new directors as moronic dreamers. We can't look at new techies as safety-hazards. That's how you end up with fringe-theatres full of ambitious performers, directors and techies who lose sight of common sense in the quest to be seen as amazing. If you want to be part of a good show, you have to do your bit to make sure every aspect is good.

*EDIT* I do have to apologise to the good people at CADA, for my misinformed comments. I broke a pretty vital rule and wrote based on hearsay. I'm sure you do very fine work. I guess I got wrapped up in wanting immediate action, not to wait until your students graduate. Feel free to advertise your course showcases here (or message me and I'll put them up), get some attention to the students' work.

That's all for now, but there will undoubtedly be more installments coming.