Snapshots of Brisbane Theatre 2009-2014
Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas
Fractal Theatre Company Productions on Facebook
Dir: Brenna Lee-Cooney at the Old Museum Building, Brisbane
Did you know there was a get together of independent theatre Artistic Directors and General Managers last week at Flipside Circus? It was a bit of an old school invitation in … umm … email instead of Facebook but, nonetheless, it was sent around.
I went along because I had recently sent an email and Facebook message around asking people if there was a Brisbane Theatre Producers’ network I could tap into to talk to people about my current project, the Anywhere Theatre Festival. I received a number of responses about things that had happened in the past (and generally imploded). Then, completely unconnected, I received an email from Markwell Presents’ Stephen Maxwell about the event at Flipside Circus.
What happened at the event? Well, I’m not supposed to tell you, but we came up with a secret handshake, discussed how we would form a cartel that would limit any kind of funding going to any other company, and devised a strategy to steal everyone’s audiences. Pity you weren’t there. Or, in reality, we had some lunchtime food and drink organised by Flipside Circus and Markwell Presents, had a chat to a mixture of people we had and hadn’t met before (or for a while) and then decided we should do this again on at least a quarterly basis.
The event got me thinking. In Brisbane theatre I think we are great at coming up with new ideas and starting new things. I think we are pretty shite at admitting someone else has come up with something great and joining in or simply sharing. It isn’t an original thought. You may argue it isn’t even an accurate thought. There are exceptions. However, after attending many forums, sessions run by visiting international artists, sessions run by funding bodies or festival organisers, I’d have to say it could be a reason why many of these events are woefully underattended. Or is it? Continue reading “Theatre Will Eat Itself (Guest Contributor: Paul Osuch)”
You can submit up to 3 (three) nominations beside each of the 12 (twelve) categories listed below, but only once please.
When nominations close on February 1, 2011, Greenroom will collate and post the three highest scoring nominees in each category and publish them here. At this stage the voting process will begin, and you will be the voters.
The winners of the inaugural Groundlings will be announced on February 14, 2011. But first, the nominations …
Please note that Groundlings will only be awarded to Queensland theatre-makers. Yes, we’re proudly parochial.
Greenroom’s focus, as per its byline, is on Professional and Independent theatre in Queensland. Amateur and community theatre productions are not eligible for an award.
Co-productions qualify but only insofar as nominees are Queensland residents. There is a separate category for the Best Co-production anyway.
CATEGORIES
All categories refer to work during the calendar year of Season 2010.
HOW TO NOMINATE
Click here This will take you to the nomination page where you will find a listing of all categories pre-printed for your convenience. There is also a button on most of Greenroom’s pages which will also take you to the nomination page.
You can fill in up to three nominees in all or just some categories. Order doesn’t matter. When you are finished, click the submit button at the bottom of the submission form page.
HOW THE NOMINATIONS WILL BE COLLATED
When nominations close at midnight on February 1, 2011, Greenroom will total all the nominations. When this is done – and it may take a day or so – the 3 (three) highest-scoring nominees in each category will be published for voting here on Greenroom.
HOW FINAL VOTING WILL HAPPEN
Voting will be done via an automated Word Press plugin, and results will be available on Greenroom on February 14. The day has significance!
To avoid any taint of conflict of interest, Greenroom will not be nominating or casting any votes.
Someone on Twitter this morning posted ‘I wish we could have creative development all the time.’ This sentiment is well understood by artists everywhere. Of course, creative development for its own sake is hardly the point. Every theatre maker longs to have the work go before an audience, and, hopefully, be remunerated appropriately for the effort involved. But, to begin at the beginning …
SE Queensland has some rather good creative development opportunities for independent artists and creatives, as well as support platforms for low-cost productions, many of which are of new work. A few are long-standing and well-regarded by the industry. They include various programs out of !Metro Arts, which most see as the support hub for this kind of work, certainly in Brisbane. There’s also La Boite’s Indie program which has just finished its first year of operation and, if you are to believe those who have taken part, or spoken to audience members around the place, then it’s been a raging success. Queensland Theatre Company has several long-standing writing programs which include the prestigious Premier’s Drama Award, which is the only one of its kind in offering a full production at the end of a lengthy creative development period. In the regions, JUTE in Cairns is involved in creative development of new work, whilst Toowoomba’s Empire Theatre Projects Company, through its Regional Stages grants, initiated a creative development process for what eventually became David Burton’s April’s Fool. Earlier this year, the play went on to a fully professional production at home, in Ipswich and in Brisbane. The EPC recently also engaged in creative development process for Water Wars, which will get up in the 2011 La Boite Indie Season. Now La Boite has launched Scratch for 2011. I wanted to know more, so I asked David Burton. He’s one of the 5 newly-created Associate Artists that have been engaged for the year to produce new works from … scratch. Continue reading “Scratch! Dave Burton (Interview 13)”
It’s the start of summer today, which means that from now on, and until the start of Season 2011, there’s going to be a lot of theatre downtime here in the Sunshine State.
So we thought to keep the chat alive and to have a bit of serious fun, that Greenroom would launch our own theatre awards for Season 2010. The Groundlings will be people’s choice awards, and you get to nominate in all categories. Once nominations close – we think 1st February is a fair enough date – voting will open for a couple of weeks. We’ll announce the winners on Valentine’s Day. How does that sound?
We’re working on the categories which will relate to professional and independent/pro-am theatre in Queensland, and not just in Brisbane, OK? The old favourite categories will be there: Best Performances, productions, design etc. etc., but there will also be some that relate to the use of new media and the arts – stay tuned for details.
Oh, and the awards themselves? No cash, no trophies, just the warm glow that comes from acknowledgement of peers and theatre lovers plus a front page spread on Greenroom.
Back soon!