Remember Fortune Theatre? Theatre ACT? Canberra Theatre Company? Where have all these flowers gone?
The fact that I remember them only shows my age, I guess, but age does not weary some people, hope remains eternal, and now The Street Theatre has designs on another form of professional theatre for Canberra in its new Ensemble Group. But don't get your hopes up too high. It will take time, says artistic director Herman Pretorius.
Why, I ask, can't this higher-than-average income community simply put in the money for our own national capital flagship company? Similar cities in other countries do - like Ottawa in Canada, for example. Well, maybe not so similar: "A population of over 1.2 million makes the Ottawa region the fourth-largest urban area in Canada" explains the website. But on the other hand it also says "Whether your interest is culture, history or simply natural outdoor attractions, Canada's Capital region offers a unique combination of both. 30 museums. 50 galleries and theatres. Night clubs. Fine dining. World-class shopping. Heritage sites. Stunning architecture. Festivals. Cultural activities. Attractions. Tours. Natural wonders. Sports. Friendly people."
Sounds like home, but even at one quarter the population surely we should have at least one permanent professional theatre. Will The Street do the trick?
Facts in favour are a small number of trained actors coming to or returning to Canberra looking for professional work and continued professional development, and The Street's success in pulling in more audiences: 14,000 in 2000 raised to 26,561 in 2003. Facts against are the original conception of The Street as a "community" theatre, the tendency in Canberra to form lots of small companies, the always interesting issue of funding, and perhaps our proximity to the bright lights of Sydney.
Pretorius admits that 80% of work at The Street is "community", 20% professional, and although the theatre is fully utilised throughout the year, I'm guessing that more than 80% of audience numbers is in the community sector. What looks good about The Street's 2004 program is the community / cultural / professional mix in the monthly Bunch of Fives, Saturday Club and Youth Un-Plugged, the visiting shows by Shadow House PITS, Supa Productions, Shortis & Simpson, Daramalan Theatre Company, Phoenix Players and Stopera, as well as the special events which started with the National Multicultural Fringe Festival in February, Class Clowns 2004 March 23-25, the Midwinter Choral Festival in July after The Street's own 10th birthday Gala Performance in June.
The Street is presenting 3 professional productions - Domenic Mico's Sirocco and the Angel directed by Peter Damien Hayes (June-July), The Unexpected Man by the author of Art, Yasmina Reza, directed by Catherine Langman (September), and the "mysterious comedy" Mistero Buffo by Dario Fo directed by Herman Pretorius (November-December). This is an interesting combination of local and overseas writing which should be attractive to a Canberra theatre audience.
Calling itself "home to local professional theatre" The Street is managed by Stagemaster Inc. on contract to artsACT, now with 3 year funding and Board membership. The Stagemaster Board largely consists of theatre professionals from the earlier years of Season at the Street. Following last year's Professional Development Group project, The Ensemble Group is seen as stage 2 towards a standing professional company. 7 actors have been selected from interviews, auditions and a group workshop, supported by an "Artistic Group" (designer Kauro Alfonso, manager Katriina Ovchynik, musician and composer Lachlan Cotter, writer Peter Robinson, dramaturg and technician Steven Arculus and visual artist Blaide Lallemand). Project Directors are barb barnett and Catherine Langman, who also has this year's Residency at The Street for 3 months May-July.
Ensemble projects will explore The Four Humours (blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile) and Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi. There will also be readings of 5 plays by local authors Peter J Casey & Carissa Campbell, Joel Barcham, David Finnigan and Adam Hadley, Bill Fleming, Paul Cliff and Susan Pellegrino, with Catherine Langman, Herman Pretorius, Steven Arculus, Cathy Clelland and Camilla Blunden as directors/dramaturgs. The Ensemble actors Emma Strand, barb barnett, Natasha Vagg, Cameron Thomas, Andrew Bibo, Raoul Craemer and Oliver Baudert will form the company for Mistero Buffo as the final main stage production for the year.
Can Pretorius, as CEO and Artistic Director of Stagemaster Inc., pull everything together and lead the Ensemble on to a bright new world of a permanent company? With a PhD from University of Pretoria (doctoral dissertation: Apartheid and Resistance: the development of a political protest theatre in South Africa) and his earlier Master of Arts in Drama cum laude, University of Stellenbosch (thesis: The implementation of Drama and Theatre in Education in South African schools), his academic and practical theatre background plus a successful business career in New Zealand seems just the right mix of left and right for Canberra. But, he says, at each step "you have to make it work to go the next step". Like our recycling efforts, he wants to "stop the waste" of local actors having to go elsewhere for professional employment. Like ActewAGL he wants to "stop the drop". To succeed, he insists, The Street must be inclusive of community and professional practitioners, never developing an exclusive elitist group.
I'm getting on a bit now, so I hope that it doesn't take too long for The Ensemble at The Street to become permanent. It won't only depend on Herman Pretorius, of course. The ACT Government, through artsACT, will be the final arbiter. Maybe there should be some "Save the Ensemble" demonstrations before this year's election. When do we need a permanent professional theatre? Now!
© Frank McKone, Canberra
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