Little fact check - the Toowoomba theatre is the largest regional pros arch. I believe the State Theatre in Melbourne is the largest pros arch in the Southern Hemisphere. Great article though. I emerged into the industry in Perth so I can identify with some of these emotions although now that I live in Melbourne and work in the industry down here I think so much of the attitudes are more about history and folklore rather than anything that is really happening down on the ground today. In particular, post COVID it really is tough all over...
Absolutely Samsara. Thanks so much for the fact check. Surprised that this article is still doing the rounds almost a year on. But the cultural bias towards Syd and Mel is perennial!
Love you and your brilliant erudite words once again my friend. You know we are 100% on the same page... SO sad to see how all the meaningful community engagement and storytelling is gone at QMF... honestly don't understand why it is funded by my taxes now tbh - it is simple a commercial construct. Love to connect soon and share my new 12 piece song cycle with the words of David Malouf and we amazing composers with my new company Ave Australian Vocal Ensemble.....we aim to be the first internationally and nationally focused music ensemble based in Bris and the first arts organisation in Australia to pay singers a salary akin to our dear fellow instrumentalist...ps our next writer we are commissioning music for is Gwen Harwood. What a writer she was! We will tell our world class QLD stories with immense pride. x
We no longer live in Queensland because, frankly, being a flouncy homo in the state sucks, but we have big plans to depict Qld in our upcoming games.
The biggest tragedy for me, with the ever present cultural cringe (or has it downgraded to just an overlook?), is the loss of depiction of place and time. I want touchstones that sum up what it was like to go to the Valley in 2003, I want a film/game/visual medium that has goths hanging out of the old pre-concrete King George Square. I want the pride and awe of GOMA appearing and being AMAZING, captured.
When Garage Days is still an Australia-wide-at-this-time reference, we are severely lacking. (Sorry Garage Days)
crikey the last thing Brissie should do is follow the Melbourne erasure of women but sadly jumped from hicksville into pretence 101 ..... Culture be damned learning and passing culture and true diversity nuh just label away common humanity and grace and honest authenticity for concrete plastic labelled zip
Yeah ? Try being a seasoned woman - the whole data industrial estate is sexist misogynist and ignore women - Australia screws those who dont conform and Qld was and still is both outrageously conservative ; wipes out culture and icons makin a quick buck for mostly multinationals and a few elites but then produces occasional iconic rebels - sadly the men makin the bucks are wiping out women and no one in the Arts dare challenge the new orthodoxy
Wonderful talent in the Wld theatre youth programs. But no work or opportunities for them with the theatre company after with very rare exceptions. Nurturing talent is usually only effective when strategic and with mid-long term dynamic planning
Kat Henry also running the Directing Masters at VCA.
Little fact check - the Toowoomba theatre is the largest regional pros arch. I believe the State Theatre in Melbourne is the largest pros arch in the Southern Hemisphere. Great article though. I emerged into the industry in Perth so I can identify with some of these emotions although now that I live in Melbourne and work in the industry down here I think so much of the attitudes are more about history and folklore rather than anything that is really happening down on the ground today. In particular, post COVID it really is tough all over...
Absolutely Samsara. Thanks so much for the fact check. Surprised that this article is still doing the rounds almost a year on. But the cultural bias towards Syd and Mel is perennial!
Love you and your brilliant erudite words once again my friend. You know we are 100% on the same page... SO sad to see how all the meaningful community engagement and storytelling is gone at QMF... honestly don't understand why it is funded by my taxes now tbh - it is simple a commercial construct. Love to connect soon and share my new 12 piece song cycle with the words of David Malouf and we amazing composers with my new company Ave Australian Vocal Ensemble.....we aim to be the first internationally and nationally focused music ensemble based in Bris and the first arts organisation in Australia to pay singers a salary akin to our dear fellow instrumentalist...ps our next writer we are commissioning music for is Gwen Harwood. What a writer she was! We will tell our world class QLD stories with immense pride. x
#factcheck 2 Toowoomba does have the biggest proscenium arch, but it is not the biggest proscenium arch theatre.
We no longer live in Queensland because, frankly, being a flouncy homo in the state sucks, but we have big plans to depict Qld in our upcoming games.
The biggest tragedy for me, with the ever present cultural cringe (or has it downgraded to just an overlook?), is the loss of depiction of place and time. I want touchstones that sum up what it was like to go to the Valley in 2003, I want a film/game/visual medium that has goths hanging out of the old pre-concrete King George Square. I want the pride and awe of GOMA appearing and being AMAZING, captured.
When Garage Days is still an Australia-wide-at-this-time reference, we are severely lacking. (Sorry Garage Days)
crikey the last thing Brissie should do is follow the Melbourne erasure of women but sadly jumped from hicksville into pretence 101 ..... Culture be damned learning and passing culture and true diversity nuh just label away common humanity and grace and honest authenticity for concrete plastic labelled zip
Yeah ? Try being a seasoned woman - the whole data industrial estate is sexist misogynist and ignore women - Australia screws those who dont conform and Qld was and still is both outrageously conservative ; wipes out culture and icons makin a quick buck for mostly multinationals and a few elites but then produces occasional iconic rebels - sadly the men makin the bucks are wiping out women and no one in the Arts dare challenge the new orthodoxy
So relevant, so visceral.
Imagine living outside of the South East corner and how this is exacerbated...
Dare I say it... the message is 'urgent'?
Wonderful talent in the Wld theatre youth programs. But no work or opportunities for them with the theatre company after with very rare exceptions. Nurturing talent is usually only effective when strategic and with mid-long term dynamic planning
no work for seasoned women - forget culture its all bout parasites rinning public funds and gaming system waving flags signifying with no actual heart
So so right David x
A million yes's, my friend.
An insightful address, David.
I will be considering these points going forward as an artist in Qld.