Proactive approach required on cultural diversity

Can major companies learn from a Melbourne artist’s hands-on approach to recruiting culturally diverse audiences?
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Australian stages are far too white. It’s a fact the Australian performing arts industry has recognised, and is collectively trying to change. As STC Artistic Director Andrew Upton recently told ArtsHub: ‘The next big target area for the mainstage in Australia is getting the stories of diversity and cultural diversity, and not just the stories but the embodiment of them; the acting, the designing, the directing.’

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Richard Watts is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM, and serves as the Chair of La Mama Theatre's volunteer Committee of Management. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and was awarded the status of Melbourne Fringe Living Legend in 2017. In 2020 he was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize. Most recently, Richard was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Green Room Awards Association in June 2021. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts