Venues defend programming decisions

The claim that regional venues support touring ahead of local artists is ill-informed and provocative.
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Following the train of thought presented by Megan Riedl recently I feel obligated to clarify and expand on the views she has expressed in her frustrations with touring to professional regional centres.

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To cast sweeping assumptions as to the viability of relationships between artists,  production companies and their local venue is clearly provocative and ill- informed and should be considered in the context of what is currently being delivered in partnership between venues and their community,  as well as reflected within the scope of the industry as a whole.

VAPAC is a membership network of over 60 professionally managed venues throughout metropolitan, outer metropolitan and regional Victoria and Tasmania. Our members are diverse in scale from small 100 seat venues to theatres the size of Arts Centre Melbourne, and similarly the resources based at each venue differ from a small core staff of 3 or 4 to venues with several departments to deliver the needs of the space. As you would also expect the communities which engage with the spaces vary from large metropolitan centres to small country towns.  Over 50% of our membership is based outside of the metropolitan area, in regional centres and rural communities.

It is true that touring is facing challenging times with reductions in sources of funding to support such activities and local government, major stakeholders in delivery of such cultural activities, clearly demonstrating the need to scrutinise all discretionary expenditure on services to meet rate capping limits, whilst maintaining community services to meet expectations. That being said our network as a whole and especially in the regional areas is committed to delivering engaging, provocative and entertaining programs for their audiences through all sources, not only through Showcase Victoria, which is certainly the most professionally delivered touring market place in Australia. 

The majority of these venues are also spaces for hire and many of the performances being delivered through a direct hire should not be confused with programmed activities and the work venues are doing with their local performing artists.

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Most touring programming is based on the quality of the works on offer and the strength of the relationship between the venue and the producing company to deliver the best possible experience for their mutual audience. VAPAC as an organisation and its network of venue managers spend considerable effort and time assisting with building the capacity and diversity of the quality productions available for touring and in most cases those shows which have successful touring outcomes reflect the trust and sharing of knowledge and resources by both parties.

In many cases the venues work with companies to build a better outcome for all stakeholders through investing rehearsal space, technical support, and simple feedback following viewing of works in development. Whether these companies are locally based or not our network is dedicated to building capacity of the industry for mutual gain for all stakeholders, and rarely is an approach for support from any production knocked back except if the resources are unavailable.  

Resident company opportunities and contributions vary considerably, depending on the capacity of the venue and the needs of the company making the approach; it may be as simple as a rehearsal space for a short period or as in depth as a financial investment to build a co commissioned work.  Across the regional network these joint projects do exist and have indeed delivered many fruitful outcomes for all parties, but again they reflect the strength of the investment in relationships, which are a result of discussions and recognition of needs and capacity to provide support.

There is no doubt that the proposed changes to the tour coordination capacity of Regional Arts Victoria will have an impact on the industry, but VAPAC is already seeking advice and support from stakeholders to ensure that the impact on both producers and presenters is ameliorated to minimise the fallout.

VAPAC and its members regards themselves as strongly working with producers to deliver the best possible outcomes for everyone involved and the doors of our venues are always open for discussion and proposals from all creatives whether local or from another part of our state.

Jenny Ryssenbeek
About the Author
Jenny Ryssenbeek is Executive Director, (VAPAC) Victorian Association of Performing Arts Centres.