A growing shortage of skilled theatre jobs is hitting regional venues hard, but one Queensland theatre is taking a bold step to change that.
In Toowoomba, 127 km west of Brisbane, the historic Empire Theatre has long served as a training ground for emerging artists. But in recent years, the regional hub has faced mounting pressure to fill vital technical theatre jobs. The talent pipeline has slowed, and education pathways have dried up.
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Regional challenges at the Empire Theatre
“It’s very difficult in regional Queensland,” Tim Panitz, Operations and Technical Services Manager at the Empire Theatre (an Art Deco theatre which opened in 1933 and is now an arts precinct of four venues owned by Toowoomba Regional Council), told ArtsHub.
“So many venues across the state are really struggling. A lot of people left the industry after COVID, and the training options just didn’t match what we needed.”
With TAFE and other providers unable to offer consistent programming due to low enrolments, Panitz and his team began looking for alternative solutions. They found one in Tech Connect, a national training program developed by Arts Centre Melbourne (ACM) and Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), designed to bridge the growing skills gap in technical production.
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The Empire Theatre became a delivery partner for the program, offering local trainees the opportunity to gain a Certificate III in Technical Services. The program was supported by hands-on learning and mentorship from in-house professionals.
“It’s specialised training,” said Panitz. “Working in theatre is different to live music or events. You need to understand fly towers, complex lighting rigs, multiple radio mics – it’s a whole different world.”
Tackling a steep learning curve
One of the program’s early graduates is Anthony Curcuruto, who grew up in Toowoomba and had long dreamed of working at the Empire. “It was amazing,” Curcuruto told ArtsHub. “It was a very steep learning curve. But I love that. And it was always a dream of mine to work at the Empire.”
Like many aspiring technicians in the regions, Curcuruto had previously cobbled together experience through school musicals and small gigs. The Tech Connect program offered something new: a sense of belonging within a professional team.
“I’d only worked alone before,” he said. “Being part of a team was amazing. It was all about how we can work together, how we manage and solve problems together. It was great.”
Participants also spent two and a half weeks training at QPAC in Brisbane, an experience Panitz described as transformative. “It really changes a young person’s perspective, being in that building,” he told ArtsHub. “They’re all in there together, so they develop their own network. I know most of them keep in touch.”
Curcuruto agreed. “That experience was incredible. It was really intensive, but the part that was great was when we had some of the QPAC staff come back to the Empire and teach us how to apply everything we’d learned in our own venue. That was so valuable.”
Upskilling, stability and the future
The benefits of the program have extended beyond the trainees themselves. Existing Empire staff were also upskilled through the initiative, earning Certificate IV qualifications and developing their capacity as mentors.
“They needed to become supervisors,” said Panitz. “They ended up studying as well, and it brought everyone up to a standardised level of training. It made our lives a lot easier.”
Just as importantly, Tech Connect offers something rare in regional arts employment: stability. “Most of the contracts we can offer in regional venues are casual,” Panitz said. “This gives young people – and their parents – a visible pathway and a sense of security. And you see it in them. Their confidence grows. They start to feel, ‘I’m OK here. I belong here.'”
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Today, Anthony Curcuruto is employed at the Empire Theatre, working in the venue he once volunteered in as a teenager. He gets to stay close to his family, in the town he loves, while gaining experience that matches that of technicians in metropolitan venues.
“I’ve learnt so much,” he said. “And I’m able to work in all kinds of environments. It’s been amazing.”
When asked about the next generation of theatre technicians, Panitz didn’t hesitate: “Anthony is always there, always eager to learn, and he just loves it.”
