TAZ Entertainment Launches New Magazine, and more...

Big year ahead for TAZ Entertainment with launch of new magazine

AFTER six years of promoting WA’s performing arts with its popular website and promotional emails, TAZ Entertainment is going one step further in 2010 with the launch of a new magazine.

With the first issue due in February, Theatre & Z’Arts is a newsletter-style magazine focusing on WA’s performing arts scene across a range of genres, including theatre, music, comedy, visual arts news, stories and events in both metropolitan and regional areas, whether community, independent or professional.

TAZ Entertainment Director Melanie DeCull said the magazine had been in the planning stages for the past couple of years and she felt the timing was now right to go forward, after the TAZ website received a record 102,343 hits in December.

“Theatre & Z’Arts will be another effective resource for the vast array of WA’s talented performers, facilitators, venues and events, helping them to promote and showcase entertainment across the State,” she said.

Originally, “TAZ” did not stand for anything and was simply one of DeCull’s old nicknames – but she decided to formalise the acronym with the launch of the magazine, opting for Theatre & Z’Arts to represent each letter.

The magazine will be available to buy at participating outlets, including venues, and also through the TAZ Entertainment website at www.tazentertainment.com.au.

A member of Live Performance Australia and the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance, TAZ Entertainment is also expanding its service providing qualified and experienced technicians for events and productions in 2010.

“Technicians have for too long been underpaid and mistreated but with the new LPA modern award taking effect from July 1, TAZ Techies will be coordinating them for numerous clients and events,” DeCull said.

“The response from industry professionals has been positively overwhelming and encouraging and we now have a healthy pool of professional technicians that we’ll be continuing to build on, along with mentoring talented up-and-coming operators.”

TAZ Techies covers a range of areas, including lighting design, lighting operators, sound and audio design, sound and audio operators, stage managers, crew, set design, set construction, box office staff, front-of-house staff and bar staff (with responsible service of alcohol certificates).

Both innovations follow in the wake of several other TAZ Entertainment services, including TAZ Playwrights, TAZ Tix and TAZ Public Relations.

In promoting a variety of theatre, matched with her own theatre experience in past 25 years, DeCull has witnessed some remarkable productions created by WA playwrights and believed they needed further encouragement and representation.

“New playwrights have limited forums where they can promote their scripts, so I set out to change that,” she said.

“By providing an online forum for these plays with TAZ Playwrights, theatre clubs, schools, groups and organisations from around the world can easily find them.”

Script samples can be downloaded from www.tazentertainment.com.au by clicking on TAZ Playwrights, allowing people to “try before they buy” DeCull said.

DeCull has also established her own secure and professional event ticketing for clients with TAZ Tix at www.TAZTix.com.au while continuing to provide professional publicity services for events with a team of experienced publicists and journalists covering all promotional areas including media, web and e-promotion.

Not one to rest on her laurels, DeCull has more innovations in the pipeline, including TAZ Theatre Bug and TAZ Shop.

“People talk about being bitten by the theatre bug and we’re working on our resources page to inform those interested in developing their theatrical, musical and artistic skills,” she said.

“We also plan to open an online store where people can buy various performing arts tools and accessories including make-up, jewellery, art work, WA independent music CDs and more.”

www.tazentertainment.com.au