New Poll - Aussie Theatre (New Works)
Mon, 14 Feb 2005, 04:29 pmcrgwllms17 posts in thread
New Poll - Aussie Theatre (New Works)
Mon, 14 Feb 2005, 04:29 pmNew poll topic: Is Australian theatre dying?...How do you feel about producing more Australian work?
Adapted from a reader suggestion. Two items I left off the bottom of the options list, but reproduce here for his benefit...
If someone like Jeremy Constable was going to open a theatre company in Ballarat in 2006 then I would contact him on Jez_Tazdevil_13@hotmail.com and have words that are good, with him.
This is not an advertising poll Jeremy, please refrain from such attempts to make yourself known, even if you do graduate a bachelor of arts next year and exist for comic relief.
The Poll-tergeist
[%sig%]
Re: Talking 'bout y Generation..
Wed, 23 Feb 2005, 03:40 amGarreth wrote:
>
> we have
> to look at the audiences attending these plays, very few are
> members of my generation (the Y generation) and very few are
> from the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. I believe
> that theatre is a fundementally important human experience
> and as such a greater theatre culture should be encouraged to
> grow amongst the members of my generation and the generations
> which come after. Unfortunately it will not because theatre
> has come to have the stigma attatched to it that it is a
> highbrow event reserved for the upper class, this due to in
> no small way to the cost of tickets. $70 or $80 for a ticket
> to a play is well out of the budget for many people.
Which plays, though, have been in that price bracket? If you're talking about the big Burswood numbers like 'We Will Rock You' and 'Mamma Mia', surely they're a different event...more like a rock concert. And I've noticed that most live concerts with big name stars are up around the $80-100 mark and have no shortage of 'Y generation' punters paying for tickets. Price isn't a hindrance there.
In fact, I've generally been disappointed by the artistic merit of most of the high-priced musicals. High-price doesn't equate to high-brow in my recent experience.
Well and truly the best theatre I've seen over the past few years has all been at the cheapest prices - under $25, and usually around $15 - in venues which have certainly not attracted a 'highbrow, upper class' patronage...the Blue Room, the Rechabites, various pub venues...
What you say about the way theatre is taught in many schools is unfortunately true in some cases...but there are many teachers who are exceptional exceptions. And this is the case in every area of learning, not just English classes, so I wouldn't be blaming your English teachers...any more than I'd be relying on them.
You're quite right, though, that if young people aren't exposed to theatre as an entertainment option, they are less likely to see it as an option when they're older. And a disappointing experience could ruin them for life...if you're going to subject highschool kids to Shakespeare, make sure you've prepared them well, that they understand it, and that the production is done really well...otherwise, you're better off taking them to a Ben Elton comedy.
> One last thing, i would be skeptical of taking the polling on
> this site as a serious reflection of the community at large,
> because rightly the people who vote are biased. If it were to
> be taken to the wider community i wonder how much the figures
> would change.
Quite right! The polls are an entertainment, nothing more. It has nothing to do with the community at large, because the only people who read the poll are visitors to this site, who have already declared an interest in theatre. Even then there's no indication that more than a handful of the community here pay any attention to them. And who's to say all the voting isn't done by the same three people, playing games with our minds?
As inaccurate as they are, they're useful as a rough gauge of opinion, and a good conversation starter for more detailed discussion in threads like this.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
>
> we have
> to look at the audiences attending these plays, very few are
> members of my generation (the Y generation) and very few are
> from the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum. I believe
> that theatre is a fundementally important human experience
> and as such a greater theatre culture should be encouraged to
> grow amongst the members of my generation and the generations
> which come after. Unfortunately it will not because theatre
> has come to have the stigma attatched to it that it is a
> highbrow event reserved for the upper class, this due to in
> no small way to the cost of tickets. $70 or $80 for a ticket
> to a play is well out of the budget for many people.
Which plays, though, have been in that price bracket? If you're talking about the big Burswood numbers like 'We Will Rock You' and 'Mamma Mia', surely they're a different event...more like a rock concert. And I've noticed that most live concerts with big name stars are up around the $80-100 mark and have no shortage of 'Y generation' punters paying for tickets. Price isn't a hindrance there.
In fact, I've generally been disappointed by the artistic merit of most of the high-priced musicals. High-price doesn't equate to high-brow in my recent experience.
Well and truly the best theatre I've seen over the past few years has all been at the cheapest prices - under $25, and usually around $15 - in venues which have certainly not attracted a 'highbrow, upper class' patronage...the Blue Room, the Rechabites, various pub venues...
What you say about the way theatre is taught in many schools is unfortunately true in some cases...but there are many teachers who are exceptional exceptions. And this is the case in every area of learning, not just English classes, so I wouldn't be blaming your English teachers...any more than I'd be relying on them.
You're quite right, though, that if young people aren't exposed to theatre as an entertainment option, they are less likely to see it as an option when they're older. And a disappointing experience could ruin them for life...if you're going to subject highschool kids to Shakespeare, make sure you've prepared them well, that they understand it, and that the production is done really well...otherwise, you're better off taking them to a Ben Elton comedy.
> One last thing, i would be skeptical of taking the polling on
> this site as a serious reflection of the community at large,
> because rightly the people who vote are biased. If it were to
> be taken to the wider community i wonder how much the figures
> would change.
Quite right! The polls are an entertainment, nothing more. It has nothing to do with the community at large, because the only people who read the poll are visitors to this site, who have already declared an interest in theatre. Even then there's no indication that more than a handful of the community here pay any attention to them. And who's to say all the voting isn't done by the same three people, playing games with our minds?
As inaccurate as they are, they're useful as a rough gauge of opinion, and a good conversation starter for more detailed discussion in threads like this.
Cheers,
Craig
[%sig%]
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