The Demise of Hayman Theatre at Curtin Uni
Wed, 22 June 2005, 12:17 pmCrispian42 posts in thread
The Demise of Hayman Theatre at Curtin Uni
Wed, 22 June 2005, 12:17 pmHi Peoples,
With the recent announcement that Curtin Uni will be cutting the number of courses it will run by over 300, it seems the Hayman Theatre is about to be a casualty.
The following was posted by Tony Nicholls on an online forum run by Hayman students:
***************************
IÂ’m sorry to say that this course is now under serious threat of closure.
Curtin recently changed the way funding is distributed to the various Divisions. Teaching areas are now expected to pay for the space they use. In most cases this makes little difference but the Hayman Theatre is a large space to which we have exclusive access. The annual ‘rent’ has been calculated by the university as about $200,000 per year.
The Division of Humanities and our Faculty of MSC are both considerably in deficit already. Closing the Hayman, as you can see, is from that point, an attractive and some would say, necessary choice.
My view is that without a theatre there can be no worthwhile theatre course.
We shall obviously be making every effort to find an alternative solution but as high school students will very soon be making their applications to university courses a final decision must be made within a very few weeks about the continuance of Performance Studies.
The Guild has been informed of the situation.
I believe the university has an obligation to allow students currently enrolled to complete their course.
There is considerable goodwill towards PS within the Division for many reasons not least of which is the contribution theatre students have made to the cultural life of the campus. However we now appear to have moved to a rather less than brave new world in which our leaders cannot distinguish between value and price.
TONY NICHOLLS
22/6/05
*********************************************
Would love to hear the thoughts of any ex-Haymanites out there or from any patrons who have come to a Hayman performance, on the demise of this course.
Perth's theatrical and cultural landscape will suffer as a result of the closure of this course. Hayman Theatre has been a testing ground for new writers, directors, performers and tehcnical crews who have gone on to successful careers in the local, national and international theatre industry.
Without the Hayman Theatre, the ladder to a professional career in theatre arts has just become longer.
Crispy.
With the recent announcement that Curtin Uni will be cutting the number of courses it will run by over 300, it seems the Hayman Theatre is about to be a casualty.
The following was posted by Tony Nicholls on an online forum run by Hayman students:
***************************
IÂ’m sorry to say that this course is now under serious threat of closure.
Curtin recently changed the way funding is distributed to the various Divisions. Teaching areas are now expected to pay for the space they use. In most cases this makes little difference but the Hayman Theatre is a large space to which we have exclusive access. The annual ‘rent’ has been calculated by the university as about $200,000 per year.
The Division of Humanities and our Faculty of MSC are both considerably in deficit already. Closing the Hayman, as you can see, is from that point, an attractive and some would say, necessary choice.
My view is that without a theatre there can be no worthwhile theatre course.
We shall obviously be making every effort to find an alternative solution but as high school students will very soon be making their applications to university courses a final decision must be made within a very few weeks about the continuance of Performance Studies.
The Guild has been informed of the situation.
I believe the university has an obligation to allow students currently enrolled to complete their course.
There is considerable goodwill towards PS within the Division for many reasons not least of which is the contribution theatre students have made to the cultural life of the campus. However we now appear to have moved to a rather less than brave new world in which our leaders cannot distinguish between value and price.
TONY NICHOLLS
22/6/05
*********************************************
Would love to hear the thoughts of any ex-Haymanites out there or from any patrons who have come to a Hayman performance, on the demise of this course.
Perth's theatrical and cultural landscape will suffer as a result of the closure of this course. Hayman Theatre has been a testing ground for new writers, directors, performers and tehcnical crews who have gone on to successful careers in the local, national and international theatre industry.
Without the Hayman Theatre, the ladder to a professional career in theatre arts has just become longer.
Crispy.
Re: The Demise of Hayman Theatre at Curtin Uni
Tue, 28 June 2005, 04:50 pmWalter Plinge
Hello to all.
My name is Dylan Sercombe, and I am a current third year Performance Studies student. Like all of you, the Hayman has afforded me some incredible opportunities - this semester alone I have been able to perform in one Upstairs show, direct another, take a lead role in the recent production of The Tempest and have even been allowed to artistically co-ordinate a downstairs show, an evening of absurdist theatre called 'Facing The Infinite'.
Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your support and actions so far - particularly Talei for her work with the media. Today's West Australian article and the piece in The Sunday Times were both well timed and reasonably poised.
The news that Hayman is under threat has of course caused outrage amongst current Haymanites as well. If any of you would like to read the discussions, they can be found in The Common Room section of the SMUT website - pub19.ezboard.com/bsmut. We'd love to hear more from everybody, and try to keep everyone as informed as possible.
Now to the important stuff - I have been doing my absolute best to find every drop of information available about this topic, and have been meeting regularly with Tony Nicholls to look at possible lines of action to take. So far, several major developments are in the works. Firstly, the possible merger between Curtin and Murdoch is likely to be of assistance to our cause. If a merger was to occur, Hayman would be the most likely setting for a joint theatre course, and as such it would make no sense to get rid of us in the interim. Equally as importantly, it's not great business to disrupt your assets just before a merger - that's the job of your opposition, so we could be ok.
Secondly, Tony Nicholls has been in talks with various University administrators, and there is a current offer on the table that would be feasible enough to keep us alive. While I am reluctant to post the specifics of the offer here, I can say it is fair, it acknowledges the work of Hayman in the wider community, and it would enable a solution without either party having to budge very far.
Also, the Properties board has been given a guided tour of Hayman Theatre, which has further pushed the envelope. It's easy to think of the Hayman as a great big adaptable space - so long as you've never been inside it! Understanding how the theatre works is the first step towards understanding its function, and I think the administration would be seriously rethinking how easy it will be to adapt this space, or even to rent it out to other parties, considering its current setup.
I have also spoken to representatives from the Curtin Student Guild, who have acknowledged our dilemma and are currently working to help us remedy the situation. They have granted us assistance with people power, petitions and administrative costs such as photocopying and the like, so its great to have them on board and working with us to save such a unique creative community.
So, that's where we are at right now. What's really important at the moment is not putting the University in a position where we may compromise Tony's negotiations. The mindset is changing - slowly, but surely - and our actions right now could have an effect on the outcomes of the debate taking place. It is important to understand that the University is not the enemy here - they are under plenty of pressure from Canberra at the moment, and are trying to find a solution to the issues they are being presented with from our politicians, and consequently, we are under pressure. The recent newspaper articles (particularly the one in The West) have been good at finding a middle ground between conversation and controversy, but I think that attempts to demonise University administration might cause them to set their jaws, which would render in-house negotiation next to worthless. So, for the moment at least, the current level of media attention is about right, until a decision is made one way or another. Until then, in Tony we trust.
If you would like any further clarification, you can email me at maverick52_1999@hotmail.com (gotta love those hotmail addresses!)
I will be liaising with Tony on a regular basis for the next couple of weeks, so I'll let you know what's happening as I hear it. I think it's probably best to wait for a definitive response from the University before we launch any major attacks in the media or otherwise, so when such a decision is made, I'll let you know what is required.
Again, many thanks for your ongoing support and commitment to the Hayman. The sense of community found on this website and others is possibly the only positive to come out of this dilemma so far, but it's definitely a worthwhile one!
Thanks again,
Dylan.
My name is Dylan Sercombe, and I am a current third year Performance Studies student. Like all of you, the Hayman has afforded me some incredible opportunities - this semester alone I have been able to perform in one Upstairs show, direct another, take a lead role in the recent production of The Tempest and have even been allowed to artistically co-ordinate a downstairs show, an evening of absurdist theatre called 'Facing The Infinite'.
Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for your support and actions so far - particularly Talei for her work with the media. Today's West Australian article and the piece in The Sunday Times were both well timed and reasonably poised.
The news that Hayman is under threat has of course caused outrage amongst current Haymanites as well. If any of you would like to read the discussions, they can be found in The Common Room section of the SMUT website - pub19.ezboard.com/bsmut. We'd love to hear more from everybody, and try to keep everyone as informed as possible.
Now to the important stuff - I have been doing my absolute best to find every drop of information available about this topic, and have been meeting regularly with Tony Nicholls to look at possible lines of action to take. So far, several major developments are in the works. Firstly, the possible merger between Curtin and Murdoch is likely to be of assistance to our cause. If a merger was to occur, Hayman would be the most likely setting for a joint theatre course, and as such it would make no sense to get rid of us in the interim. Equally as importantly, it's not great business to disrupt your assets just before a merger - that's the job of your opposition, so we could be ok.
Secondly, Tony Nicholls has been in talks with various University administrators, and there is a current offer on the table that would be feasible enough to keep us alive. While I am reluctant to post the specifics of the offer here, I can say it is fair, it acknowledges the work of Hayman in the wider community, and it would enable a solution without either party having to budge very far.
Also, the Properties board has been given a guided tour of Hayman Theatre, which has further pushed the envelope. It's easy to think of the Hayman as a great big adaptable space - so long as you've never been inside it! Understanding how the theatre works is the first step towards understanding its function, and I think the administration would be seriously rethinking how easy it will be to adapt this space, or even to rent it out to other parties, considering its current setup.
I have also spoken to representatives from the Curtin Student Guild, who have acknowledged our dilemma and are currently working to help us remedy the situation. They have granted us assistance with people power, petitions and administrative costs such as photocopying and the like, so its great to have them on board and working with us to save such a unique creative community.
So, that's where we are at right now. What's really important at the moment is not putting the University in a position where we may compromise Tony's negotiations. The mindset is changing - slowly, but surely - and our actions right now could have an effect on the outcomes of the debate taking place. It is important to understand that the University is not the enemy here - they are under plenty of pressure from Canberra at the moment, and are trying to find a solution to the issues they are being presented with from our politicians, and consequently, we are under pressure. The recent newspaper articles (particularly the one in The West) have been good at finding a middle ground between conversation and controversy, but I think that attempts to demonise University administration might cause them to set their jaws, which would render in-house negotiation next to worthless. So, for the moment at least, the current level of media attention is about right, until a decision is made one way or another. Until then, in Tony we trust.
If you would like any further clarification, you can email me at maverick52_1999@hotmail.com (gotta love those hotmail addresses!)
I will be liaising with Tony on a regular basis for the next couple of weeks, so I'll let you know what's happening as I hear it. I think it's probably best to wait for a definitive response from the University before we launch any major attacks in the media or otherwise, so when such a decision is made, I'll let you know what is required.
Again, many thanks for your ongoing support and commitment to the Hayman. The sense of community found on this website and others is possibly the only positive to come out of this dilemma so far, but it's definitely a worthwhile one!
Thanks again,
Dylan.
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