In the last few weeks the state of the performing arts in our nation’s capital suddenly became, if not front page, then at least fourth page news, with the long-expected, long-rumoured announcement following last year’s academic review, that the ANU will defenestrate the practical element from their undergraduate Drama course.
It’s worthwhile opinionating for a moment or two on the issues thrown up by the ANU’s decision: the value of theory versus praxis (and what constitutes ‘research’ in what can be a very practical field), the necessity or otherwise of participation as an adjunct to an education in performance, the influence of the ANU’s practical training on the local arts scene, and finally, the impact upon the local theatre community of the scrapping of theatre performance at the ANU.
On this last point, one of the issues that has emerged is that the ANU Drama production companies, Papermoon and Moonlight, will no longer program annual seasons as they have done in the past. The companies will now be the special preserve of ‘research’, meaning that… well, Uninhibited is not quite sure what it means, except that the understanding of ‘research’ is by no means universal and, to put it bluntly, fraught as hell, and that except by the broadest possible definitions, unlikely to result in a similar artistic output from either company. In layman’s terms, this means that from now on Canberra audiences (and Canberra theatre practitioners) could expect anything up to half-a-dozen fewer theatre productions per year.
We know that this doesn’t seem like much. “What’s six less shows per year?” you say. “I hardly get time to see any!”
One problem is diversity. The NC scene (and most scenes, in fact) suffers from a fatal familiarity: you tend to see the same things – faces, styles, accents - over and over again. The money comes from one source, that money has a particular way of doing things, and – hey presto – homogeneity. We all love The Importance of Being Earnest, but even Wilde’s sparkling gem gets a little dull from too much rubbing.
Another issue intimately tied up with the emerging news from the ANU, is that of practice itself and how, if we wish to have a vibrant performing arts culture, Canberra theatre makers can continue to practice (or, indeed, given the latest news, learn) their craft. I mean, it took Uninhibited several months of our misspent youf to learn how to raise each eyebrow separately, and that’s just one facial feature. What about something that requires technique? Like an Irish accent? Can you perform lazzi at the drop of a hat? The basic question is: how can a performer know their stage lefts from their stage blacks without practice?
Perhaps Canberra doesn’t want a vibrant performing arts scene. Certainly the evidence from the last year, most especially the Government’s gleeful Fringe Festival bloodletting, suggests that we don’t. But it seems a shame to dismiss a culture which has fostered the development of scores of artists, and which seeks to bring joy to its community.
NAOMI MILTHORPE
exhibitionist@bmamag.com
