Image: Sarah Walker for La Boite Indie 2014
Wesley Enoch’s Philip Parson’s Memorial Lecture has sparked much debate and heated discussion amongst theatre companies and their directors.
Enoch attack on state-funded theatre companies for underpaying independent theatre-makers, saying it was ‘immoral for people on full-time salaries in companies with multimillion-dollar turnovers to be asking artists to do work for free.’ Major theatre companies which host independent seasons responded angrily, claiming Enoch was wrong in his claim that independents were working for free and that the independent seasons were great opportunities.
It seems however that the discussion among independent artists has gone unpublicised, kept to the confines of social media.
Labelling an act ‘immoral’ is by definition to imply that it was sparked from hatred or untrue intention. Wesley Enoch’s metaphorical hand grenade has done just that.
As an independent theatre maker myself and through discussions with my peers and colleagues, it seems many disagree with Enoch and view the independent platform, like the ones created by La Boite, in a positive light.
However affronting Wesley’s statement may appear, it comes from a place of great intent and was backed by a strong sense of will and sentiment. For Wesley to speak out for the independent and emerging artists in our country is a phenomenal act for those of us in the industry.
The structure for the independent sector isn’t perfect,but are these independent seasons immoral? Many don’t think so. Wade Doolan from Sydney-based independent theatre company Little Spoon puts it this way, ‘I would never advocate artists being exploited but independent seasons from main stage theatre companies have become an important breeding ground to cultivate and nurture the next generation of professional artist in Australia. At this point exposure is far more important than money, for me and my company.’
Choosing to be involved with independent productions is a thoroughly personal decision. Should artists look a gift horse in the mouth?
David Berthold’s intention behind creating La Boite Indie, put simply, was to make the most possible use of his space. It sat empty and dark for twenty weeks of the year. David saw an opportunity to create an environment in Brisbane where practitioners can be healthy artistically even if they cannot be financially.
Programs like La Boite Indie are about providing a much needed platform for artists to display their work, and they want that. For most, this is at any cost. Independent theatre maker Sven Swenson says, ‘Artists create work because it must be done, and that is the overriding drive…Artist that feel disenfranchised by main house will look elsewhere.’ By creating this platform La Boite will continue to encourage artists to remain in Brisbane, rather than looking elsewhere, most commonly Sydney or Melbourne, which by all standards is a good thing.
Sven says, ‘La Boite gives hope. There should be more programs like La Boite’s, otherwise generations of artists will creatively die.’ The fact of the matter is we as artists don’t go into these projects blind. The profit share model of payment in the arts sector is not uncommon and survives in part due to the ability of the artist to weigh their potential recompense based on audience capacity, ticket prices, size of cast, etc. We do the sums and compare them with the importance of the work and decide if the risk outweighs the reward. In an ideal world we all would of course be paid for our work at award rates, however putting this onus completely on the companies that provided these platforms without any additional funding is wrong. We know what we are in for. We choose to do it because of our deep-seated need to.
Wesley has started a very important conversation, let’s keep it going in a way that cares for others and values the intentions behind their practice.
