ARTIST & ACROBAT

I would like to propose a new online venue directory for circus / highly physical art practice.

There are plenty of venues but I have a lot of trouble getting seasons beyond Fringe Festivals and it makes my practice unsustainable in Australia. Currently my personal venues list is obvious, lacking, and mostly unattainable for me: Malthouse, The Arts Centre, Powerhouse, Judith Wright Centre, Artshouse, PACT, Carriage Works, Performance Space, Sydney Opera House, Mona Art Gallery, 45 downstairs, Spiegel Tents, Red Bennies, Revolt, Substation.

I’m told to look on venue listing websites like creative spaces, but when I search term ‘circus’ only 6 venues come up in Victoria, 1 in NSW and none anywhere else are listed. Generally searching for a venue is hard. The information I need isn’t on their tech specs and I get wide eyes and half answers when talking to a venue about it’s fittings. I feel technically difficult, too weird, or not part of their creative vision. It is true that I am technically difficult and weird, but there is value in that, so why can’t I be part of a venues creative vision? This is what I think:

The main problem isn’t a lack of venues, but a communication gap between venues and circus artists.

I would like to start a conversation about how to fill the communication gap. A conversation about making circus / physical theatre part of the programming vision for venues.

To do this we need some tools at hand. One which would be most useful is venue directory. For the directory to work, we need lots of attention, otherwise venues wont sign up. We need to become sexy, but we also need to be solid. We need to be concrete.. Sexy Concrete! A few new ideas could help us get there: a circus industry awards night and a main stage circus venue (I think Gail from ACAPTA mentioned these 2 things to me at some stage and I agree with her).

An online directory needs to be made which specifically lists venues which are interested in circus / highly physical works. Venues need to be encouraged to be listed and state specifically what they have to offer. Likewise the directory needs to communicate to venues what myriad of possibilities we have to offer. Circus and physical theatre companies should work with ACAPTA or another body to build the venue directory by using their personal databases as reference, and also conduct research with the industry to find out what types of spaces are being sort after. A big update is required on Creative Spaces too. We need this new circus / physical theatre database to be hot property - For it to make us invaluable - it will. By simplifying the process for both venue and artists.

This value can be accumulated in other ways too. The circus industry awards night would raise the profile of circus in the public eye, as would a main stage circus venue with various sized theatres and spaces. Maybe our industry isn’t big enough yet for this venue (or maybe we just need the space to grow), but it should be part of our plan.

Circus shows should be on main stages ALL the time. Circus & physical theatre companies should be forging the new way. The underbelly and independents should also take suit and bombard Australia with it’s enormous talent and potential! And whatever you do, don’t make work which challenges anybody in any way, it will only confuse the dialect we are trying to create! (italic words are warmly ironic)

Lastly, there is one easy thing you can do: Create circus which is exciting and tell everybody about it! Go to arts events and opening nights. See theatre, dance, and other great art forms which get lots of playtime on all those great stages, and talk to people. Get your beautiful circus body seen in these places and call yourself a circus performer or circus director!

There are other facets to this situations like lack of rehearsal spaces, funding system issues etc.. Venues are what my intuition tells me to talk about about though. This is the start of the conversation. I would like to brainstorm new and stirring ideas for becoming sexy concrete and filling the communication gap!

Posted at 7:47pm and tagged with: Circus Artists, Australia,.