Australian Major Performing Arts Group

Inquiry into broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and regional Australia

Submission from the Australian Major Performing Arts Group

WHO WE ARE

The Australian Major Performing Arts Group, or AMPAG, is the umbrella group for Australia's major performing arts companies who develop and deliver cultural content at the elite level and support cultural capacity and performing arts access across the country.

FROM: Bethwyn Serow TO: House of Reps Standing Committee

Executive Director on Communications and the Arts AMPAG PO Box 6021 P0 Box 1965 Parliament House Sydney NSW 1225 CANBERRA T: +61 2 6277 4386 E: [email protected] 5 February 2016

The Inquiry

The House of Representatives Committee on Communications and Arts, under its power to inquire into the annual reports of government agencies, will inquire into the importance of public and commercial broadcasting, online content and live production to rural and regional Australia, including the arts, news and other services.

The inquiry was initiated from the following reports:

 Australian Broadcasting Corporation Annual Report 2015  Special Broadcasting Service Corporation Annual Report 2015  Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report 2014–15  Australian Communications and Media Authority Annual Report 2014–15

Committee members

Chair Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Mackellar NSW

Deputy Chair Mr Tim Watts MP: Australian Labor Party, Gellibrand VIC

Mr Laurie Ferguson MP: Australian Labor Party, Werriwa NSW Ms Nola Marino MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Forrest WA Mr Graham Perrett MP: Australian Labor Party, Moreton QLD Mr Keith Pitt MP: The Nationals, Hinkler QLD Ms Melissa Price MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Durack WA Mr Rowan Ramsey MP Liberal Party of Australia, Grey SA Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP: Australian Labor Party, Calwell VIC Mrs Lucy Wicks MP: Liberal Party of Australia, Robertson NSW

Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 5 IMPORTANCE OF ARTS ACCESS FOR REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES ...... 8 Are the regional and remote arts centres able to access what they want? ...... 10 Regional presenters’ programming priorities ...... 10 THE ROLE AND REACH OF THE MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES ...... 11 MPAs’ regional remit ...... 11 The role of MPAs in live performance programming for regional and remote arts centres ...... 12 Level of MPA regional engagement in 2014 ...... 13 FUNDING AND STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO MPAs’ REGIONAL TOURING ...... 15 How is regional engagement with the MPAs currently funded? ...... 15 Key government initiatives that affect MPAs’ capacity to tour ...... 15 Government arts education funding ...... 17 Other market conditions that affect the capacity of MPAs to tour ...... 18 Key factors that affect access ...... 18 THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MPA WORK AND HOW IT IS VALUED IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA ...... 20 Behind the statistics ...... 20 The multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities ...... 20 1. Touring of mainstage works ...... 20 2. Touring of shows specifically developed for regional touring ...... 21 3. Touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation ...... 23 4. Live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community centres ...... 26 5. Television and radio broadcast of MPAs ...... 30 6. Online arts education and behind the scenes ...... 33 AMPAG RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 36 Appendix 1: News article—Artshub, 3 February 2016 ...... 37 Appendix 2: News article—The Leader, 2 December 2015, 4 pm ...... 39 Appendix 3: AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES...... 40 Appendix 4: Excerpt from the Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report 2015 ...... 41 Appendix 5: Excerpts from national and state touring research reports ...... 42

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There is strong evidence that the participation and engagement in the arts is good for the social cohesiveness of a community and the general wellbeing of people—and new measurements show the arts may be worth $66 billion to Australia’s wellbeing.

All over Australia a healthy creative life plays a key role in developing our soft infrastructure—the ideas, the networks and conceptual frameworks that give shape, direction and confidence in community planning.’ —Lindy Hume, Artistic Director, Opera Queensland

There is a significant demand for touring productions in regional areas. In fact, in regard to productions, genres or artforms that presenters would like to program but were unable to, programming the major performing arts companies or large scaled productions were highest, followed by dance.

In 2015 the major performing arts companies (MPAs) as a group reached close to four million people through their performances and arts programs—in metropolitan and regional locations. Paid attendances at MPAs’ performances, workshops and seminars in regional and remote Australia totalled 235,000 in 2014–15, with ‘live reach’ totalling 319,000.1

In 2014 MPA companies estimated that 10 million people watched or listened to a broadcast or screening of an MPA company performance. The Australia Council estimates the MPAs as a group reached 16 million people in 2014–15.

However, the MPAs’ contribution is not only realised through tickets, hits and turnover. It is also important to recognise the qualitative characteristics of work performed by MPAs.

Most MPA companies work in regional, remote and at risk communities, connecting with constituents and making a lasting impact—not only with performances that stir the heart, spirit and mind, but with a legacy of cultural infrastructure that is greatly valued in regional and remote communities (see appendix 1—article from artshub on the cultural and economic stimulus provided by expenditure on a 700-seat theatre in the Riverina).

Companies such as Opera Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Bangarra, Bell Shakespeare and Circus Oz have dedicated national programs for regional engagement, while state companies often build tours around individual opportunities for a particular work. Therefore, the level of regional and remote MPA activities varies from year to year. In this submission we outline the multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities:

 touring of mainstage works  touring performances specifically developed for regional touring  touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation  live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community centres  television and radio broadcast of MPAs  online arts education and behind the scenes.

1 It’s important to note that the ratio of audience numbers to costs is relative, depending on the type of art work. Live performing arts naturally reflect very different cost structures to those of the digital online works or visual arts where, once the work is created, there are negligible ongoing costs. Performances, on the other hand, demand an assembling of new resources with every show.

The benefits go both ways. For the companies themselves, touring to regional and remote areas broadens engagement, builds audiences and often offers emerging artists further performance opportunity. For the communities themselves, it draws them together, instilling a love of performing arts in young people, often offering employment and training opportunities and a chance to experience performing arts of the highest calibre.

The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 30 June 2015 was 23,781,200 people2. In 2011 over 85 per cent of Australians lived in urban areas and nearly 70 per cent lived in our capital cities. Proportionately, the attendance and access of regional urban and remote audiences to MPA live performances and associated activities is significantly below that of their city counterparts. Given the results of the Australia Council survey on community values and the feedback from the APACA survey, it seems that regional communities are less able to access MPA work than they might necessarily like.

There are logistical and financial barriers that place limits on this activity. MPAs often tour larger works which generally require larger casts, sets or technical setups. This means they generate higher performance costs and associated logistical costs including transport and accommodation. Venues’ capacity can vary from 200 to 1200 seat—so box office earnings vary dramatically—yet overheads for a performance are constant.

In the face of diminishing funds through the Federal Government’s touring fund, Playing Australia (which in 2008–09 was $6.06 million, rising to $7.4 million in 2013–14 before dropping back to $6.2 million in 2014–15), companies are increasingly relying on private sector support to fulfil their regional touring obligations.

One Federal Government pilot program, which draws its funding as a proportion of the Playing Australia allocation, has awarded National Touring Status to two MPA companies. It has given those two companies (Bell Shakespeare and Sydney Dance Company) multi-year certainty around their capacity to tour, which in turn provides regional and remote venues and their communities greater certainty and capacity to forward book and plan. It also enables the companies to enter into longer term partnerships with presenters and in some cases philanthropists to build audiences and opportunities for deeper engagement.

However, state governments have also reduced their level of funding for MPA arts education initiatives, which are a crucial part of their regional engagement strategies. MPAs’ highly respected arts education programs offer students and educators skills, resources, and structured performing arts learning as well as authentic opportunities for students to experience high quality professional performances. They can play an important partnering role with schools, an approach encouraged through the national arts curriculum.

The arts industry complements the provision of the Arts curriculum in schools through programs and partnerships. The industry increasingly provides specialist services for schools, as appropriate, through experiences such as visiting performances, demonstrations and exhibitions, artists in residence, teacher professional development and access for students and teachers to specialised facilities in galleries, concert halls, theatres and other arts venues.3

Some access can be facilitated through new resources created for the ABC Splash service, digital classroom incursions and accessing online clips and complementary resources. The majority have a range of digital pathways; however, there are limitations to what can be

2 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Jun%202015?OpenDocument 3 The Australian Curriculum, http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/implications-for-teaching-assessment- and-reporting

supplied online. The experience and impact of live performance and participation is quite different to the more passive recorded viewer-type interaction—and some regions have limited online capacity. MPAs often incurred residuals and performance costs associated with streaming recorded content that can limit the extent to which recorded performances can be made available.

Regional communities have a clear interest and recognition of the value of live performance and arts education, the opportunities to participate and engage are significantly lower than their metropolitan counterparts.

Funding and planning certainty are key to regional engagement. AMPAG therefore calls on the government to:

1. Increase the Playing Australia fund by $2 million per year. Any increase in Playing Australia should be accompanied by creating flexibility in eligibility guidelines – to remove barriers to alternative ways of touring that may be more efficient for artists, arts companies and audience reach and engagement – to broaden the activities the fund is capable of supporting.

2. Extend the National Touring Status funding approach to all MPA companies that regularly tour regional Australia.

3. Increase the support for regional education activities and streamed, digital access for regional and remote areas, to lift their participation and engagement in arts activities, and ultimately benefit all education and community outcomes.

4. Model the potential benefits, likely take up and associated costs and optimum criteria associated with the creation of a regional live performance and live performance broadcast to regional venues subsidy and risk offset scheme.

5. ABC radio and television provides an important conduit for regional audiences to experience performances by Australia’s leading performing arts companies as well as capacity for regional artist and performances to reach a national audience. It is a greatly valued collaborator and commissioner of original innovative performing arts content. Its contribution to the performing arts cultural life of regional Australia should be recognised and valued.

6. Include regional access and engagement with the arts as a standing item on the annual Meeting of Cultural Ministers’ agenda.

IMPORTANCE OF ARTS ACCESS FOR REGIONAL AND REMOTE COMMUNITIES

This review seeks to understand the importance of cultural engagement for regional and remote communities.

The Committee Chairman, the Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, said, ‘It is important that rural and regional Australians have good access to television and radio broadcasts, online content and live productions. People should be able to access and enjoy the arts, and have reliable and relevant news and other services no matter where they live in Australia.’

There is strong evidence that the participation and engagement in the arts is good for the social cohesiveness of a community and the general wellbeing of people.

The Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life tells us that people care about the arts:

 85 per cent of people agree that the arts make for a richer and more meaningful life  90 per cent agree that ‘people can enjoy both the arts and sport’ and that ‘artists make an important contribution to Australian society’  89 per cent agree that the arts should be an important part of the education of every Australian.

New measurements in wellbeing show that the arts may be worth $66 billion to Australia’s wellbeing.4 This is on top of their economic value. Based on this wellbeing model, the amount of money required to produce an increase in life satisfaction equivalent to arts engagement is $4,349 per person per annum.

The Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life identified the importance placed on the arts in regional Australia as follows:

Creative participation has risen among regional Australians, from 39 per cent in 2009 to 49 per cent in 2013. Now people living in regional areas creatively participate at about the same level as those in metropolitan Australia: 49 per cent in regional Australia; 47 per cent for those living in metropolitan areas.5

While this growth trend may not continue at such a rapid rate, we can expect to see creative participation in regional Australia rise in coming years.

Yet some survey findings for regional Australians reveal more limited opportunities to attend and participate in the arts than for people in metropolitan areas—66 per cent of people living in regional areas attended at least one arts event in the previous 12 months, compared to 74 per cent of people living in metropolitan areas.

Regional attitudes to the arts differ only marginally from those of people living in metropolitan areas but the points of difference lie in their perceptions of arts experience and opportunity:

 66 per cent of people living in the regions agree that ‘there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the arts’, compared with 75 per cent of people in metropolitan areas  59 per cent of regional dwellers see the arts as having a big impact on ‘helping us manage stress, anxiety and depression’, compared with 55 per cent of people in metropolitan areas  46 per cent of regional dwellers perceive the potential of the arts in ‘bringing visitors to our community’, compared with 42 per cent of people in metropolitan areas.

4 Australia Council’s 2013 Arts Participation Survey, Daniel Fujiwara and Rachel Smithies 5 Australia Council’s Arts in Daily Life

Another recent (Jan 2016) UK study prepared for the Arts Council of England highlights how arts and cultural activities could potentially help to tackle key social issues such as loneliness and isolation. It found that three-quarters (76%) of older people (over 65) say that arts and culture is important to making them feel happy; however, at least half of older people selected each of the options tested. Almost seven in ten (69%) say that arts and culture is important in improving their overall quality of life; three in five say that it is important in making them feel healthy or in encouraging them to get out and about (60% for each); and (51%) say that it is important in helping them to feel less alone.8

While these UK results are neither Australian nor regional they do demonstrate how the relationship between older peoples’ health and connectivity to community can be strengthened through arts access and engagement. The committee may choose to observe or further investigate the link between aged welfare and the arts within a regional Australian content.

Are the regional and remote arts centres able to access what they want?

The Australia Performing Arts Centre Association (APACA) members’ survey on the satisfaction levels and performing arts sector touring needs in March 2015 provides valuable insight.9 A slight majority of presenters who responded to the survey were located in regional and remote areas. Bearing this in mind, of the presenters who responded:

 16% programmed 8–12 shows per year  44% programmed more than 13 shows per year.

This suggests there is a significant demand for touring productions.

When asked about the importance of particular types of productions the four top priorities were:

1. productions from your state (56%) 2. productions created in your community (46%) 3. major performing arts companies’ productions (41%) 4. interstate production (39%).

Regional presenters’ programming priorities

In regard to productions, genres or artforms that presenters would like to program but were unable to, programming the major performing arts companies or large scaled productions were highest, followed by dance.10

The Leader, Wagga Wagga’s local newspaper, reporting on the Civic Theatre’s 2016 season announcement, reinforces this interest (see appendix 2 for full article).

Wagga has spoken and the Civic Theatre has answered—the Australian Ballet will return to the city in 2016.

It is just one of the 12 impressive shows to comprise the Civic Theatre’s 2016 Subscription Season.

“The number one requested thing has been the Australian Ballet and we have them,” Civic Theatre manager Carissa Campbell said.11

8 http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-council-news/new-research-finds-arts-and-culture-helps-combat- l/#sthash.7H4gogXZ.dpuf 9 Performing Arts Touring Needs, APACA, March 2015 10 Respondents reported a lack of ability to source and afford classical dance as well as some contemporary dance; however, there was also a strong notion of the difficulty of finding an audience for contemporary dance.

THE ROLE AND REACH OF THE MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES

AMPAG represents the 28 major performing arts companies (MPAs) that serve as state and national flagships companies across theatre, circus, classical music, opera and dance. They derive their income through both earned income from box-office and associated sales, and private and government contributions (see appendix 3—company list).

In 2015 the MPAs as a group reached close to four million people through their performances and arts programs.

However, the MPAs’ contribution is not only realised through tickets and turnover. It is also important to recognise the qualitative characteristics of work performed by MPAs. Committed to artistic excellence, they produce works of scale; they employ leading artists and creators; and they develop new works that reach large audiences.

With additional support through government funding, presenter bookings, philanthropists and corporate sponsors and co-productions they extend their reach in many other ways, including special commissions, fellowships and training opportunities and, importantly, regional touring. This includes a commitment to high quality performing arts education and community engagement and building access in disadvantaged areas. They also reach audiences across Australia, including in regional areas, through content created for broadcast on radio and television and online with streamed and interactive digital content. They build creative capacity and contribute to the vibrancy of place in metropolitan cities and regional and remote communities.

MPAs’ regional remit

The MPA funding criteria set in 2011 includes the expectation that MPAs will ‘demonstrate commitment to engaging with audiences in regional communities’.

Already, before the release of the updated MPA 2011 criteria, most MPA companies were working in regional, remote and at risk communities, connecting with constituents and making a lasting impact—not only with performances that stir the heart, spirit and mind, but with a legacy of cultural infrastructure that’s greatly valued in regional and remote communities (see appendix 1—article from artshub on the cultural and economic stimulus provided by expenditure on a 700-seat theatre in the Riverina).

One MPA company, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), is located in ‘regional Australia’ and tours almost exclusively within regional Australia. Its federal support is included in the regional initiatives funding breakdown of the Australia Council’s 2015 annual report (see appendix 4).

The TSO is Tasmania’s iconic arts organisation and engages with, mentors and enhances the entire community, performing in venues from child care centres and aged care facilities to concert halls and schools. The company also collaborates with other Tasmanian arts organisations across multiple disciplines and has an extensive list of symphonic recordings created in collaboration with the ABC. These recordings play an important role in the TSO’s profile internationally, within mainland cities and in regional Australia.

Another MPA, Bangarra, has toured and developed work in regional Australia since 1991.

I believe that the Rekindling program has changed the lives of all those involved from students, parents, teachers and community. —Katrina Johnston, Aboriginal Health Worker/community Elder, Theodore Qld

11 See full report appendix 2

Opera Queensland has developed a highly engaged and dynamic model to collaborate with communities throughout the state, auditioning and training community choruses to perform alongside its professional artists.

It was great fun and fostered a sense of community and joint purpose—-harmonies are something you cannot create alone. People were taken gently out of their comfort zones and possibilities created. Thank you. —participant in Project Puccini, Opera Queensland

When the MPAs were first established a number of the companies were designated flagship national touring companies. This formal designation no longer applies and there is no specific funding for regional and remote touring for the MPAs; however, as noted above, the funding criteria expects regional engagement.

The companies that previously carried a national touring remit continue today to undertake regional and remote touring as a regular part of their operations. Companies such as Opera Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, The Australian Ballet, Bangarra, Bell Shakespeare and Circus Oz have dedicated national programs for regional engagement. Many of the state MPAs program performances along with their education programs within their state tours and when the occasion allows build around individual opportunities for a particular work. Therefore, the level of regional and remote MPA activities can vary from year to year.

The role of MPAs in live performance programming for regional and remote arts centres

TSO’s iconic cultural government status, in a state that is classified as being wholly regional, highlights the important community support and social connectivity the orchestra brings to the state. It is also a major collaborator with MONA arts festivals and other major public events in the state, supporting the state’s cultural reputation and tourist appeal.

Enterprise Marketing and Research Services survey in January 2014 reported 95% of Tasmanians were aware of TSO and 91% see TSO as a source of pride. —TSO 2015 Annual report

Works toured into regional and remote communities by MPAs are often considered as ‘tentpole’ events. As APACA found in its survey, they are in demand by regional venues. There is an appetite for more regional access to MPAs’ content. As recognised performing arts companies, they deliver works of scale and carry a national or state reputation, which helps to deliver market ‘cut through’ for the venues.

Presenting a show of [Bangarra’s] calibre and scale attracts a significant number of visitors to come to the regional centre in Warragul which is of benefit to our visitor economy as well as helping us to build audience for our broader program. —Manager, West Gippsland Arts Centre

The benefits for the companies themselves in touring to regional and remote areas are valuable, not just in terms of broadening engagement, building audiences, instilling a love of performing arts in young people, but also in terms of the impact on individual performers. For Opera Australia the regional touring gives further performance opportunity to chorus members able to perform principal roles and ensemble principals on long-term contracts to round out their performing year. It also provides performance opportunity to young artists as part of their formal training.

However, there are logistical and financial barriers that place limits on this activity. MPAs often tour larger works which generally require larger casts, sets or technical setups. This means they generate higher performance costs and associated logistical costs including transport and accommodation. Many regional venues are owned by local government and in more remote areas venues are staffed by part time workers or volunteers. Venues’ capacity can vary from 200 to 1200 seat—so box office earnings vary dramatically—yet

overheads for a performance are constant. Regional and remote venues are limited by the extent to which they can afford to program multiple large scale works. They generally program these works as ‘features’ or ‘centrepieces’ in an annual program with complementary programming built around these bookings.

Increasingly MPA companies are deepening their engagement, with touring artists participating in additional community outreach activities (often free of charge or significantly subsidised by the MPA) during the technical set-up period of their visit. Ensemble companies have trained their artists with skills to present community activities and education workshops. The map below draws on data collected by the Australia Council and illustrates national live performances, arts education and arts workshops undertaken by the MPAs in 2014 (http://www.ampag.com.au/touring-interactive-map.htm).

Key: mainstage (red), education programs (green) and workshops (blue).

Level of MPA regional engagement in 2014

MPAs report on a calendar year and the Australia Council reports on a financial year— therefore, there are two summary references generated by the Australia Council in relation to MPA engagement.

The Australia Council’s annual report notes that paid attendances at MPAs’ performances, workshops and seminars in regional and remote Australia totalled 235,000 in 2014–15, and a further 122,000 paid attendances were recorded for key performing arts organisations’ regional and remote activities.

The annual report does not provide details of other ways in which the MPAs provide free arts engagement opportunities for regional and remote communities such as school visits, broadcasts and online content.

The table from the Australia Council publication, Trends from 2014 MPA company annual reporting, (produced in October 2015) and based on individual MPA annual reports, shows total engagement by MPAs in regional areas as follows:

There is a stark difference in access results for cities compared to regional centres, although some regionally based people gain access through visiting major cities.

Total regional ‘live’ reach for the MPA companies in 2014 was 319,000 attendances, a result that is above attendances in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and closely behind 2010 results when education attendances spiked. However, there is greater depth of engagement in 2014 schools activity compared to the previous four years, shown by an increase in the total number of school visiting hours and growth in workshops, including a number of teacher training initiatives. This table does not include access to MPA arts content through digital portals.

The preliminary estimated resident population (ERP) of Australia at 30 June 2015 was 23,781,200 people12. In 2011 over 85 per cent of Australians lived in urban areas and nearly 70 per cent lived in our capital cities. Proportionately, the attendance and access of regional urban and remote audiences to MPA live performances and associated activities is significantly below that of their city counterparts. Given the results of the Australia Council survey on community values and the feedback from the APACA survey, it seems that regional communities are less able to access MPA work than they might necessarily like.

This raises questions of access and opportunity for regional and remote communities to engage with MPA works.13 Later in this submission we consider the qualitative characteristics of MPA work and how it is valued in regional Australia.

Below we outline the funding and structural barriers that prevent greater regional access to MPA work and how they could be overcome.

12 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/[email protected]/Lookup/3101.0Main+Features1Jun%202015?OpenDocument 13 (It should be noted that a proportion of city attendances comprises visiting interstate and regional visitations.) [?]

FUNDING AND STRUCTURAL BARRIERS TO MPAs’ REGIONAL TOURING

MPAs have built relationships in regional Australia as well as touring knowledge and infrastructure over many years but expertise and experience is not enough. Without adequate regional touring support MPAs’ capacity to tour regionally is severely limited. Currently state governments focus on touring companies based in the state, providing some support for intra-state regional touring or engagement. Interstate touring is predominately supported through federal policies. The level of support and approach varies from state to state as does overall coordination between the approaches taken by state and federal governments.

How is regional engagement with the MPAs currently funded?

Major performance works tend to be made and performed in the cities (although there are notable exceptions such as TSO, Bangarra and occasional productions by state theatre companies). Once a work is created, regional touring ensures that it has greater longevity and provides the best possible return on the initial investment made by the government, private sector and other partners.

Although it is not always the case, regional touring is often facilitated by the Playing Australia fund. Regional touring is funded through a combination of presenter fees, box office returns to presenters, the state touring funds, philanthropy, corporate sponsorship and the Playing Australia Fund. MPAs regularly touring did so under three-year in principle agreements until 2009 when public administration rules limited the governments’ capacity to provide indicative funding commitments for future or multiple years. Key government initiatives that affect MPAs’ capacity to tour

Playing Australia Fund

Playing Australia, worth $6.2 million in 2014–15, is a federal grant administered by the Australia Council through a peer assessment process. The project by project nature of the fund introduces elements of instability and lack of predictableness that can limit the extent to which MPA companies will seek to tour their work. Grants are available to support the net touring costs associated with a national tour—namely interstate net touring costs, including freight, transport, accommodation and travel allowances outside the company’s home state as well as a contribution towards tour coordination expenses.

The fund has not increased in actual value for many years. In 2009–10 it was worth $6.3 million and has been oversubscribed for many years. It has been the role of state governments to help offset touring costs of companies touring within their home states. The resulting unpredictability in funding has limited the extent to which some of our larger companies will seek to tour.

Playing Australia funding

2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 $6.06m $6.3m $6.3m $6.65m $ 6.8m $7.4m $6.2m

Playing Australia has not served as a funding source for orchestra regional engagement since the 1990s. Full orchestra tours are less likely to tour multiple regional centres and rarely tour over state borders. Playing Australia is specifically for interstate engagement and for tours to multiple towns.

With barriers to Playing Australia eligibility, and the high costs associated with taking a full symphony to regional Australia, opportunities for orchestras to partner with regional venues are low. Orchestras then tend to self-present and rely on a combination of ticket sales and corporate sponsorship to help fund the engagement.

Naturally presenters who are often thinly resourced are busy maximising returns on work they can afford to book. The opportunities for knowledge sharing, developing longer term audience engagement and community development are dormant to a large extent.

National Touring Status

There is a level of pre-allocated funds within the Playing Australia program earmarked for four companies awarded National touring status in 2014 for three years. This was a pilot program aimed at building touring capacity and impact in regional Australia. It has provided multi- year certainty around their capacity to tour, which in turn provides regional and remote venues and their communities greater certainty and capacity to forward book and plan.

Two of the companies with National touring status—Bell Shakespeare and Sydney Dance Company—are MPAs. This status has reduced red tape by removing the requirement for companies to lodge individual applications for support for each tour. It also provides certainly and the ability to plan their touring while still delivering high quality work monitored and reported annually. AMPAG understands similar benefits have also been leveraged in awarding NTS to the two other respected non-MPA companies, Circa and Patch Theatre.

Bell Shakespeare—For Bell Shakespeare, National Touring Status (NTS) affords both the producer and the presenter the ability to plan seasons over the triennium. Under the current annual Playing Australia Program this is not possible.

Many venues have indicated a desire to build their subscription seasons and audiences around a Bell Shakespeare flagship presentation, thus anchoring their annual offering and building audience loyalty year on year. This is only possible if venues can be sure that the tour will go ahead, and as a company with NTS, Bell Shakespeare can provide that certainty for regional presenters, delivering the same productions as are presented in capital city venues, which also adds to programming appeal.

NTS makes Bell Shakespeare a more stable and thus more attractive proposition for corporate partners, trusts and foundations, and individual donors across the country. Corporate sponsorship is an increasingly volatile environment and being able to offer certainty around the company’s national reach adds to its capacity to secure support.

Bell Shakespeare also has its productions placed on the Victorian school curriculum and data demonstrates that if a production is selected, schools attendance increases on average by 60 per cent at each venue. With the certainty NTS provides, Bell is also able to plan and provide student workshops, briefings, residencies and other community engagement projects in connection with the production at each venue, as a further audience engagement tool.

The certainty that a successful NTS application would provide allows Her Majesty’s to more securely market to both the general theatre going public and schools in the Ballarat region. It can also allow the more certain inclusion of Bell Shakespeare produced works on the Victorian English and drama syllabus. This would increase the value of attendance at Bell Shakespeare productions and the engagement Her Majesty’s can also build with the education audience. —Graeme Russell, Theatre Manager, Her Majesty’s, Ballarat

Sydney Dance Company—Each year Sydney Dance Company undertakes a multi-state regional tour and over a 2-year cycle visits every state and territory. Sydney Dance Company has a full-time ensemble of 16 dancers. Like Bell Shakespeare the productions it tours regionally are the same ensemble and have the same high level production values that tour to capital cities and internationally.

Its regional tours are supported by high level marketing and media assistance and the company works closely with its regional presenters to assist them with their presentation of the work. For instance, the company has found that some of the South Australian regional

venues had the theatrical hardware but not always the skilled technicians to operate it. On a recent tour to regional South Australia, SDC conducted skills development workshops in several theatres to upskill local crews in technical delivery. This skills development in turn supports future regional employment and benefits the regional touring circuit generally.

The multi-year certainty that the NTS provides has meant SDC and Country Arts SA can plan and build longer term relationships. Between 2014 and 2015 overall attendances to SDC performances undertaken as part of its funded regional touring grew substantially. In 2014 it recorded 6403 attendances, while in 2015 there were 8747. The company attributes this 37 per cent increase in part to greater commitment to touring and capacity for long-term planning, gained through its National Touring Status.

SDC has successfully leveraged the touring funding provided by the National Touring Status through Playing Australia to attract significant philanthropic support to enable it to extend its workshop program to include pre and post tour workshop visits from teaching artists.

In 2014 Sydney Dance Company reached 1002 young people and their teachers in conjunction with the company’s regional tour. In 2015, the first year of its multi-year touring funding, SDC secured multi-year philanthropic funding to extend its reach, leveraging the government’s touring investment and nearly doubling the number of young people and their teachers to 1936.

National Touring status has enabled greater flexibility in tour planning and the capacity to confirm return seasons which SDC could then support with deeper marketing and audience engagement strategy and resources.

Previous research studies that have focused on regional performing arts touring sector have also identified the benefits presenters, their communities and the performing arts companies (see appendix 5). Government arts education funding

State and federal governments provide a level of arts education program support greatly valued by the MPAs. These grants are often tailored to specific initiatives and therefore vary greatly between companies. They play an important role in creating capacity within the MPA companies to provide regional arts education and workshops. There is concern this funding is under increased pressure, yet arts education has proven benefits to students’ overall potential to thrive academically and socially, as well as building individual students’ capacity to be expressive and creative (see Musica Viva example on page 19).

State governments, for example, have reduced their level of funding for MPA arts education initiatives, which are a crucial part of their regional engagement strategies. MPAs’ highly respected arts education programs offer students and educators skills, resources, and structured arts learning as well as authentic opportunities for students to experience high quality professional performances. They can play an important partnering role with schools, an approach encouraged through the national arts curriculum.

Some access can be facilitated through new resources created for the ABC Splash service, digital classroom incursions and accessing online clips and complementary resources via MPA websites. The majority have a range of digital pathways; however, there are limitations to what can be supplied online. The experience and impact of live performance and participation is different to the more passive, recorded content/viewer interaction and some regions have limited online capacity. MPAs often incurred residuals and performance costs associated with streaming recorded content that can limit the extent to which recorded performances can be made available.

and access for students and teachers to specialised facilities in galleries, concert halls, theatres and other arts venues.14

Other market conditions that affect the capacity of MPAs to tour

 Regional touring is not a money making activity for the MPAs. Touring Australia carries particular challenges—the distances are great, requiring freight, travel and accommodation costs on top of the costs associated with preparing and presenting the actual show. Without funding support to offset these costs, regional touring for the MPAs is often unaffordable to regional venues.

 As large companies MPAs operate with long lead times. They must plan and secure their programming and resources as well as contract their artists, schedule rehearsals, and where relevant undertake design work and schedule manufacturing activities well in advance. Greater efficiencies can be achieved when touring activities are coordinated with the planning cycles of the company. The delay between mainstage city seasons and regional tours leads to additional remounting costs.

 Performing arts companies can incur additional recorded performance costs if they upload and make available online past performances for public access (see arts education above). Industrial conditions vary across different company structures and artforms; therefore, the extent that this limits capacity to supply content online varies with the issue primarily associated with performers contracted for individual shows rather than ensembles. In the case of theatre those same recordings can be viewed in-house for education/research purposes without charge.

Key factors that affect access

1. Regional and remote audiences though appreciative and engaged are often much smaller than metropolitan audiences and therefore generate lower average box office returns. This places financial demands on presenters.

2. The capacity for regional venues to be able to afford the presenter fees associated with larger scale works is under increasing strain. Local governments are operating under increased fiscal restraint. The risk profile of running a cultural centre is often at odds with the general local government low appetite for risk. Organisations such as Regional Arts Victoria have put in place a fund to offset risk for certain arts initiatives to build local engagement.15 This could be considered as a starting point in the design of a fund that could underwrite or offset the risk in larger scale or more ambitious regional live performance initiatives such as Opera Australia’s new Australian family opera The Rabbits or a Circus Oz tour and major locally based community development initiative.

3. Ensemble companies’ capacity to perform live is limited by real time—there are only so many days in a year.

4. MPAs’ development of ancillary arts content for broadcast on radio, television and online often relies on third party partnerships, for example, the ABC, SBS or special project funding and repeat use can attract additional loadings on performance fees and creatives’ residuals.

14 The Australian Curriculum, http://v7-5.australiancurriculum.edu.au/the-arts/implications-for-teaching-assessment- and-reporting 15 Regional Arts Victoria: Guarantee Against Loss Category supports single presentations of professional inbound Australian shows where the artist is new to the community and is performing original work. This funding is managed by Regional Arts Victoria and is available to Volunteer Presenters and community managed presentation organisations that are registered with Regional Arts Victoria's Registered Presenters Network.

5. ABC TV programming of arts content has declined between 2013–14 and 2014–15; however, it has invested in high quality unique work in partnership with MPAs including the new opera from Opera Australia, The Divorce.

6. In 2015 ABC Radio reduced the number of orchestra and opera recordings it will undertake. While this has not affected all MPA classical music companies, the long-term impact is yet to be known and there is a concern it will reduce regional audiences’ access to classical music performances from a number of states as well as regional performances being broadcast nationally.

7. State education funding of MPA arts education initiatives into regional Australia has declined in recently years. For example:

Musica Viva: NSW state government cuts of $250,000 p.a. plus $25,000 p.a. from Queensland as of 2013 meant Musica Viva has had to cut staff and eliminate live professional development for teachers nationally. Teachers, the key link in the education chain when it comes to music, were moved to online-only professional development courses, which met the need for information, but robbed the regional areas of that critical peer learning and networking with colleagues from across the region.

Private sector support has been the only way in which regional touring has been able to continue for Musica Viva In Schools. However private sector support, though greatly valued, is also subject to competing interests and market forces. The increased reliance has led to Musica Viva employing a full-time staff person to ensure that it can identify, apply, service and acquit sufficient private sector funding to sustain the program (currently 25 separate funding agreements in addition to the 10 other state funding agreements).

With the reversal of the mining boom, the vital support of Rio Tinto in WA is only contracted to the end of 2016, after which the future is uncertain. On the Eastern seaboard (NSW, Queensland, Victoria), this has translated to a loss of about 18 per cent since 2012 in regional students able to access MVIS. Some of this has been regained in 2015 in Queensland and Victoria through private sector support, a direct result of staffing behind that funding search. It still means that Musica Viva’s regional touring in Victoria is now every alternate year, undermining the necessity for music education to be sequential and developmental.

Bell Shakespeare’s extensive education touring no longer has any state government support, and relies on federal funding to support all regional Actors At Work tours. Without this federal funding and associated corporate support, the company would not be able to reach regional and remote schools with the Actors At Work program.

Similarly, funding cuts in Queensland have required Queensland Theatre Company and Opera Queensland to raise funds through philanthropy to retain their regional reach.

8. For MPAs regional engagement is not funded as part of the companies’ base funding— rather it is accessed as project funding. The MPAs are funded differently to the majority of smaller companies within the arts sector. Resulting from the Nugent review in 2000 the MPAs’ funding structure seeks to provide stability through commitment to a predictable annual base fund. It is designed to avoid regular activities relying on project funding— yet in the case of touring they do rely on project funding.

9. Already designated by federal and state governments as leaders of excellence in their particular artforms, when applying for tour funding these companies are assessed again through a peer assessment process, with peers changing from one funding round to the next. The peers then assess the quality or desirability of the project. This brings uncertainty and forces a project-by-project approach at odds with MPAs’ operational structures.

10. All regularly touring MPAs would prefer to operate under a national touring status type approach (see below). It also facilities regional venues’ ability to plan and secure major

tour productions The capacity to book return seasons ahead of time facilitates greater opportunities to market back into the community during the initial tour. Certainty and the ability to forward plan and to secure multiple visits are also major factors that can contribute to effective audience development and community impact.

11. Often the availability of sophisticated technical resources is limited in regional venues, as is the availability of technical staff to support the staging of a work of scale.

THE QUALITATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF MPA WORK AND HOW IT IS VALUED IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

Behind the statistics

While the 2014–15 Australia Council Annual Report identifies the level of live paid performance activity we recognise this inquiry is seeking qualitative feedback on the importance and value placed on this activity by regional and remote communities.

We therefore take this opportunity to:

 outline the particular activities and characteristics of MPA regional and remote engagement across each of the three areas: • live, • broadcast, • online,  consider key factors that enhance or restrict these activities,  provide feedback from regional and remote Australians on the impact MPAs can make on their lives and their communities.

The multiple ways MPAs reach regional communities

The multiple ways in which MPAs reach regional and remote communities include:

1. Touring of mainstage works This means the work touring regional Australia is the same work and often the same cast as presented in metropolitan major venues by the same company.

Examples

Bangarra—regularly tours the country, for example, it opened its world premiere season of Lore in Sydney in 2015, before travelling to Canberra, Wollongong, Brisbane and Melbourne; Kinship played in 10 country towns in communities in NSW and Queensland throughout October and November 2015.

Bell Shakespeare’s Othello—will tour to 27 venues all over Australia as part of the company’s 2016 national tour.

It is significant to note the ownership and community pride achieved by Bell within the local and regional area. All too often the country areas are forgotten when large shows go on tour. —Michelle Pearce, Manager, Orange Civic Theatre

Belvoir’s Food—toured to 19 venues around Australia in 2014.

Circus Oz—between 2013 and 2015, Circus Oz toured throughout every state and territory of Australia, performing in more than 50 Australian venues. From Big Top performances, to traditional theatres, to performing under the Australian sky on football ovals in Arnhem Land, Circus Oz reached close to 250,000 people. Circus Oz strongly believes that audiences across regional Australia should be able to experience the same spectacular show and the same talented ensemble as those living in capital cities.

Queensland Theatre Company’s Black Diggers—(a co-production with Sydney and Brisbane Festivals) played at both Sydney and Brisbane Festivals in 2014, and was filmed live from The Playhouse QPAC and streamed direct to nine regional venues across Queensland. It then travelled to Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, Canberra, Melbourne and Bendigo in 2015, mostly involving the same cast and technical/creatives in each season. (http://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/work/10583#)

Sydney Dance Company—tours all around Australia, for example, 17 venues outside of Sydney in 2016.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra— Each year the SSO ensures tours symphonic music to regional areas of New South Wales through concerts for the general public, as well as schools concerts and orchestra workshops. Essentially the full orchestral ensemble—55 to 65 musicians-travel into regional NSW, depending on the venues and repertoire. This gives audiences the full orchestral experience.

Sydney Theatre Company’s The Long Way Home—(a co-production with the Australian Defence Force) played in Sydney and Adelaide (as a co-pro with State Theatre Company of South Australia)—after premiering in Sydney in February 2014, the production toured to Darwin, Brisbane, Wollongong, Townsville, Canberra, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

Tasmania Symphony Orchestra—The TSO provides a full orchestra subscription series each year in two regional centres, Launceston and Hobart.

The West Australian Ballet—tours every second year to a number of regional cities and towns (depending on state government funding). In 2013 the company toured Romeo and Juliet to Geraldton, Mandurah, Bunbury and Albany, attracting audiences of 4,000 over 10 performances, with other engagement activities reaching almost 7,000 people. In 2015 Ballet at the Quarry toured to Mandurah and Bunbury, and Embraceable You: Ballet on the Beach to Karratha, reaching almost 5,000 people in audience and other participation.

2. Touring of shows specifically developed for regional touring While the quality of work should be high it is unrealistic to translate that ambition into a demand that all regional shows be of the scale or scope of major city performances. Sometimes prohibitive costs and logistics, venue size or availability of a particular ensemble make extensive touring a mainstage work impractical.

MPA regional engagement consists of a mix of touring mainstage work that is the same production across cities and regional locations (examples above) and the creation of work developed specifically for touring. For example, Bangarra owes much of its creative force to the stories and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in regional and remote areas. Therefore, regional touring forms a vital component of Bangarra’s work in cultural exchange, creation and performance. Every new work that Bangarra creates is designed to be adaptable to tour regionally and remotely, demonstrating its commitment to regional audiences.

MPA companies are well aware of regional communities’ desire for the work toured by performing arts companies—and the accompanying engagement opportunities—to be of a high quality. They don’t want to be underestimated or served with a ‘B grade’ version of work compared to that presented in the main cities. Shows tailored for regional touring that

differ to major city offerings can still be of a very high standard and may have more flexibility in relation to the venues they can fit into, mobility and associated on-costs.

The MPAs’ key focus is on artistic excellence—and their tours in regional Australia meet their high standards of artistic excellence and professionalism.

Examples

ACO Collective (formerly known as ACO2—is the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s 17-piece string ensemble which delivers the ACO's regional touring and education programs Australia- wide. ACO Collective combines ACO musicians with young professional musicians at the outset of their careers, creating a combined ensemble with a fresh, energetic performance style. These young professionals have all participated in the ACO's year-long Emerging Artists’ Program.

ACO Virtual—the ACO’s immersive, interactive, multi-media installation—tours to regional galleries and museums across Australia for a period of typically 2–8 weeks. It gives audiences the experience of standing among the virtual ACO musicians as they perform and the unique opportunity to interact or even play along with the orchestra through a specially developed iPad app. Since its launch in 2013, over 44,000 people have experienced ACO Virtual, including over 25,000 in regional Australia.

Fabulous—brilliant way to bring music to the country. —Regional Queensland audience member, 2015

I think that the exhibition, in a relatively small community, generated a buzz of word of mouth which translated to a larger audience than we would have been able to achieve without it. Both the exhibition and the performance were wonderful. —Stephen Champion, Manager, Bathurst Entertainment Centre

Opera Australia—creates an opera production specifically for touring every two years. Performers and creatives developing the company’s touring work are the same creatives and performers working on their mainstage works destined for Australian major metropolitan venues Award-winning creative duo Michael Gow and Robert Kemp have created a new production, The Marriage of Figaro, to begin touring in 2016. A chamber orchestra and chorus of local children will accompany some of Opera Australia's finest singers.

The Opera Australia crew, with local community support, did an incredible job transforming the recreation centre into a fully-fledged, professional theatrical stage. It truly was an awe inspiring spectacle to enter the venue and see the magnificent stage and set. The show itself was wonderful and Opera Australia's community engagement program, the use of local school children appearing on stage to sing chorus lines, was exceptional, giving the young participants an opportunity of a lifetime. —spokesperson, Shire of Pilbara, WA

Queensland Ballet—presents Tutus on Tour each year in multiple venues across regional Queensland. Charters Towers to Mount Isa to Goondiwindi and many places in between, it presents a program of classical and contemporary short works and repertoire excerpts. Presented in small, intimate spaces, audiences gain up-close experience with Queensland Ballet and uncover the intricacies of choreography, technique and rehearsal through information sessions with the dancers and artistic team. The company also offers locals the chance to get involved in creative movement and dance workshops.

Queensland Symphony Orchestra—Every year the QSO spends a significant amount of time on the road travelling to communities that rarely have the opportunity to see the state’s largest performing arts company live in concert. The QSO musicians also hold a range of small ensemble performances and educational events throughout Queensland.

QSO visit regional centres including Cairns, Gladstone, the Gold Coast, Innisfail, Ipswich, Mackay, Moranbah, Mount Isa, Rockhampton and Townsville.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra—While on tour, the SSO supports the regional conservatoriums through workshops for teachers and students. In 2014 the SSO conducted music workshops for students at the School of the Air in Broken Hill, reaching hundreds of students and their families over the internet.

Also in 2015 the SSO’s three-day annual Playerlink program brought SSO musicians to Bathurst to mentor 70 young orchestral musicians from across the state, who don’t have access to an orchestra in their region. Playerlink will head to Wagga Wagga in 2016. Along with the main orchestra, the SSO Fellowship ensemble travels annually to regional NSW giving chamber music performances in towns such as Berri, Bellingen, Nowra and Goulburn.

The Australian Ballet—tours regional Australia each year as The Dancers Company. It is now in its 25th year. The Dancers Company showcases the skills of graduates from the Australian Ballet School with guest appearances by the Australian Ballet artists. They take a modified staging of The Australian Ballet’s repertoire to regional areas. Accompanying public programs provide dance students in regional areas with the rare chance of tuition by former principal dance artists, while an interactive series titled ‘Discovering Dance’ aims to demystify classical dance for those experiencing the art form for the first time—especially children.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s—Their 15-piecechamber orchestra, EChO, comprises one of each instrument from the full orchestra and performs classical, jazz and popular music in diverse locations. WASO’s On the Road ensembles can travel further than a full orchestra, comprising up to four musicians. The instrumental combinations are unique to each tour, and the repertoire performed is fun and accessible.

3. Touring performances that include regional or remote performers’ participation Today regional and remote communities are seeking more than just fly in/fly out touring. They are often looking for genuine collaboration with Australia’s MPAs. And as far as resourcing and capacity allows, it’s part of the MPAs’ role to share their resources in this way and empower others.

Australia’s culturally ambitious communities are full of ideas for collaborations with our major performing arts companies, both face-to-face and with digital technologies.

This also provides valuable professional training and capacity building within the regions.

So, by supporting government investment in Australia’s MPAs, government and philanthropists are delivering real value to regional Australia and putting community activity at the very heart arts engagement.

Examples

Australia Chamber Orchestra’s Picton Strings—This ensemble of school students from the Wollondilly Shire area began in 2011 with a three-year mentoring program in partnership with the Wollondilly Shire Council and Classics at Picton. Each year the ACO facilitated workshops and held a residency in Picton, and performed concerts for the community performing alongside the Picton Strings. When ACO began the program, there was just one string ensemble—now there are three ensembles under the umbrella of the Picton Strings. The ACO's Music & Art Program was also piloted at Picton Public School, and the program is now an integral part of the school’s curriculum, as well as the ACO’s broader community engagement program.

The involvement of the ACO in our school has been a wonderful and unique opportunity for our students, teachers and broader community. … The staff and students have the amazing opportunity to work with world class performers whose passion is passed onto staff and students. … Students and staff have learnt so much from the ACO and also our visiting artist, who has been very inspirational. Teaching skills have developed and growth shared with others. —Lyn Fraser, Principal, Picton Public School

Bangarra’s residencies—Bangarra’s relationships with communities are at the heart of the company, and most years they go back to Country, to recharge spiritually, share stories, songs and dances that often become the basis for main stage productions, and hold dance workshops for local children.

In 2016 Bangarra will hold a two-week cultural exchange program, visiting Yirrkala and Dhalinybuy in North East Arnhem Land, and for the first time, the Tiwi Islands. The company also tours regionally on a three-year cycle, ensuring it visits all states and territories during this period and where possible, taking stories back to their area of origin—for example, in 2016 Bangarra will tour Frances Rings’ work Terrain to the area around Lake Eyre in South Australia, which inspired the production.

Black Swan State Theatre Company—Black Swan has established a network of ‘regional ambassadors’ around Western Australia to encourage and strengthen the established links between the company and regional communities. The ambassadors are skilled in a variety of areas with a mix of background from community and government—and are an integral part of Black Swan’s regional engagement strategy.

Circus Oz—While on tour, Circus Oz offers professional development opportunities for local artists, circus students and technicians through:

 Masterclasses and showcase performance opportunities for local circus artists and students: Circus Oz works with local social circus and physical theatre groups throughout the regional tour to provide masterclasses and performance opportunities in conjunction with the Circus Oz show. This activity also demonstrates the possibilities of a performing arts career. These workshops provided a valuable opportunity for our students to gain an insight into the skills and abilities of professional Australian touring Circus artists and to be exposed to their repertoire, training methods, and also importantly just to meet the artists … This felt like a real exchange in many ways. Both students and OZ cast had an opportunity to get to know each other and talk all things circus. A shared culture and interest in our chosen art form” – Scott Grayland, Flying Fruit Fly Circus, Training Director

 Capacity building for regional venues: Local technicians are given the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques alongside our experienced production crew, providing future benefits for all touring companies. This can also include additional intern opportunities for local students. Additional benefits included the up-skilling of permanent and casual crew by working with the super professional team at Circus Oz. —Manager, Lighthouse Theatre Warrnambool

Opera Australia’s Regional Children’s Chorus—The chorus in Opera Australia’s 2014 and 2015 touring production of The Magic Flute incorporated a Regional Children’s Chorus program involving 757 children in 37 towns in 50 performances with an audience of 20,000. It was a collaborative process that encouraged teamwork, focus participation and confidence as well as a love of music. This was accompanied by a Regional Student Scholarship program. The impact on regional communities is bigger than just these performances—for example, students in Bendigo and Armidale used their new skills and were cast in the children’s

ensemble of Tosca at Sydney Opera House and Arts Centre Melbourne. Bathurst recorded increased numbers attending their own community choir with both children involved with the program and adults who were in the audience.

The 2016 Regional Children’s Chorus program will give 24 children aged between 9 and 14 years in each community visited on the regional tour the chance to perform as the Chorus in The Marriage of Figaro. The tour, venues to be announced, runs from 15 July to 6 September 2016.

The inclusion of the Children’s Chorus added interest and excitement to the performance and many parents that we do not normally see at performances of this type were in the audience. We believe that this provided a great opportunity for ‘non-opera going’ people to participate in opera. —Penny Hargrave, Manager, Arts Culture & Events, Wangaratta Performing Arts Centre

Project Puccini—Opera Queensland—In 2014 Opera Queensland developed a unique community engagement approach to its regional tour of Puccini’s La Bohème that demonstrated the appetite and value regional and remote communities place on live performance and, importantly, participation in live performance. Project Puccini incorporated the training and rehearsal of community choirs to perform as the chorus in a full presentation of La bohème in their town. It unleashed creative adventures and new audiences, delivering a sense of community ownership. It also facilitated discovery of artistic talent with a number of regional artists gaining further professional performance opportunities as a consequence of their involvement in the project. Local choruses were disciplined and prepared—‘in tune, in time, in Italian’—and for many it was ‘the best experience of their lives’.

… I’ve lost count of how many people have told me that this project has renewed their love of music, has been the best experience of their lives, has given them new confidence, that they cried their eyes out, that they had no idea opera could be so moving, what singing with their community has meant to them, that they’ve learned so much, how they loved acting in their costumes, the discipline of singing in Italian and with QSO, in a professional production with “real” singers. —Lindy Hume, Artistic Director, Opera Queensland

It really lifted me out of the depression, it's helped me get my voice back and I've actually made some really great friends.’ —Helen Coleman, Ipswich singing teacher

Project Rossini—Opera Queensland—In 2016 Opera Queensland will work with eight Queensland communities to find and train local performers for a tour of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. The eight communities are Gold Coast, Fraser Coast (Maryborough), Rockhampton, Gladstone, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns and Toowoomba.

During Project Rossini, more than 250 Queenslanders will learn to sing opera, dance the fandango, sing in Italian and perform in a new international touring production of The Barber of Seville. They will take to the stage in their local theatres alongside Queensland’s best singers and with the support of an ensemble of musicians from the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

State Theatre Company of South Australia—Hothouse Theatre based in Albury Wodonga entered into a 50:50 co-production of This Is Where We Live with the State Theatre Company of South Australia in 2015. After its mainstage season in Albury Wodonga and a week at the Space Theatre in Adelaide, the play—described as a darkly poetic insight into regional Australia—spent the next three weeks in regional South Australia, touring as part of the company’s education program.

It’s a successful model of working for both parties—and especially for regional audiences. … We’re giving our audiences in Albury a much better bang for their buck. —Hothouse’s then Artistic Director, Jon Halpin

Sydney Theatre Company—In 2012 Sydney Theatre Company led the New England Project, a new approach to STC’s Theatre in Communities work, combining artistic, education and social engagement priorities. Through this project, school students in collaboration with STC developed a new Australian play, In a Heart Beat. Schools involved included The Armidale School, Duval High School, Armidale High School, O’Connor Catholic College, Inverell High School and Presbyterian Ladies College. Students and members of the community took part in 34 workshops over several months in developing the play. The production reached 647 New England community members and 724 students.

Following the season in Armidale, Sydney Theatre Company worked with Playlab to publish the final script written by Jo Turner (concept by Susanna Dowling and Jo Turner). STC documented the play building process that has been distributed via a short documentary and by publishing a book outlining the process to enable other communities across Australia to engage in a similar process using the New England Project as a model.

West Australian Ballet—In June 2015 WAB undertook a special project in partnership with the City of Karratha, presenting a full-length evening of dance at Hearsons Cove, Embraceable You: Ballet on the Beach. Alongside the performance by the company, a piece was specially created for 11 local dancers aged 11 to 15 to perform at the start of the evening. After an audition process, the selected dancers undertook over 30 hours of rehearsals over 6 weeks. The performance was a sold-out event.

I had only been in ballet classes for 10 weeks when I auditioned for Ballet on the Beach, and I wasn't sure how ballet would suit me. After the time I have spent with the WA Ballet I have learnt so much and I now know that Ballet is one of my favourite styles of dance. … I can't wait for the WA Ballet to return to Karratha, Thanks again. —student, Karratha

4. Live engagement arts education in regional and remote schools and community centres All MPA companies provide arts education programs in regional towns across Australia. There are also exchange opportunities for teachers and students in higher years to visit the companies as part of a master classes work experience and to link through online forums or portals.

I live in a town in the middle of NOWHERE! This workshop (Belvoir) was AWESOME! —student, Gloucester High School

Examples

Australian Chamber Orchestra—The ACO works with regional presenters and communities to offer a range of education activities that best suit each community they visit. Opportunities include:

 ACO Collective Schools’ Concerts: free 60-minute, interactive concerts, especially designed for either primary or secondary school students to introduce them to the magic of the string orchestra. These concerts are presented either in a local schools or performing arts venues, depending on the preference of the regional presenters and the schools. They are accompanied by free educational resources for teachers to use before and after the orchestra’s visit.

Thank you so much ACO Collective for visiting our school this week. It truly was an amazing experience that most of have never had and in some cases never ... will again. Inspiring, amazing, brilliant! —Nic Wardlaw, St Mary’s District High School, St Mary’s, Tasmania

 ACO Collective String Workshops: give students from across the region visited by ACO Collective that play string instruments the opportunity to become part of the orchestra for the day. Throughout the workshop the students are coached by ACO Collective musicians.

Bangarra Dance Theatre—The company develops and delivers programs of cultural education and creative learning for young Indigenous people in urban, regional and remote areas. In 2016 the program will travel to regional Victoria for the first time—working with Elders and youth in Heywood and Horsham—and into Yarrabah in Queensland and Broome in Western Australia.

Very proud of Bangarra for bringing the program here (NthQld) the Students brought tears to my eyes performing stories we’d shared. —Richard Barkley Elder

It was extremely exciting to see that nine students who participated in Rekindling in 2014 then went on to be accepted into NAISDA Dance College and another four into ACPA (Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts). I’m sure we’ll see even more success stories like that in the future as we encourage these kids to embrace their talent and their heritage. —Artistic Director Bangarra Stephen Page

Bell Shakespeare—Eight new actors come on board each year as The Players; they perform the in-theatre schools shows and tour the country as part of the company’s travelling ensemble. They present Actors At Work, shows to primary and secondary schools, reaching 55,358 students in 2015. Bell Shakespeare also run a Regional Teacher Mentorship for 30 regional teachers annually, Regional Teacher Forums, Artist in Residence programmes in regional and remote schools and communities, complimentary workshops for regional students seeing the national touring production, subsidised programmes for regional schools and scholarships for regional student actors.

Since the residency we have witnessed a marked improvement in student engagement and focus. They take more responsibility for their work and are setting higher expectations for themselves. I believe that this is thanks to the Bell Shakespeare Residency. I truly see that it has changed my students’ perceptions of themselves and their own capabilities. —Teacher, Collarenebri Central School, QLD

Belvoir—The company offers all secondary schools in regional NSW its full range of practical theatre workshops in both performance and design, which are delivered on site in regional schools by tutors, who are professional actors, directors, playwrights and designers. Belvoir’s Theatre Enrichment Program supports senior English and Drama students in regional NSW by giving them the confidence, language and tools to describe and evaluate a text in performance. Each year 150 students from regional NSW attend a schools performance at Belvoir St Theatre and participate in a series of pre and post show experiences with trained educators and key Belvoir artists.

We are so far from access to professional workshops and productions. The cost and time to get anywhere is extremely prohibitive. Students in regional areas need equity in access to workshops like this, so they can complete the HSC on an even playing field with students from metropolitan areas. Please keep offering these opportunities to regional students!! —teacher, Emmanuel Anglican College, Ballina

Due to our school’s isolation, we only have limited access to professional live theatre sets in proper playhouses. This means that this experience was not only an incredible

learning experience for our students, but also an incredible LIFE experience. — teacher, Coomealla High School

Circus Oz—The company has worked with many schools over the years with far-ranging objectives, from simply learning some new physical skills, to developing leadership skills through experiential learning. The company has also run two extended School Residency Programs with regional schools over the past couple of years, supported by Arts Victoria and the Australia Council.

These programs encourage not only student development, but also the development of teachers and artists, emphasising a strong artistic outcome. It incorporates a pro bono, community workshop component into its touring activities, primarily focused on younger people, but also for specific groups such as those with disability, giving a range of regional community members a chance to actively engage with the circus arts. The delivery of regional workshops accompanied by a show is generally facilitated in partnership with sections of the local community, which can include the venue, local councils, and or schools.

Just a brief one to say a massive THANK YOU for giving us the opportunity to hook up our young mob with the tech run, shows and a brilliant community circus session. All the kids from Bagot, Minmirama, Knuckey Lagoon and 15 Mile had big smiles on their faces when I caught up with them this week! The kids in our workshop program are equally inspired and now seem to spend more time on their hands then their feet. —Project Coordinator, Corrugated Iron Youth Arts.

Each 50-minute educational show for schools is rounded off with a question and answer session, where the audience has exclusive interactive session in the venue with the Circus Oz ensemble. This gives the audience a greater sense of connection and has also been found to inspire children to pursue artistic endeavours.

Musica Viva—Musica Viva In Schools offers access to live performance for students and professional development and quality digital resources for teachers, ensuring they have the skills, inspiration and confidence to teach music in the classroom. This program aims to increase enjoyment and skill in music for students in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. For example:

 collaboration with the Mt Isa School of the Air Mini Schools network in 2013 and 2014 brought a six-week Composer in the Classroom residency to students in remote Queensland towns such as Normanton, Bedourie, Cloncurry, Camooweal, Gregory and Julia Creek

 a Musician in the Classroom tour engaged almost 500 students in the remote South Australian towns of Coober Pedy and Leigh Creek in drumming workshops, music making, performance and teacher professional development sessions

 a teacher training and student performance and workshop tour to Whyalla, South Australia

 a tour of remote WA schools such as Meekatharra, Cue and Wiluna brought workshops and music classes to over 600 students.

Having grown up in the Geelong region, I understand how difficult it can be to have access to the arts and culture. We were blown away by the enthusiastic response we received at all the schools, proving how crucial it is for children in remote areas to have access to live musical experiences. —Musica Viva Touring ensemble member

The students enjoyed every aspect including the workshops and performance … combining performances with workshops is a brilliant service for our area where access to musicians is very difficult. —teacher in remote Queensland

Opera Australia—offers participation in its Regional Student Scholarship program to all regional tour presenters at no additional fee. The successful four students receive a Scholarship prize, which supports their travel and accommodation costs to visit Opera Australia and to participate in music, acting and movement workshops with industry leaders, vocal coaching with Opera Australia’s experienced coaches and repetiteurs. They also receive tickets to see an Opera Australia performance at the Sydney Opera House as well as an exclusive behind the scenes tour of The Opera Centre Sydney (and the iconic Sydney Opera House) and the chance to perform an aria for Opera Australia’s Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini, at the end of their week’s scholarship.

Queensland Theatre Company—QTC offers scholarships for attendance to its annual week- long Theatre Residency program. This is a drama immersion camp that has run for over 40 years and has been attended by some of Australia’s theatre greats such as Geoffrey Rush, Deborah Mailman, and Wesley Enoch.

Over the past 20 years, QTC’s Regional Acting Studio facilitated in-school workshops during an intensive regional road-trip. In 2016 The Scene Project, a new participatory project for High School students, will travel to Rockhampton, the Redlands area and metropolitan Brisbane, providing students and staff with an opportunity to share and view professional theatre. In 2014 around 940 students enjoyed the schools-focused production Lost Property Rules, which toured to the Central Highlands centres of Emerald and Blackwater.

Sydney Theatre Company—Since 2012 STC’s landmark School DramaTM program has been delivered in regional areas. School DramaTM is an artist-in-residence, teacher professional learning program for primary teachers that helps teachers use drama in their classrooms to improve student literacy outcomes. During 2012 and 2013, STC worked with three schools in Broken Hill and during 2015 and 2016, STC partnered with Hothouse Theatre and Murray Arts and delivered the program in the Albury Wodonga area. Regional delivery of this program continues to grow and in 2016 School DramaTM will be offered in the Northern Territory.

From the techniques we learnt we realised how Drama can explore themes in more thought provoking and entertaining ways than simply by discussion. The children we teach will gain much from the knowledge and skills we acquired at the Drama Workshop. —Teacher, Albury Wodonga

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra—The orchestra plays a very important role in building community life across the state. It also tours a slimmed down version of the orchestra, Mini TSO, to regional centres and schools all around the state.

When I heard the concert I thought I was in a dream. Before the concert I was not interested in the music but once I heard and saw the Mini orchestra my life changed. The Mini TSO is heart lifting. I wish I could see them all over again. —Brodie Yr 6 Rison Dale Public School Tasmania

The TSO performs live concerts under the stars in Launceston and Hobart each year as well as engages with the marginalised communities.

I must say a very big thank you from all of us for such an amazing day last Friday. You organised it so well and you have opened the eyes of not only the 5 inmate

participants but the 5 staff as well. We are all now such big fans. —Sport and Recreation Officer Tasmania Prison Service

The Australian Ballet—The Professional Learning Cluster Model for primary school teachers which provided dance and movement learning opportunities otherwise unavailable in regional Victoria was very successful. It has led to the development of a ‘teacher continued development program’ to be piloted in every state and territory in 2016 as a part of the Ballet’s ‘Out There’ (Samsung) program. This program is a practical session to teach teachers how to use the company’s web-based resources (Eduhub) to deliver safe and curriculum supportive dance. In 2016 the Ballet expects to deliver 8–10 Teacher CPD sessions with at least one in every state and territory in Australia. These sessions will be aimed mainly at school teachers. The Ballet will launch Eduhub in February 2016. It contains warm-ups, historical information on ballet, narrative, music, design and choreographic information for students and teachers as well as lesson ideas tied to the curriculum. Each resource is relevant to the current 2016 main stage season allowing students to study and see a performance.

West Australian Ballet undertakes—

 presentations and dance workshops in public, private and independent primary schools, secondary schools, and education support centres across Western Australia

 week-long in-school residencies in primary schools, involving daily workshops and concluding with a performance by students and presentation by WAB teaching artists

 ballet workshops: specialised classes for students from all local dance schools.

Some of the best teaching I’ve ever seen. I was blown away at fitness, management and professionalism displayed. It is amazing to me they could get our children interested’. —Teacher, Greenfields Primary School

5. Television and radio broadcast of MPAs The national or local broadcasting of arts performances provides additional opportunity for regional and remote access to major works of scale and accomplishment.

While live performance is important as a dynamic shared experience, it also plays a major role in developing works and stories that in turn inspire the big and small screen.

In 2014 MPA companies estimated that 10 million people watched or listened to a broadcast or screening of an MPA company performance. Furthermore, MPA companies had 800,000 friends and their digital platforms received 21 million visits. The Australia Council estimates the MPAs as a group reached 16 million people in 2014–15.

Broadcast

The capacity of ABC TV and Radio to broadcast recorded works by MPAs is an important ancillary way in which MPAs extend their reach into regional and remote communities as well as to metropolitan audiences.

ABC TV and MPAs

A number of MPAs have collaborated in a range of high quality arts projects with ABC TV over many years including, most recently, the new four-part TV opera project, The Divorce (see below); and ABC Radio’s recordings of classical music.

ABC1 is the ABC’s primary television channel and home to a range of flagship programs including the arts. Arts and culture comprised 3.6 per cent of ABC TV content genre mix in 2013–1416 which fell to 2.75 per cent in in 2014–15.

Opera Australia—The Divorce, a four-part contemporary comedic opera written and designed especially for the screen premiered on ABC 1 in 2015. Described as a unique multi- platform project that reinvents opera for television, film and online audiences across the country, it was a collaboration between ABC TV Arts, Opera Australia, Opera Conference and Princess Pictures, and brought together creative talent from multiple genres. The music by internationally acclaimed composer Elena Kats-Chernin and the libretto by award- winning playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, were originally commissioned by The Opera Conference—the national partnership of professional opera companies, Opera Australia, The State Opera of South Australia, Opera Queensland and West Australian Opera.

This program was innovative, cross platform and collaborative. It was energetic, fresh and featured Australian performers. Across the country The Divorce had a very strong viewer response with a cumulative reach of 1.1 million over the four evenings. Regional viewership cumulative reach was approx. 311,000 (4% of regional population). The regional total TV share was proportionately higher at 4.9%. The below table records the viewing reach of one episode of The Divorce.

Another 126,000 views were recorded on ABC on i-view. Although the location of the viewers isn’t available it is reasonable to assume a proportion came from regional Australia.

The ABC also extends Opera Australia’s national reach through the broadcast of Handa on Sydney Harbour.

ABC Radio

The 2014–15 ABC annual report states, ‘ABC Music represents leading classical music artists and Australian arts companies, including symphony orchestras and classical ensembles. ABC radio broadcasts on Classic FM are also vitally important in extending access to the state and national opera companies’ work to all of Australia.

The label contributes to the fulfilment of the ABC Charter’s obligation to encourage and promote music, drama and other performing arts in Australia.’

In 2014–15 this resulted in the ABC winning the 2014 Australian Independent Records Label Association (AIR) Independent Music Awards for Best Independent Classical Album And Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album: Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu/Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Gurrumul: His Life and Music.

The 2015 decision by the ABC to reduce the number of classical music performance recordings undertaken each year has had an impact on the number of recordings made in some states which may over time limit the diversity of classical music performances broadcast to regional Australia and for those regional performances to gain audiences outside their regional areas. This is of concern State Opera of South Australia.

In South Australia, recordings have fallen from anywhere between 1 and 4 broadcasts of operas and concerts per year (SOSA had four Sunday Live broadcasts in one year, a couple of years ago) down to zero broadcasts for the foreseeable future. In conjunction with this, Adelaide ABC retrenched a large number of staff including two

16 ABC Annual report 2013–14 page 46

of the three broadcast sound recording engineers (who do all the orchestral and opera recording, among other things) and one of the producers, leaving just one producer and one engineer for the whole state.

SOSA understands that the SA producer now needs to service Western Australia as well. As one person can only do so much this appears the ABC has drastically reduced the potential and possibility of ABC broadcasts of high quality performances being heard nationally from SA, WA and NT. While the overall number of annual broadcasts has been reduced from 300 to 150, the proportional reduction in broadcasts from South Australia is expected to be far higher than 50 per cent.

SOSA has raised serious concerns about the impact this will have for work of national standard, which all of these states produce, to effectively go unreported and unheard by a national audience. Australia’s shared creative engagement is weakened if the national voice fails to draw from all its diverse regions. —Tim Sexton, CEO & Artistic Director, State Opera of South Australia

However, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra says that while the trend in classical music performance recordings over the past few years has been declining, it is encouraged that the new management of the ABC Classic FM has indicated that the number of ASO broadcasts will actually increase this year.

Live Independent broadcast17

For isolated regional audiences without regular access to the range of arts events which capital city residents take for granted, live broadcasts serve as a valuable connector, functioning beyond simply providing people with access to the work itself.

Examples

Queensland Theatre Company—a performance of Black Diggers was simulcast to nine major regional centres in Queensland with an attendance of nearly 3,000 including 780 students in 2014. There were follow-up schools workshops in 16 regional schools involving 562 students. Black Diggers explores the untold and exceptional stories of Indigenous Australian soldiers who fought for the British Commonwealth without the rights of citizenship. The company supported the simulcasts with a range of activity including prior visits to some centres by then company artistic director Welsey Enoch, schools materials and in some cases free transportation by bus to assist regional communities.

Black Swan State Theatre Company—continued its successful live broadcast project in 2015 with its fifth broadcast, Blithe Spirit. It broadcasted to 11 regional venues (Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Geraldton, Bunbury, Merredin, Margaret River, Carnarvon, Port Hedland, Karratha, Onslow and Broome) and 35 Community Resource Centres, as well as countless homes on the Westlink network. The live broadcast is an opportunity for thousands of regional WA citizens who cannot attend Black Swan performances because of distance or financial constraints to share a state-wide ‘live’ experience within their own home or community.

Feedback from regional audiences is consistently positive. It’s a special event in each regional setting. They are sharing and participating in something that is happening live in Perth drawing a live audience across the state.

The annual live broadcasts of a chosen production provided by Black Swan State Theatre Company are a godsend for theatre-lovers living outside of Perth. From our point of view it really is amazing that we can have or take part in a live broadcast and go to the theatre without having to drive for a day, a seven or eight hour drive to see something ... just before the play starts, somebody from Black Swan comes on and he or she welcomes everyone to the live broadcast—Hello to everybody in

17 Independent of public or commercial television services

Broome, in Esperance and Kalgoorlie—and you really get this feeling of this connection right around the state, of all the regional areas having a nice night at the theatre. And I know for us when they say "hello Esperance" we all cheer, even though they can’t hear us. It is absolutely fantastic. —Victoria Brown, President of the Esperance Theatre Guild

Broadcast does not replace live performance but it does help reduce the access barriers regional communities often face. Broome, Port Hedland and Esperance all hosted Black Swan State Theatre Company community and school theatre workshops before and after the live broadcast, providing a richer experience.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra—provides occasional webcasts through Livestream on its YouTube channel. Regional audiences with adequate online access can also listen to select concerts on SSO Radio, housed on SoundCloud. In addition to this the SSO has a close relationship with community radio stations.

The SSO has a number of online education initiatives:

 Online teaching resources, including bite-sized lesson plans, are available through the orchestra’s website.

 Online education resource kits to complement the Australian Curriculum are available via the national Scootle database.

 The SSO has created a masterclass series to assist musicians preparing for orchestral auditions. These videos, in which SSO musicians teach SSO Fellows how to refine popular audition pieces, are available on the SSO YouTube channel.

 In 2015 the SSO’s teacher training program TunED Up was paperless, with the teachers accessing all course materials via tablets. The SSO will continue to support these teachers with the provision of online teaching resources throughout 2016.

The SSO also offers audiences around Australia the chance to see behind-the-scenes via its online news site, Backstage News+. This site features the latest news and backstage videos, articles and photo galleries from the SSO.

West Australian Opera— has presented its free Opera in the park performance as a live broadcast to regional centres since 2010. The regional simulcast enables long-time opera fans, or first-timers just being introduced to the artform, to experience the beauty of live world-class opera. In 2016 the Opera in the Park will be Gianni Schicchi by Puccini.

West Australian Symphony Orchestra: provides occasional Webcasts live through Livestream. WASO webcasts feature exclusive footage such as interviews with soloists, conductors, WASO musicians and staff. Viewers can also interact through a live twitter feed. These performances are then available on demand on WASO’s Youtube channel. The next webcast is scheduled for 2 April 2016 form the Perth Concert Hall

6. Online arts education and behind the scenes The companies’ online presence includes online recorded videos, live streaming of rehearsals and other resources.

Examples

ACO Music & Art Program— This music and visual art curriculum is for primary school students in Years 3–6 and their teachers. It is delivered via video conferencing every month over the course of a school year during which an ACO Collective performance takes place in a regional centre. The program is supported by a content rich website, full of resources and

materials for teachers, students and their families. The artwork of participating students is displayed in the foyer of the venue of the ACO Collective performance and the participating students and their families are offered discounted tickets to the ACO Collective performance in their town.

This program was an overwhelming success, and I received many requests from the school to repeat it next year. Viewing the artwork, and speaking with the students, I found they were engaged and stimulated by the music. The City of Greater Bendigo is a large municipality, and distance can be a barrier to arts participation, so the online delivery meant that we were able to present this program to one of our remote schools. In the evening we provided tickets to encourage the students to come to the performance, and it was a wonderful touch to have them welcomed before the concert started. —Rohan Phillipps, Arts Officer, City of Greater Bendigo

Bell Shakespeare— delivers an annual live-streamed Q&A from Sydney Opera House for regional schools; has developed a suite of performance and commentary videos for ABC Splash online; created a Starting Shakespeare app for primary students and their teachers; develops a comprehensive suite of free teacher resources each year, accessible from the Bell Shakespeare website; and connects regional students and teachers from across Australia via specialised social media networks. The company’s education programs reached approximately 62,000 students and teachers in 2015.

Musica Viva— digital apps: Key components of MVA’s music education courses are available online in NSW. The website, musicstaffroom.com, was created to house video tutorials for self-paced, online videos and other resources for teachers. Additionally, live- streamed digital seminars hosted by professional music educators and Musica Viva In Schools musicians were available live and on-demand for teachers. This digital innovation has received warm feedback from teachers. The online videos allow comprehensive training, at a time and place that suits them.

Orchestra Victoria— Orchestra Victoria delivered its Remote Access String Quartet Program for regional high school students, directed by violinist John Noble which culminated in a Melbourne based joint performance.

I loved to feel a part of a real orchestra. Since last year's workshop I have practiced so much. Please do it again next year! —Rosebud Secondary College student

[the workshop was] quite challenging, particularly at first, but [the students] rise to the occasion and discover more about their ability in the process. It lifts their thinking. — Eaglehawk Secondary College teacher

Sydney Symphony Orchestra— has used online digital services to conduct online masterclasses and online auditions and is working with the Sydney Opera House in delivering online interactive professional learning classes to regional areas, supporting classroom music teachers nationally.

Sydney Theatre Company— Since 2014, STC Education has invested heavily in developing digital resources to support teaching and learning across Drama and English. These include a suite of resources for each Schools Days production (On Cue e-book, design sketchbooks, posters and others). STC Education has also developed a series of Director Documentaries that are freely available on their website. These have been made specifically for teachers and students studying particular plays or theatrical styles.

The Australian Ballet— World Ballet Day, an online broadcast, provided behind-the-scenes access to the world's premier ballet companies: The Australian Ballet, Bolshoi Ballet, The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet. In 2015 it also invited

esteemed fellow dance companies Bangarra Dance Theatre, the Royal New Zealand Ballet and the National Ballet of China to take part.

The broadcast provides a rare peak into the workings of the companies and their artists for ballet students and audience—and by doing so, overcomes barriers that may exist due to geographical distance and isolation.

The West Australian Ballet—runs online presentations, such as video conference presentation/workshops for Pannawonica Primary School, Port Hedland Primary School, and Tom Price Primary School, based from the Pilbara Regional Education Office in Karratha; and two sessions for primary-aged students with the Carnarvon School of the Air.

AMPAG RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendation 1

Increase the existing Playing Australia fund by $2 million pa to increase the quantity, scale and diversity of performing arts tours to reach regional and isolated and remote communities. Boosting the value of the Playing Australia fund would increase the breadth, diversity and quality of works seen by audiences in regional and remote Australia, promoting skills development and assisting in meeting the significant unmet audience demand.

Any increase in Playing Australia should be accompanied by creating flexibility in eligibility guidelines to remove barriers to alternative ways of touring that may be more efficient for artists, arts companies and audience reach and engagement.

Recommendation 2

Regional venues want more MPA engagement within their communities. Government’s introduction of multi-year funding through the National Touring Status awarded to four companies, including two MPAs, has demonstrated the benefits of continuity of funding. The NTS funding approach should be extended to all MPA companies that regularly tour regional Australia. Doing so would save administrative time and uncertainty and facilitate additional opportunities for audience development.

It should be done without unfairly disadvantaging other organisations, be they other MPAs or SMEs, in accessing Playing Australia tour support.

Recommendation 3

Increase the support for education activities and streamed, digital access for regional and remote areas, to lift their participation and engagement in arts activities, and ultimately benefit all education and community outcomes.

Recommendation 4

Model the potential benefits, likely take up and associated costs and optimum criteria associated with the creation of a regional live performance and live performance broadcast to regional venues subsidy and risk offset scheme.

Recommendation 5

ABC radio and television provides important conduit for regional audiences to experience performances by Australia’s leading performing arts companies as well as capacity for regional artist and performances to reach a national audience. It is a greatly valued collaborator and commissioner of original innovative performing arts content. Its contribution to the performing arts cultural life of regional Australia should be recognised and valued.

Recommendation 6

Facilitate the national co-ordination and collaboration of regional performing arts access and engagement strategies by including ‘regional performing arts access and development’ as a standing item on the annual Meeting of Cultural Ministers’ agenda.

Appendix 2: News article—The Leader, 2 December 2015, 4 pm

Wagga Civic Theatre 2016 Season

Wagga has spoken and the Civic Theatre has answered—the Australian Ballet will return to the city in 2016.

It is just one of the 12 impressive shows to comprise the Civic Theatre’s 2016 Subscription Season.

“The number one requested thing has been the Australian Ballet and we have them,” Civic Theatre manager Carissa Campbell said.

Tom Burlinson, a tribute performer endorsed by the Sinatra family, will recreate the album Sinatra at the Sands on stage before performing his greatest hits.

Doctor Jonathon Welch AM from the Choir of Hard Knocks will bring a 10th anniversary celebration to Wagga with collaboration from local choirs.

Ms Campbell said diversity was key when choosing shows to comprise a season.

“I always look for a mix,” she said.

“I want the big companies but I also want Australian writing.

“Every single one has to have something special that I think will work in Wagga.”

Season launch video lists 6 out of 12 shows in 2016 involve MPAs: Bell Shakespeare, Queensland Theatre Company, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company

Appendix 3: AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMPANIES

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Victoria Orchestra

Australian Brandenburg Queensland Ballet Orchestra

Australian Chamber Queensland Orchestra Symphony Orchestra

Bangarra Dance Queensland Theatre Theatre Company

Bell Shakespeare State Opera South Australia

Belvoir State Theatre Company of South Australia

Black Swan State Sydney Dance Theatre Company Company

Circus Oz Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Malthouse Theatre Sydney Theatre Company

Melbourne The Australian Ballet Symphony Orchestra

Melbourne Theatre Tasmanian Company Symphony Orchestra

Musica Viva Australia West Australian Ballet

Opera Australia West Australian Opera

West Australian Opera Queensland Symphony Orchestra

Appendix 4: Excerpt from the Australia Council for the Arts Annual Report 2015

Australia Council investment in regional initiatives, derived from its Annual Report 2015.

Australia Council Grants 5.4 National Regional Program 8.6 Other Government initiatives 3.9 Key Organisations 4.7 Major Performing Arts Companies 6.3 Total 28.9

‘Major Performing Arts Companies’ refers to MPAs based in regional locations—in this case Tasmania, a state that is categorised as regional in its entirety.

Appendix 5: Excerpts from national and state touring research reports

The Mapping Contemporary Dance in Regional WA report18 noted that there was recognition of dance companies that return to the same communities over a number of years had benefits. The same report noted that the development of ongoing relationships between particular artists and communities had the potential for long-term impacts.19

A further 2012 national touring report commissioned by the Australia Council noted Presenters’ curatorial processes are driven predominately by factors that mitigate risk (often without research into audience demand and capacity) rather than by critical assessment of the audience and the production.20

The report recommended supporting presenter risk-taking through curatorial upskilling, shared audience development strategies and providing certainty on programming centrepieces.

It also recommended simplifying and harmonising funding, especially the triennial funding, and including measures that give presenters greater certainty so that established producers may be freed up to present riskier niche work.

The Mapping Queensland Theatre report also called for consistent funding for touring, saying, ‘The foundation for theatre touring exists but that depends on a certain critical mass of suitable work being constantly available for presenter to invest in appropriate audience development strategies.’21

18 Carmichael (2009) 19 National Touring Framework: Are We There Yet, April 2010, (funded by Aust Co) p.37 20 Ibid, p.39 21 Baylis 2009 (Funded by Arts Qld)