Bell Shakespeare
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— ARC Linkage Project LP160100047 June 2019 Creative Convergence Midterm Industry Report (2017-18) Rachel Fensham, Paul Rae and Jennifer Beckett Creative Convergence Project |Midterm Industry Report Page 1 of 44 Table of Contents Project Introduction .......................................................................................................... 4 Aims and Outcomes .................................................................................................................. 5 Researchers and Partners ......................................................................................................... 6 Fieldwork to End 2018 .............................................................................................................. 7 Other Research Activities to End 2018 ..................................................................................... 7 Report Executive Summary ................................................................................................ 9 Arena Theatre Company .................................................................................................. 10 Arena’s Activities .................................................................................................................... 10 Creative Convergence and Arena ........................................................................................... 11 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 13 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 15 ARTHUR ........................................................................................................................... 16 Arthur’s Activities ................................................................................................................... 16 Creative Convergence and Arthur .......................................................................................... 17 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 18 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 18 Bell Shakespeare ............................................................................................................. 19 Bell’s Activities ........................................................................................................................ 19 Creative Convergence and Bell ............................................................................................... 21 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 22 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 23 Creative Victoria .............................................................................................................. 24 Creative Victoria’s Activities ................................................................................................... 24 Creative Convergence and Creative Victoria .......................................................................... 25 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 25 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 26 Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) .......................................................................... 27 GPAC’s Activities ..................................................................................................................... 27 Creative Convergence and Geelong Performing Arts Centre ................................................. 28 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 29 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 29 Creative Convergence Project | Midterm Industry Report Page 2 of 44 HotHouse Theatre ........................................................................................................... 30 HotHouse’s Activities .............................................................................................................. 30 Creative Convergence and HotHouse ..................................................................................... 31 Preliminary Research Observations: ....................................................................................... 32 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 32 Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC) ................................................................................ 33 MTC’s Activities ...................................................................................................................... 33 Creative Convergence and MTC ............................................................................................. 34 Preliminary Observations: ...................................................................................................... 35 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 36 Regional Arts Victoria (RAV) ............................................................................................ 37 RAV Activities .......................................................................................................................... 37 Creative Convergence and Regional Arts Victoria .................................................................. 37 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 37 Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 38 Theatre Network Australia (TNA) ..................................................................................... 39 TNA’s Activities ....................................................................................................................... 39 Creative Convergence and TNA .............................................................................................. 39 Preliminary Observations ....................................................................................................... 39 Proposed Plans for Creative Convergence 2019-2020 ....................................................... 40 Future Research Directions .............................................................................................. 42 Creative Convergence Project | Midterm Industry Report Page 3 of 44 Students participate in TakeOver performances at Geelong Performing Arts Centre, 2017 Project Introduction With a focus on regional Victoria, this ARC-funded Linkage project aims to understand and enhance the personal, affective and social impact of contemporary theatre for youth audiences by developing knowledge networks and social media strategies. In the regional arts ecology, where youth may be marginalised or lacking in creative opportunities, the project aims to involve theatre companies, a performing arts venue, and state government in research methodologies that harness the agency of young people, the live theatre experience, and their creative convergence with digital media. Guided by partner priorities, this four-year project will build a complex, longitudinal study informed by international best practice in the area of theatre for young people. Alongside our partners, the project researchers aim to deliver new methods of evaluating theatre for young people and conceptualize and implement a creative and digital media strategy for enhanced audience engagement in dispersed locations over time. Outcomes include academic and industry publications, collaborative networks delivering transferable knowledge about theatre impact to the national and international context, and better understanding of the social benefits of richer cultural participation in regional communities. Creative Convergence Project | Midterm Industry Report Page 4 of 44 Aims and Outcomes The Project aims have been given focus around three moments of convergence: o Convergence in the Person: using interactive research workshops to explain how young people are affected by theatre, and what impact this has over time o Convergence of Media: conceptualising and implementing a social media strategy that sustains and enhances the effects of regional live events over time o Organizational Convergence: create a durable network of reflective theatre practitioners and other stakeholders working with young people across Victoria ● Project significance o A refined understanding of impact as distributed and longitudinal o New techniques for evaluating and articulating impact o New transmedia strategies for enhancing impact ● Industry Partner aims (at start of project) o Creative Victoria: provide strategies for expanding regional venues’ reach, community building, and developing cultural opportunities for young people, in order to ‘future-proof’ the state and support regional industry