Emerging Trends in Contemporary Festival Practice
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Emerging Trends in Contemporary Festival Practice Exemplifying the modern festival through the praxis of boutique festival initiation and management at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre By Georgia Seffrin BA (Hons) Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Queensland University of Technology (2006) Keywords Creative city, creative industries, cultural studies, festival, Queensland Performing Arts, Out of the Box Festival, Stage X Festival, youth culture Thanks While there is one name on the title page, a number of people have significantly contributed to the realisation of this thesis. The two most obvious are Professor Rod Wissler and Dr Jacqueline Martin, in whose supervision I found the perfect blend of sublime conceptual wisdom and eye for detail, and without whose support I can honestly say I would never have reached this point; The “researched” at QPAC, in particular John Kotzas, Deb Murphy and most especially Susan Richer, whose generosity, openness, extreme cleverness and professional excellence made the fieldwork component of this research an absolute joy, along with the supreme research talents of Erica Hart; And my extraordinary family, whose capacity to go above and beyond at all times has been truly humbling and enabling, ensuring that I kept this entire undertaking in perspective. “…people increasingly want to find a source of meaning in their lives from outside themselves: a religion, membership of a community, taking part in a campaign, an attachment to a sense of history. That search will be part of modern identity, not a throwback to an older era” (Leadbeater, C. 2002. Up the Down Escalator: Why the Global Pessimists are Wrong. London: Penguin). Abstract The Festival is a form that transcends cultures, histories and regimes. It is a construct that has been utilised in a variety of ways, for a variety of purposes, but its raison d’être is always community, sometimes as celebrated from a popularist level, at other points manipulated by the wielders of power. In its modern context, the festival has similarly been deployed as either a means of celebrating a sense of local community, or embraced by governments as a symbol of sophisticated cosmopolitanism. This research aims to contextualise a particular kind of festival practice within both an historical and contemporary context. This is structured through three key areas: at the heart of the thesis is a study of a particular kind of contemporary festival model, the boutique festival, as produced by the Programming Unit of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre. This festival construct is significant in its positioning of the audience as both producer and consumer in a playful and intelligent manner. This kind of model is different from the more conventional high arts or community arts festival models. Secondly, the research explores how current renderings of the festival can be contextualised within historical functions, so as to highlight points of connection and departure. Thirdly, the study positions the boutique festival as but one example of a range of current local festival practices that highlight the manner in which the festival construct engages with contemporary life. This portion of the study places these local renderings within Creative Industries discourse, focussing on the notion of the Creative City. The thread that ties the areas of focus together is the role of the audience in the festival. The trope of community remains central to contemporary festival practice, but it is a term that is becoming increasingly problematic and opaque, especially within an urban context. Through a variety of constructs, contemporary festivals encourage a cultural discussion about what community means in a current context, and in so doing, invite explorations of space, identity and authenticity as well. “The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at any other tertiary educational institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made.” Signed: Date: Table of Contents Chapter One - Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Background to the research project 3 1.3 Scope of the study 7 1.4 Literature review 9 1.4a Historical overview of the role of the festival 10 1.4b Fashion 18 1.4c Youth arts theory 19 1.5 Conceptual framework 23 1.5a The aestheticisation of everyday life 26 1.5b Patterns of consumption 28 1.5c The network society 29 1.5d The creative class 31 1.5e Key Questions 32 1.6 Conclusion 33 Chapter Two - Methodology 1 2.1 Introduction 1 2.2 Methodology 1 2.3 Components of the research 3 2.4 Position of the researcher 6 2.5 Qualitative research 6 2.6 Ethnography 11 2.7 Qualitative tools 17 2.8 Quantitative tools 21 2.9 Triangulation 22 2.10 Cultural studies 22 2.11 Reception studies 24 2.12 “Theatre talks” 28 2.13 The theatrical event 29 2.14 Conclusion 31 Chapter Three - History of the Festival in Brisbane 33 i 3.1 Introduction 33 3.2 The festival and the community 34 3.3 History of Warana 36 3.4 Beginnings 37 3.5 The parade 42 3.6 Becoming increasingly corporate 43 3.7 Identity crisis 44 3.8 Enter QPAC 50 3.9 The role of other festivals and key events 53 3.10 The Brisbane Festival 57 3.11 The current situation 62 3.12 The role of the audience 63 3.13 Conclusion 66 Chapter 4 - The Stage X Festival 69 4.1 Introduction 69 4.2 Stage X 72 4.3 The OUT OF THE BOX Festival of Early Childhood 74 4.4 Fieldwork 75 4.5 Strategy One: Research into current trends within youth culture and expert knowledge of issues pertaining to youth arts theory 76 4.5a Stage X 1999: Current trends 78 4.5b Stage X 2001: Current trends 81 4.6 Strategy Two: The consultation process 86 4.6a Stage X 1999 and 2001: The consultation process 89 4.7 Strategy Three: Marriage of these elements into programming 92 4.7a Stage X 1999: Programming 93 4.7b Stage X 2001: Programming 94 4.8 Strategy Four: The management model: i) the key team, ii) a democratic management process 96 4.8a Stage X 1999: Management model 100 4.8b Stage X 2001: Management model 105 4.9 Strategy Five: Positioning of the audience as author 106 4.9a Freakshow, 1999: Audience as author 107 ii 4.9b Shopping Mall 2001: Audience as author 113 4.10 Strategy Six: Evaluation of the festival 120 4.10a Stage X 1999: Evaluation 122 4.10b Stage X 2001: Evaluation 125 4.10c Reception Studies 127 4.11 Future directions for the festivals 127 4.12 Conclusion 127 Chapter Five - Towards a Model: The Boutique Festival 127 5.1 Introduction 127 5.2 The Boutique 127 5.3 Key elements of the boutique 127 5.4 The Boutique Festival 127 5.5 Audience relationships and identity 127 5.6 Key issues 127 5.7 Limitations of the Boutique Festival 127 5.8 Conclusion 127 Chapter Six - Playing with the Model: The Adelaide Festival 2002 127 6.1 Introduction 127 6.2 History of the Adelaide Festival 127 6.3 “The Great Dictator” or the Couturier 127 6.4 Enter Peter Sellars 127 6.5 The Adelaide Festival 2002 127 6.6 Implementing Sellars’ festival 127 6.7 The Board 127 6.8 Administrative structure 127 6.9 Insider views 127 6.10 Programming 127 6.11 Key connections between the Sellars’ model and the Boutique Festival 127 6.12 Evaluation of Sellars’ model 127 6.13 Conclusion 127 Chapter Seven – The Role of Festivals in Creative City Culture 127 7.1 Introduction 127 7.2 Weaving the threads 127 iii 7.3 Key tropes for current festival practice 127 7.3a Community 127 7.3b Space 127 7.3c Authenticity 127 7.3d The carnivalesque 127 7.4 The Creative City 127 7.5 Brisbane as a creative city? 127 7.6 The Creative Festival 127 7.7 Conclusions 127 7.8 To the future 127 Appendix A – Historical Overview of the Festival 127 A.1 Introduction 127 A.2 Definition of terms 127 A.3 Classical Greece 127 A.4 Rome 127 A.5 The Middle Ages 127 A.6 The Feast of Fools 127 A.7 Festival as revolution? 127 A.8 Carnival in the West Indies 127 A.9 Dual entity of the festival 127 A.10 Festival as propaganda 127 A.11 Intermezzi 127 A.12 The Masque 127 A.13 Ballet de cour 127 A.14 Royal entries 127 A.15 The demise of the glittering spectacle 127 A.16 The emergence of the arts festival 127 A.17 Bayreuth 127 A.18 Edinburgh 127 A.19 Avignon 127 A.20 The American festival 127 A.21 The Australian festival 127 A.22 Contemporary connections with festival traditions 127 iv A.23 Conclusion 127 Appendix B - Stage X 1999: Programming 127 Appendix C - Stage X 2001: Programming 127 Appendix D – Audience Reception Studies, Five to Midnight Stage X, 1999 127 Appendix E – Audience Reception Studies, Five to Midnight Stage X, 2001 127 Appendix F – Publications (that have come out of this PhD) 127 Bibliography 127 FIGURES Figure 1: Stage X logo 81 Figure 2: The Adelaide 2002 Festival management strategy 127 v CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Festivals operate in a variety of manifestations, from internationally renowned events such as the Edinburgh Festival, to seasonal celebrations in many cultures. The role of the arts festival as it functions in contemporary society is the overarching theme of this research.