Creative distress in the west overshadows performing arts honours

Artists recognised at the Performing Arts WA Awards as companies struggle behind the scenes.

Charlotte Otton in Feminah, Blue Room Theatre. Picture: Tasha Faye.

An odd form of creativity was unleashed at the start of the Performing Arts WA Awards on the weekend, when a hacker began drawing lewd shapes across the screened Zoom coverage.

When the unexpected image appeared, the event convenors — the Artists’ Relief Fund — decided to dispense with the hack-prone content of its event, and proceeded straight to announcing the winners.

In theatre, On Our Beach by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre won for Best Mainstage Production. Best Independent Production went to See You Next Tuesday by The Blue Room Theatre and Static Drive Co.

A scene from See You Next Tuesday,winner of the best independent production award at the Performing Arts WA Awards

Both awards for best actor, Charlotte Otton and Humphrey Bower, were for Blue Room-staged shows. The Best Newcomer Award went to Sukhjit Kaur Khalsa, for her show Fully Sikh, which was staged by Barking Gecko Theatre with Black Swan State Theatre Company.

The Blue Room, with the most nominated shows, has just been defunded by the Australia Council, and so has Barking Gecko. And all 100 nominees in 20 categories have since had to cancel shows, tear up artists’ contracts, and contemplate dire financial distress.

In the latest ABS job loss figures released last month, WA has the highest percentage of job losses in the arts sector. In the month to April 4, the percentage change in total employee wages in the WA arts sector went down by 23 per cent, with Queensland arts suffering the lowest drop of 14 per cent.

Award host Nick Maclaine, an actor and secretary of the Artists’ Relief Fund, says the awards night was a timely reminder of WA’s talent pool. “I hope companies can point to their awards and say ‘we’re providing a real service’.”

But equally, he hopes WA’s professional artists and performing arts workers have been reminded that the Artists Relief Fund is there to help them.

The fund, which can also accept tax-deductible donations through the Australian Cultural Fund, is in close contact with interstate counterparts like the Actors Benevolent Fund in NSW and the Victorian Actors Benevolent Trust.

A scene from WA Ballet’s Alice in Wonderland. Picture: Sergey Pevnev

The WA fund has a reputedly healthy but undisclosed sum available, due to careful management and a timely asset sale more than a decade ago.

“The range of circumstances where we can help is actually quite broad,” says Maclaine. For example, it might assist a young actor who can’t afford groceries that week; a retired musician who needs to buy medical equipment; or a dancer who needs to see a psychologist.

“What we find is that many people assume the fund isn’t there for them — that they’re too young, for example, or that there must be someone else who needs us more.

“But we’re here for people at all stages of their careers, whether you’ve been recently working or long retired, and whether you’re an actor, musician, dancer, stage manager or any other professional, onstage or off.

“We’re trying to encourage people not to suffer through this crisis unnecessarily. We can’t replace lost wages for a full season, but we can make a small difference and show there’s a community that respects their service to the arts. Australia should be able to do what other countries have done and have dedicated relief for the arts. You can be endlessly resourceful, but if ultimately government isn’t there to back us, it’s a real problem.”

Maclaine says WA companies are making remarkable efforts to keep people on the books. Barking Gecko is paying out contracts for artists who would have been touring in its shows in coming months; Maclaine is one.

“I know The Blue Room is also looking after its casual staff, while others are finding clever ways to bring people into a (paid) virtual office,” he says. “We’re still waiting to see the full extent of what the state government will do to support the sector. My hope is that there’s more help coming.”