Independents Day

With the face of Australian Theatre constantly changing, Coral Drouyn spoke to some of the Independent theatre producers who are putting their own savings on the line to stage award winning plays and musicals, often beating the Main Stage companies at their own game.

Ten years ago many of us probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to an independent production. There was a perception that it would be cheap, under-rehearsed, and feature second-rate actors/performers. So what has changed? Have our perceptions mellowed, or are the Independent companies more “Professional” and better than before? Well, it’s a combination of both.

Over the last decade there’s been an enormous swing to smaller venues and boutique shows, especially in Musical Theatre, but also in Drama. Companies like Melbourne’s Mockingbird Theatre gave us stunning plays with exceptional performances and their paradigm has been discussed in tertiary Theatre Studies courses as the future of theatre. Companies like Victoria’s StageArt have found a niche in the market by successfully presenting musicals never before seen on a professional stage in Australia; musicals that mainstream producers wouldn’t touch.

Life Like Company (once the benchmark in Melbourne Independent theatre, until recently being sold to the giant TEG corporation)tapped the market for family entertainment, securing the rights to such touring shows as Peppa Pig, Scooby Doo, Dora the Explorer and Barney. The guaranteed (and plentiful) income from those ventures allowed their production arm to mount stunning, multi-award winning productions such as City of Angels and The Light in the Piazza. They have certainly provided a model to aspire to.

Independent companies aren’t new, but there are more of them now and they do have a higher profile. Yet they don’t receive any government funding, and, apart from the odd foray into a sponsorship deal, they are totally self-funded.

But what drives these independent producers to put everything they have on the line time after time. And HOW do they do it, often on smaller budgets than the major Community Theatre companies?

I talked to four of the most successful, critically acclaimed companies on how they operate.

Sydney based Sport for Jove (SFJ) specialise in classical theatre. Most of their productions are award winning or nominated. Their spokesman is Business Manager Steven Tait.

Blue Saint Productions (BSP) is both Sydney and Melbourne based. Founded by Musical Theatre performers Josh Robson and Damien Bermingham, their breakout production was Violet at The Hayes Theatre (and later at Chapel off Chapel). Directed by Mitchell Butel, the multi award winning production was followed this year by an amazing production of Songs for a New World. Their spokesperson is Damien Bermingham.

VIC Theatre Company (VTC) burst onto the scene in 2015 with Loving Repeating, which earned seven Green Room nominations and won two awards. Founder Glenn Ferguson interrupted his openings of both The Last Five Years and The Gathering (a new Australian musical) to join the discussion.

Melbourne’s Pursued By Bear (PBB) debuted with a stunning production of Next To Normal, and set the entire city talking with the recent Tick Tick Boom. Natasha Milton Taylor, a founding member, talked to us.

All I had to do was ask the questions.

Q: Most of you were/are performers - why the switch to producing?

BSP: We have worked alongside some phenomenal people both on and off stage who were never getting the chance to show what they were capable of in the back row of the chorus. It was and remains our intention to highlight amazing talent that perhaps might not get seen otherwise, perhaps because they hadn’t been on TV or they didn’t have x-thousand Twitter followers. So we set out to produce and create new work as well as established shows to give them that chance.

VTC: I switched to producing with the hope of making a change in actors’ wages on independent productions. In a cocky kind of way I did the numbers and thought I could make it work. 

SFJ: I still enjoy performing, but recognize that I'm better suited for helping the industry by being behind a desk, rather than on stage.

PBB: Alas, none of us have at any point been performers, which - trust me - is a blessing to the Arts community, you do not want to see us on a stage!

Q: What is the average budget for one of your productions and how do you raise the money? Have any of you resorted to crowd funding/Pozzible or the like?

PBB: $50k. Pursued By Bear started with no funding or financial support and has been run for a number years from our savings accounts and personal cash flows. In our second year we did try crowd-funding through Pozible, which was fun in a way, but ultimately didn’t provide much comparative to the effort required pushing the campaign and mostly ended up targeting those who already support us through ticket sales. As part of PBB we hire out equipment to other companies for shows/gigs/etc and that definitely goes a long way in keeping us afloat financially.

BSP: Budgets range from $50K to $200K depending on the production. It is usually our own funds or small investments. Most costs have to be met up front.

SFJ: Our budgets tend to fluctuate significantly depending on the production, its intended audience and size of tour.  Regardless, we always set a budget that we feel accurately defines our expected revenue from all sources, including funding (though we've never used crowd funding) and dividing up the entirety of that expected revenue among our expected expenses. 

VTC: Budget for my shows is between $80,000 and $90,000. Most of this is wages. Wages for creatives and crew and lighting and sound hire and of course the actors’ guarantee. I have done a crowd funding campaign once, but I think you really can only ask your friends to fund your projects so many times before you are asking too much. 

Q. Have you ever had to cut back on something in a production because the money just wasn’t in the budget? Does the lack of money actually make you more creative in how you spend it - a blessing in disguise?

BSP: We are constantly trying to minimise costs. We try to be as efficient as possible yet there are some areas where you just can’t compromise. An outstanding creative team as well as quality sound and lighting are crucial. Hiring inventive set and costume designers who can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear are a must!

VTC: Absolutely! The big one is advertising. Because we pay people up front money, there is never enough cash flow to have a large advertising budget. We rely on word of mouth and reviews to spread the word. Creatively there is always a way around things. I think being as clear and honest as you can be with your creative departments avoids missing out on anything because they know what they are planning for and the budget constraints.

PBB: No, not particularly. I mean you’re not going to see us with a triple revolve any time soon, but given our budgets are decided with significant input from each element of the company, we’re all completely aware of what our fiscal limitations are from the get-go. It’s definitely led to some more creative ways of implementing ideas. Most recently, we partnered with Volvo Bilia South Yarra, Tall Timber, and Allpress Coffee for First Date: The Musical. Through these relationships we were able to have a functional - and incredibly beautiful - coffee machine on stage, with fresh beans and milk and even cups provided without shelling out a cent. And hey, who needs a revolve when you can drill a hole in the bottom of a piano and make it swivel on stage (here’s looking at you, tick…tick…BOOM!).

SFJ: All the time we are compromising artistic ideas to make the budget work; that is the ongoing battle in independent theatre in general. This isn't limited to just the aspects of the production itself, but even in its administration such as marketing. You could never have enough money for marketing a production. I'd just keep buying more ads. I think we've been very creative with budgets in the past which has led to some great results, but it comes at a cost, and that's usually at the expense of the creatives working on the show.

Q: Speaking of lack of advertising - what happens when the bums-on-seats just aren’t there? Does it jeopardise your next production? How do you regroup if it just doesn’t work?

VTC: Funny you should mention. Yes it does. My third season, which is playing at the moment, is looking in the best shape financially. We might break even. But if this current season doesn’t succeed we won’t be able to go on. Third time lucky? I don’t know? I do think you owe it to yourself to try and make it work at least 3 times. 

PBB: That’s the real gamble here, and yes, realistically it does threaten the productions and the whole company going forward. There’s a point where you just run out of money and the hopes that the next show will be more marketable or sell better because of a different timeslot aren’t enough to sustain it. After a big loss, it’s really hard to figure out the next move, but its sink or swim so you make it work.

BSP: It’s incredibly frustrating to be getting 5 star reviews and lots of awards and the sales don’t match that acclaim. But you hope over time that audiences will trust your company’s work and come and see whatever you do. It takes time though.

SFJ: Definitely, it always plays on your mind, and you question every instinct you had going into the production earlier trying to figure out where you went wrong.  Debriefing, breaking it down and talking about it with others is very important for mapping out strategies for not repeating it. It also seems to help everyone feel better and move forward.

Q: What is wrong/right with funding for The Arts in Australia?

SFJ: There are too few companies getting the majority of the money, and not enough being spread around, especially for younger developing talent. The opportunities for the next generation to add to the narrative of Australian culture through The Arts is suffering, which makes this existing funding model difficult to sustain in the long term. While very unpopular, I like the recent push towards business funding and sponsorship and getting away from public funding in the arts. 

VTC: It is too intellectual. Why not have a meeting? Come along and see my work and decide for yourself? Is this worth funding? Am I changing/supporting the cultural landscape of Melbourne? Less jumping through hoops and more quantifiable hurdles.

BSP: It is too heavily geared towards the old establishment with their massive overheads. I think there is real value for money in funding the independent arts sector. It just means more work for everyone if we are producing more work, including actors, designers, choreographers, directors.

It’s very clear talking to all these Indie crusaders that they are driven by creative needs. No-one could ever believe that independent producers are in it for the money. So I asked them one final question.

Q: Why does Australia need Independent Theatre?

And I’ll let Sport For Jove sum it up for all the companies.

SFJ: Similar to the movie industry, there are stories that are just better told by independent minded individuals. But what isn't helping, and not as prevalent in the movie industry, is this idea that independent theatre is some how less valuable, important, or of lesser quality than its publicly funded colleagues. We need independent theatre to keep telling those stories, but we also need to rebrand the image of independent theatre, not just as the poorer less interesting cousin, but the alternate vehicle that sits proudly side by side.

And Tash has the last word

PBB: Independents offer this great space where daring bold ideas are celebrated, and artists – not just performers, but designers, SM’s, you name it – are able to foster their talents.

And so say all of us.

Originally published in the January /  February 2017 edition of Stage Whispers.

Images (from top): Songs for a New World - Blue Saint (Photographer: Ben Fon); Twelfth Night - Sport for Jove - (Photographer: Seiya Taguchi); The Gathering - Vic Theatre Company (James Terry Photography); FIrst Date - Pursued by Bear (Photographer: Ben Fon); Three Sisters - Sport for Jove; The Last Five Years - Vic Theatre Company (James Terry Photography).