So a brief break from the travel blog to bring up something that has been on the cards for a long time…
Photo of a recent dance work @ VCA
As you may know, I have just finished my studies at the Victorian College of the Arts, which I undertook over 4 years. During my time at the college I was exposed to a wide range of artists, giving industry connections and a skillset that I will be eternally greatful for. Recently, the college has been struggling for money, and as such (just before I started), it merged with Melbourne University. This was not much more than a firming up of the finances of the college and was not seen as much of a threat.
Doorway @ VCA
Last year, the college started to bleed; it was renamed the FACULTY OF THE VICTORIAN COLLEGE OF THE ARTS. The Victorian College of the Arts, as an instution did not exist anymore. Recently, the University of Melbourne 2010 Business Plan was released, stating that the Schools of Dance, Drama and Production will be condensed into the “School of Performance” while the Schools of Film and Television and Visual Arts will be diluted into the “School of Exhibition”. (The School of Music has already been amalgamated with the University’s music department as reflected in the College’s recent rebranding as the V.C.A.M.)
This is the first direct hit for the college. You can read more about the changes and cuts to this wonderful arts college at www.savevca.org
Iron gates of the Art School @ VCA
WE NEED YOUR HELP
- Head over to www.savevca.org and take 5 minutes to write to the politicians that could save the VCA.
- Follow the campaign on twitter at www.twitter.com/savevca
- Join the campaign page on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/o8jxwl
- Join the mailing list by visiting http://tinyurl.com/rcsqte
- Write to the media outlining your contact with the college and reference the site (savevca.org)
- Talk to your friends about the changes and spread the word
Together, we can force the state and federal governments to fund this amazing arts college.
If you would like further information, please feel free to contact me.
I thought I would be in a good mood to write. I thought I would bring my blog up to speed. I thought the late night Eurostar would be a perfect place to get my head in gear and put my reflections and experiences onto digital paper. I didn’t really think that through so well.
As I write this, I am sitting in seat 73 of carriage 18 (yes 18/19, it’s a big train). I am red faced, and listening to Rage Against The Machine (angry music). This is because for the third time, I got shit from the UK Border Agency. I have entered the United Kingdom three times in my lifetime, once in 2007, once two weeks ago (April 2009), and today, the 10th of May. Every time I have presented myself at the border, I have been greeted… Wait… grunted at, which translates to “Hand over your documents” by a sour faced, paranoid, cold toned, glorified security guard, who clearly has no hobbies. There is no time for pleasantries when a young Australian male, clearly here to break the law, do drugs, sleep with the women and stick it to the clearly superior motherland, is at the border.
Day 30 – Tuesday 17th of March – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
I was to be in the foyer of the Hotel, at 1 o’clock for an Operations Meeting. I had already been introduced to most of the Crew, including my direct supervisor, Sue Fenty, an American born Stage Manager from Perth. All of the creative and management team are Australians, excluding the AV designer, who is an American.
My role is to be a semi Deputy Stage Manager and an assistant to Sue, the Stage Manager. The show is on Saturday night, and with less than 5 days to go, tensions are running high. A lot of the set had not been completed, the lighting rig is half up, and a lot of things just haven’t happened. To give you an idea of the scope of the project, Colours of Malaysia is a Ministry of Tourism initiative, designed to showcase and promote Malaysian tourism and culture. This concert will be the official launch of the Colours of Malaysia program for 2009. It will be a large scale concert, held at the famous Merdeka Square, involving over 900 performers. The cost is… well I don’t really know, but it would be a lot!
We arrived onsite and were sent to the operations office, to collect radios and official passes. Rehearsals would start at 3, and due to this being the first day onsite, it was a little bit hectic. I met the other Stage Managers, who were all locals with varying levels of experience. I also met Lina, another local, who has worked on Colours Of Malaysia before. The site was very much still under construction, and there were no real efforts to block off areas where men were working on scaffold overhead. I took it upon myself to attack the site with caution tape, but it was fruitless, as the men moved around to different areas the caution tape would become irrelevant. (more…)
So as some of you may know I have been working on the Melbourne International Arts Festival this year as a secondment student. It is a requirement of my 3rd year studies at the VCA. I have been periodically posting updates of my work on Brightkite and Facebook, but thought it would be appropriate to give a little wrap up of my time, here on my blog. (this is kind of a prologue to the 1000 word report I have to write for uni anyway, but more interesting!)
MIAF Opening Night Concert – Public Opinion Afro Orchestra rocking out…
My work started about a month out from the festival, at the festival office on Flinders Street in the city. I was inducted into the office by Russ Snelling, the production coordinator for(more…)
VCA Production – Puppetry Solos 2008 – “Raw Material” - June 2008
Just over two years ago, The Victorian College of the Arts School of Production established a Post Graduate Degree in Puppetry. Since then the degree has grown and gathered strong support from the Arts Industry, in fostering the development of Puppetry as a performance art.
The course this year is home to 5 puppeteers, Sabrina D’Angelo, Gai Anderson, Rachel Guy, Lisa Foote and Iris Radovic. The 5 puppeteers are an extremely diverse group of people with a wide range of backgrounds, a very large age range and varying interests. My work on the project was as Sound Designer for Sabrina D’Angelo’s and Gai Anderson’s pieces. (more…)
We woke up pretty late considering our planned day. Neither of us can help it… Elle is exhausted and the bed i am sleeping on is the most comfortable i have seen in over a month, I’m catching up on lost hours! After Elle taking 2 hours in the bathroom, we set out, destination, Buckingham Palace. We took the bus then the tube (central line) to Green Park Station. We wondered through Green Park to the Palace. It was quite plain to look at, and I found myself more fascinated at the guards, police, military and security personnel that at the actual palace. Thats not to say I didnt get a photo of me in front of it. Now there is one thing that is very dangerous about getting your photo taken in front of something… Every tourist in a two mile radius then wants you to take their photo with their family… Elle and I were stuck there for a good few minutes as tourists mobbed us and robbed us of our kindness! (more…)
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