Young People and the Arts Australia (YPAA) & ASSITEJ – DECEMBER 2015 UPDATE
Sue Giles, ASSITEJ Australia rep.

Dear all, as we all get on with the business of surviving in the arts it’s pretty amazing to realise how much work and connection has been possible in the last year. The Senate Inquiry not only made us all more knowledgeable and aware but showed how vital the TYA sector is for the international profile of Australian theatre.

In January 2016 many of us go to Montreal in Canada for IPAY:

IPAY 2016 delegation list:

• Lee Casey, Executive Producer, Arena Theatre Company
• Christian Leavesley, Artistic Director, Arena Theatre Company
• Andrew Threlfall, Executive Producer, CDP Theatre Producers
• Dead Puppet Society
• Josh Bond, Artistic Director, Djuki Mala
• Jason Klarwein, Artistic Director, Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe
• Kellie Lazarus, General Manager, Grin and Tonic Theatre Troupe
• Jason Cross, Director, Insite Arts
• Tim McGarry, Creative Director, Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People
• Sandie Eldridge, Creative Director, Monkey Baa Theatre for Young People
• Nic Clark, Nic Clark Management
• Dave Brown, the paperboats
• Christine Schloithe, General Manager, Patch Theatre Company
• Naomi Edwards, Artistic Director, Patch Theatre Company
• Sue Giles, Artistic Director, Polyglot Theatre
• Viv Rosman, Executive Producer, Polyglot Theatre
• Sue Donnelly, Executive Director, Queensland Theatre Company
• Jodi Glass, Executive Producer, Slingsby
• Megan Roberts, Business Manager, Spare Parts Puppet Theatre
• Kevin O’Loghlin, General Manager, Terrapin Puppet Theatre
• The Last Great Hunt
• Sandy Verschoor, General Manager & Producer, Windmill Theatre

This is a great opportunity to find out about IPAY and the USA market from friends in these companies. As an ASSITEJ Executive Committee Member, I will again be sharing the images and websites of as many practitioners in Australia as I can.

In February, APAM will be at Brisbane Powerhouse. There will be a specific session that will be offered to invited delegates called ZOOM-IN: On Performance for Young Audience.

APAM’s ZOOM-IN sessions are designed to provide a fun, focused environment where participants can gather and engage in sector-specific facilitated conversation and networking – getting right to the heart of it.  

If you are a maker of theatre for young audiences, or a presenter of programs designed for families and young people, we welcome you to register to be a participant of this limited capacity event.

Positioned at the beginning of the week, this program will enable TYA-focused delegates to meet-and-greet, connect, and start dialogues around Australia’s flourishing and vibrant TYA community and the issues currently being faced in both an national and international context.

ASSITEJ opportunities:

“Starke Stücke” is an international theatre festival aimed at young audiences, and in 2016 it is teaming up with the Mousonturm and the Theaterhaus Frankfurt to offer a multi-level international residency programme on the subject of theatre for a young audience. International theatre producers and performers interested in working in this area, along with students at the Hessen Theatre Academy (HTA) and independent artists from the region are invited to the Starke Stücke Festival (1 – 11 March 2016). In July 2016 and February 2017 they will work on their own artistic projects as part of a residency, and these will then be shown in the 23rd edition of Starke Stücke in 2017.

Application and information: Please send the completed application form by 14 December 2015 to Liljan Halfen (Project Manager): liljan.halfen@starke-stuecke.net. For all enquiries, please also contact Liljan Halfen.

Please don’t forget to think about the ASSITEJ congress in South Africa in 2017 – this will be an extraordinary event and a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with African artists.

Go to ASSITEJ website for more details and for other opportunities: www.assitej-international.org

We are keen to include news from all of our members so please let us know if you’re doing fabulous projects or exchanging with interesting artists either locally, nationally or internationally. Email Sue Giles: Sue Giles sue@polyglot.org.au or Bethany Simons: bethany@tnv.net.au

Cheers, and happy end of year to you all!

Sue Giles