Background
Venues, particularly regional, outer metro and suburban council-owned or run performing arts centres, constitute a huge proportion of performing arts infrastructure in Australia.
The range of theatre presented in these venues is varied and there are many examples of exciting and innovative work presented through a range of programming processes. There are however, also many lost opportunities due to the lack of tools available to managers, programmers and venue owners to produce work more effectively.
In recent years, there have been significant efforts made to improve venue infrastructure and touring standards nationally, and to bring producers and presenters together to discuss and negotiate the complex world of presenting diverse and ambitious performing arts product to Australians.
Successful programming and touring processes such Long Paddock, Cyberpaddock and state showcase forums play a vital and important role in providing touring productions; however, they can also be seen as a "one-stop-shop". This does not always provide the opportunity for the making or presenting of new works in the performing arts centre.
A small number of presenters have successfully produced and made work specifically for their centre. In most cases this has been achieved because the venue's owners have allowed the presenter to be entrepreneurial and experimental. The POWER PAC project will aim to complement the existing programming processes by developing a set of national guidelines and provide PAC's with the tools to connect more directly with artists and develop theatre making in and for their venue.
