It was a huge night (Monday 27th February 2006), read this review by film producer and director, John Haly along with images supplied by Mike Kery...

2006 is well underway and merelyplayers hosts it's ninth Creative Industry Night at the ArtHouse Attic Bar and it's the first one for this year. If you missed out then you have three months to get your act together.

Speaking of getting Acts together, the first performer confessed that while she'd been “meaning to get to one of merelyplayers' evening” (does that sound familiar?) she finally gets to one and is performing at her first attendance. Vee Malnar performed for the gathered throng playing her guitar and sharing her very earthy, no holds barred lyrics. Vee Malnar, a musician and writer, expressed her wry sense of humour and her “in your face” lyrics demonstrating why it is she is a talented musician and songwriter. Certainly a refreshing change from the more esoteric lyrics of some musicians. Vee ended her songs and plugged a welcomed to creative Mothers to join her in the Tap Gallery's version of Mamapalooza, which honours creativity in mother's bands, artwork, spoken word and comedy, which begins in May.

This was followed by the improvised antics demonstrated by talented theatresports player champions; John Knowles, Andie Pannell, and Geoff Bartlett. Improvising to Games guided by input from the audience, these three demonstrated how quickly these people can thing and act on the spot creating interweaved stories in which each participant contributes to a story a sentence at a time. They then moved on to bringing audience members onto the “stage” to very directly guide their improvisations in highly amusing and entertaining awkwardness. You had to be there!

Take a look at our events page and learn about the next merelyplayers event.

Creative Industry
Night #9

I have on my shelf a book by Don Watson which my Father gave me a couple of Christmases ago, called, “/Death Sentence/ “ which is in essence about how meaningless *obfuscation* of "managerial language" has infiltrated politics, business and bureaucracy. Bryan's next guest artist was a comedian, Rodney Marks who has the art of political double-speak down to a fine art. Playing the part of an illustrious Political Minister he continued with an amazing Dialogue of verbiage that only really accomplished politicians could hope to match and effectively say nothing of any consequence. Really brilliantly funny on one hand and really disturbing on the other.

The theme for the night was one close to the hearts and pockets of many producers, filmmakers, artists, performers, and the like. "How do we as artists attract the business dollar and still do what we want to do?" To speak to the theme, Bryan had invited Crispin Rice from ABaF and Stuart Katzen of STU ART PRODUCTIONS to share their experiences with us.

Stuart started with his experience as a Photographer, film cameraman and Actor that led to running his current film, event and production company. It seemed both men had a history of starting out by dropping out from their initial college degree, but Crispin after running his own business for years when back to college got a Visual Arts degree and worked for years with Arts Organisations for years before taking on the role of Manager cultural liaison for the Australia Business Arts Foundation. Stuart spoke of how his company seeks to solicit fund from large companies to support projects he runs and Crispin about how he linked businesses and artists together. Both men agreed that the paperwork of seeking funding from Government bodies was formulaically difficult, often frustrating and ultimately a fruitless adventure. As many of us who have sought money from the Arts funding government agencies, know, enthusiasm and passion for your art won't “cut the mustard” if you don't know how to dryly, methodically and with a degree of anal retentive methodicalness, work the “system” and fill in the paper work just so.

Surprisingly these men pointed out how more flexible and accommodating Private Enterprise is to the artist than the Government and encouraged the audience to look outside the Government paperwork entanglement. Stuart illustrated how the match works by pointing out that businesses so often need creativity and passion artists have and artists want the money the businesses have. As far as he was concerned it was a match made in heaven and both men proceeded to illustrate it with antedotes of
how they had matched artists up with private business in enormously successful ways. At the end of the day the creativity you supply is the BUSINESS, you as an artist are in. They stressed the importance of the business relationships established between Artist and Business and how counterproductive it is to be “precious” about your “art”. Negotiate or starve. You can show your art if you are prepared to build relationships
with the right type of businesses. They used the illustration of the “short Film” which as many in the room confessed to making but only one in the room spoke of making money from it. Stuart spoke of what it took to seek sponsorship for short films, which more often than not just simply didn't occur BUT not because it couldn't.

As Stuart pointed out, every single significant company in the world has a budget for promotions. Therefore it is simply about matching your product to some company's needs and budget. And planning for that appropriately. Approaching these companies early enough for product placement or mutually beneficial correlations between the art and the company image are all reasons to ask for money from these company’s
promotions budgets. It is all a matter of research to find a business that could be aligned with, or associated to your product and approaching them for money to, support it, be associated with it, have their product show up, or have their name on the credits. To demonstrate how from out of left wing an association can be, Stuart spoke of a Docu-drama about Australia “slave” trade in Vietnamese prostitution that
was funded by a private outreach program for Australian Sex Workers and offshore from the Philippines. Ok, it took him two years to nail down the funding but they "showed him the Money”. Another theme that predominated was the need to plan out your pitch to the company. Planning is key and there is little by the way of substitution for a good plan of action brought into action with a realization that sometimes the game you play fails. But losing one game just means in the end, you can commence on your plan to start the next game. Play till you win the money.

In the harsher reality of bringing our Art to the Australian Public, it's good to know we can spend a night with Bryan's guests and be encouraged to know that our dreams can become a reality, and that there are folks out there that will pay good money to give our dreams life. Thank you Bryan for another Creative Industry Night. I look forward to the next.

Thanks, John