Over 200 creative workers from across Australia including performers, musicians, crew and technicians joined an Emergency Live Performance Town Hall meeting yesterday to discuss a Live Performance Action Plan calling for urgent action from state and federal governments to address the crisis facing the live performance industry across the country.
Following the cancellation of major productions including Back to the Future, Dear Evan Hansen, Annie, Waitress and Beetlejuice, hundreds of arts workers are facing uncertainty and potential unemployment.
Led by Michael Balk, Federal President of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), members came together to discuss an action plan that includes:
Lobbying for an immediate response to the crisis
Public-focused campaigning to outline the direct impact on workers and audiences
Cross-industry consultations to plan a long-term response to keep live performance viable, and
Further actions showing that creative workers are united.
Outcomes and actions from the Town Hall meeting include:
Calling on MEAA members to sign an open letter to Australia’s State and Federal Arts Ministers with five specific asks of governments
Shareable link is here: https://meaa.good.do/savelivetheatre/
Encouraging MEAA members to sign a petition to Live Performance Australia (LPA) for a live performance production tax rebate.
Shareable link is here: https://meaa.good.do/petitiontoLPA/
Non-MEAA members are also able to sign.
Federal President of MEAA, Michael Balk, said:
“Australia’s live performance industry is at breaking point. The cancellation of major productions is leaving performers, musicians, crew, technicians and venue staff without work, often with little warning.
This crisis also reaches far beyond the people employed on stage and behind the scenes. When theatres go dark, audiences lose access to culture, communities lose connection, and Australia risks losing the skilled creative workforce that underpins a vibrant arts sector.”
Through their National Cultural Policy submission, MEAA is calling for urgent and coordinated action from state and federal governments to protect jobs, support productions and secure the future of live performance in Australia.
Recommendations include the creation of a cultural taskforce to deliver meaningful outcomes, the introduction of a tax rebate to reduce production costs, and the introduction of a cultural pass or voucher to improve access for audiences.
For further information or queries please contact mediainquiries@meaa.org or call 0421 554 562.
Read the full media release at the MEAA website.
Website: https://www.meaa.org/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/withmeaa/
Hero image photo credit: Waitress Australian premiere musical. Photo by Jeff Busby
