A hypothetical town, a hypothetical community cultural development project, a series of hypothetical debacles and dilemmas. With a facilitator, five brave panellists tackled: conflicts of interest, issues of excellence, criteria of reviewing, process versus product and workaholism.
Francis Greenslade - facilitator
Francis is an actor and professional debater. He has worked the State Theatre Company in South Australia, Playbox Theatre, the Melbourne Theatre Company and Magpie Theatre in South Australia, and appeared onFull Frontal and World Series Debating.
Margie Fischer
Writer/Performer/Producer/Director/Community Cultural Development Worker
A former Ros Bower Memorial Award recipient and co-founding member of the Adelaide women's theatre company Vitalstatistix. Margie was co-Artistic Director of FEAST, Adelaide's inaugural lesbian and gay cultural festival.
Sandy McCutcheon
Writer/Broadcaster
Host of Australia Talks Back on Radio National, Sandy is the author of twenty two plays, a heap of old poems, a few short stories and three novels. His next book, Peace Crimes, a thriller, is due out in April next year.
Deidre Williams
Arts and Cultural Development Consultant
Deidre's recent work includes the first serious attempt in Australia to track the long term impact of community based arts projects, published as Creating Social Capital. Deidre spent eight years as the Executive Officer of the SA Community Arts Network.
Des Partridge
Arts Editor, Brisbane Courier Mail
Des began his journalistic career in 1957 in Townsville and started with the Courier Mail in 1964. He was the founding arts editor of the Courier Mail in 1979, and has edited the arts pages since 1992.
Jock McQueenie
Arts Officer, Tasmanian Trades and Labor Council
John (Jock) McQueenie was born in Glasgow. Growing up working-class catholic and graduating from a mis-spent youth to a mis-spent adulthood he acquired all the latent skills to become a CCD worker - cheek, cunning, foul language etc...
Francis Greenslade
Thank you very much. I'd like to take you all on some metaphorical Greyhound bus to the town of Bungle, a typical Australian country town in the state of Itsonia. Bungle is not a happy place at the moment, the usual amount of racial tension, a bit of crime and a lot of unemployment. Economically Bungle relies on the cultivation of the sour beet, a beetroot like vegetable close akin to the sugar beet only not as nice. The price of this product has fallen significantly since the government started lowering tariffs and consequently more and more farmers are defaulting on their loans and being forced off their farms by banks desperate not to fall behind last year's 372 zillion dollar profit.
The local industry, a plant which processes and cans the sour beer has, for the same reason, been forced to lay off a hundred workers recently, causing an industrial dispute almost as bitter as the beetroot in question, which is very bitter indeed since the vegetable is almost inedible. It is however in great demand as an aphrodisiac. "Give your loved ones a sour beet," so the marketing campaign goes, "and they'll beetroot to you forever."
The other major crop, the hasbean, used to be very popular but isn't any more and to cap it all off the local football team, the Bungle Bees, an unfortunate name but the mascot's bee suit is extremely impressive and takes three people to work it - the Bungle Bees took out the wooden spoon in the competition last year and so economically and socially therefore the town is at a fairly low point.
Margie Fischer, you've just finished running Adelaide's Lesbian and Gay Cultural Feast, it was a great success, and now you've decided to settle in Bungle, lured there no doubt by the well-known rejuvenating properties of the air, therapeutically flavoured as it is by the scent of boiling beetroot. One day, Margie, you're sitting in the town's cafe sipping gingerly on the speciality of the house, a beetroot latte, when representatives of the small but close-knit gay and lesbian community in Bungle come to you. They suggest a large parade through the town a la the Mardi Gras and ask you to organise it.
You agree and as preparations get under way the word gets out and you're asked to a town meeting where the consensus is against such a proposal. The community quite like the idea of a giant Fred Nile but that's about as far as it goes. They don't want a parade at all. So what are you going to do? Are you going to go ahead with the parade or not?
Margie Fischer
I have to tell you right now - - -
Francis Greenslade
You have to tell everyone right now.
Margie Fischer
I guess I should - - -
Francis Greenslade
You should.
Margie Fischer
...otherwise I can't be part of the hypothetical.
Francis Greenslade
Okay.
Margie Fischer
I mean, how I feel is, I wouldn't, but I will say I will, for now.
Francis Greenslade
Francis Greenslade All right, okay, that's fine.
Margie Fischer
I couldn't be bothered - - -
Francis Greenslade
As long as you're happy with that.
Margie Fischer
Personally I couldn't be bothered, but, for the sake of the debate, yes, we will have a street parade.
Francis Greenslade
Feel free to say whatever you want according to how you feel at any stage. Don't worry about me. As the preparations reluctantly proceed it does become apparent that 95 per cent of the community are violently against this proposal. It's a fairly conservative country town. Thanks to the air the population do lead incredibly long lives so they're hardly at the forefront of the fight for gay rights.
Sandy McCutcheon, you run a talk-back show in Bungle, how are you going to deal with the spate of angry and bigoted calls on this subject?
Sandy McCutcheon
In the night previous to running it I'm going go to the town water supply and immerse a large quantity of beet in the water, get everybody incredibly turned on, take out shares in taffeta and run the talk-back with a very ABC even-handed but slightly green-lefty bias.
Francis Greenslade
That's a nice idea but unfortunately you're arrested as you try and put the plan into operation, you have to spend the night in the watch-house. Margie, as time goes on resistance to the project increases. There are angry letters published in the Bungle Herald and Agricultural Supplement. You're spat at in the street and the gay and lesbian community start getting their property vandalised. Windows are broken and overnight cars develop mysterious walking-frame shaped dents. Homophonic feeling is becoming entrenched. Are you still going to go on with the project?
Margie Fischer
I sort of have to, don't I? Yes, yes, we're going to go on with the project.
Francis Greenslade
Good on you. Before the march was mentioned, the gay and lesbian community could lead secretive yet peaceful lives, now they're openly outcast but there is, however, a strong sense of community being developed. The town, or most of it, is coming together with a strong voice.
Deidre Williams, you're an arts consultant happily living in Bungle. Is this a worthwhile example of CCD bringing the community together?
Deidre Williams
I think it's probably not an unusual situation, although somewhat heightened. Yes, I think probably what might have happened earlier is that they might've looked at what they had between them to do, to share in a festival, rather than continue to be polarised, but in this case they haven't so - - -
Margie Fischer
Yes, they have, they did do a lot of work. They weren't slack.
Francis Greenslade
The floats have been made.
Margie Fischer
Yes, yes, the group was actually very together. They just didn't realise the level of homophobia.
Francis Greenslade
Well, Margie, you're infuriating the overwhelming majority of the town, you're making the others' lives miserable. Perhaps you should consult with Jock McQueenie, he's the arts officer of the Trades and Labor Council in Itsonia, he's lived in Bungle for years, and ask him what you should do about this.
Margie Fischer
You want me to do it now?
Francis Greenslade
Please.
Margie Fischer
Help, help.
Francis Greenslade
I think you're grasping the concept admirably.
Margie Fischer
What can you do for us? All these things they're accusing us of, we actually don't even want to do, like they've made up a whole lot of stories. What can you do to get people on side?
Jock McQueenie
Well, comrade, I've spoken to the committee - - -
Margie Fischer
Thank God for that.
Jock McQueenie
My committee, and the consensus is one of definite procrastination. The committee is divided along the lines of football matches. We will circulate, we'll talk to our members and we'll talk to our affiliates, we will circulate your publicity, we will advocate your project and we will take the risk.
Margie Fischer
Fantastic, thank you.
Francis Greenslade
After much circulation, much consultation, you do actually reach a compromise. There's going to be a huge concert, a Bunglefest in two parts. Part 1 will be a showcase of local groups, including the gay and lesbian community strutting their stuff, and part 2 will be a dance theatre piece performed by locals dealing with Bungle and its history. Margie, you're going to be in charge of the first part, the showcase; Jock, you're the executive producer of the whole shebang and the artistic director of the In Your Face Dance Company, Mr Constant Kookiness, will be asked to collaborate with the locals to create a dance piece. What a fabulous idea and how clever of you all to have come up with it.
Now, Jock, you approach Mr Kookiness or Mr K as he prefers, for reasons known only to himself, to be called.
Margie Fischer
Excuse me, is he gay?
Francis Greenslade
I don't know, I've never asked him and he's never told me.
Sandy McCutcheon
Excuse me, am I still in gaol?
Francis Greenslade
No, you've got out. You paid your $200 and you can pass go, that's fine.
Margie Fischer
So we don't know if Mr Kookiness is gay or not.
Francis Greenslade
He's a bit of an enigma.
Margie Fischer
Right.
Jock McQueenie
Has it got something to do with the beetroot?
Francis Greenslade
Sorry?
Jock McQueenie
Nothing.
Francis Greenslade
You're asking Mr K to come aboard. His dance company is a grunge techno cyber troupe on the cutting edge of multimedia work. Mr K's provocative and often nude productions are constantly being previewed, constantly being previewed on ABC's Express, SBS's Die Artenmakenshplitz and Sky Channel's Tits and Arts. He seems surprised by your invitation and reluctant to participate. What possible benefits to him are there in collaborating with a group of non-dancers in a country town.
Jock McQueenie
Exposure.
Francis Greenslade
Exposure. Well, he says he's always done things his way and collaboration to him means compromising his vision, so how are you going to persuade him to - - -
Jock McQueenie
Tell him that compromise is involved - his vision will be compromised and that he has to agree to it because my committee has said so.
Francis Greenslade
You do seem to have a single silver tongue, Jock, because your honeyed words of blandishment do persuade Mr K to take on the project. Now, Sandy, you live in Bungle, you're very interested in participating, of course, but you've seen one of Mr K's shows and you thought it was rubbish. What's your response as a non-trained dancer to the suggestion that you contort your body in ways that it's never been contorted in before, dressed in Blunies and a leotard to the rhythmical thrashings of a grunge band.
Sandy McCutcheon
Well, I'm well-known for the way my leotard is worn, especially in Tasmania, and I saw some people here from Tasmania who would remember me in leotards, but in actual fact I'll say to him that I'm probably of more use running the bottled water dispensing because I've had a look at the band and I see what they're on and one of the other things I've decided I'm going to drop into the town water supply is a big supply of E because it's the only way they're going to enjoy the night. So between the beetroot and the ecstasy I'm working my way towards even being stupid enough to dance myself. The Blundstones Jock has got me from Tasmania, they're brand new. I'm going to wear them in and, yes, I'm going to dance and to hell with it.
Francis Greenslade
Fantastic. The next step is to look for funding. Jock, as executive producer, you've managed to get funding from the arts, the Australia Council, the unions. You've very cleverly managed to get funding from the management of the beetroot processing plant but you need more and suddenly your eyes fall on the newspaper. Des Partridge, you've been the arts editor of the paper that all knowledgable Itsonians read, the Itsonia Tabloid. It's very amusing when you think about it but I'll pass on.
A series of embarrassing sex scandals has meant that most of the senior staff on the Tabloid have had to resign and you've been appointed editor-in-chief. Congratulations on your well-deserved promotion. The photos are still in the safe, I'm sure your reign will be a long and happy one. Jock, will you ring Des and put the case for the Itsonia Tabloid sponsoring the Bunglefest.
Jock McQueenie
Des, your readership is predominantly in this town unionised. The Trades and Labor Council is behind the project and we do take out quite a lot of advertising. I realise there is a clear demarcation between the editorial and advertising but I just thought I'd mention it. So we would like you to provide at least, in kind, support and drum up some advertising for us.
| Contents | Introduction | Opening | Keynote Speakers | Local Government | Training | Censorship | Court the Corporates | Cross Cultural Work | International Opportunities | I'm an Artist | Everyone's a Critic | CCD in the Youth Sector | Come on Down - Awards | Musgrave Park Sympsoium | Copyright & Ownership | CEAD Does it Really Make a Difference? |