The Matilda Awards are back

I think the Matildas need to be opened up to a much broader community. When I was reviewing regularly for the Courier-Mail I was blocked from being asked to judge for the Matilda's owing to scene politics. The Matildas should be judged by a larger number of critics inlcuding more theatre bloggers and other members of the industry.

In terms of money, no-one could pretend that prize-money is not a valuable supplement to the income of many of the nominated artists in this and other years - prestige only goes so far after all. But perhaps its time that the industry itself looked to stump up some cash. 10,000 is not a large figure to raise; QTC (which has received many awards for its productions over the years) should consider donating half of this figure and the rest could be raised through small donations and dinner subscriptions to the event itself.

Another point: the Matildas are only poorly known in Sydney and Melbourne and more prize-money would assist in raising the prestige of the awards, and by extension, the Brisbane theatre scene generally.

Thank you for publishing a list of the Matilda Awards Voting Committee for 2009. Interesting to note that there is a publicist, an artistic director of a major arts organisation; and a said producer of same.

Having been around since the very first Matilda Awards in Brisbane, my understanding was that they were voted on by a panel of 'leading Brisbane theatre critics' - the reason they were originally created.

Are these people theatre critics? Do they review shows for major arts publications? Is their involvement not a "conflict of interest"?

I also note with some interest that ABC Radio arts reviewer Nigel Munro Wallis is not listed as being part of the committee or voting panel. Please explain?

With regard to cash prizes.

Hmm...do the Green Room Awards (Melb) come with a cash prize? NO!

Do winners of a Helpmann Award get a cash prize? NO!

Do the winners of the Sydney Theatre Awards get any cash? NO!

So why does Brisbane feel it is necessary to have to hand out $2000 (or whatever amount) each to a mere handful of artists, with the justification that "they need the money".

ALL artists need the money. ALL artists struggle to make a living in this business and some never get any recognition. So surely if you are indentified in a certain category as being the best in your chosen field this is reward enough.

In the often ego driven business such as ours, I have no doubt that any winner would feel suitably honoured by recieving a specially designed medallion this year - and surely it is honour enough just to be nominated.

However no one would say no to a goodie bag like they get at the Oscars :)

So many questions....hard to answer.

Like Paul commented, cash prizes are fantastic BUT shouldn't be the be all and end all of these Awards. Also, 5 people are nominated for each pize - many miss out - even though they did do exceptional work - why should one be given such a prize when many were elligible. I once won a Best Actor for a short film competition and my prize was $500 of acting lessons.......??? bit ironic.....wonder what the guy who came last got?

Are the awards still relevant? HELL YES! For me, it is a fantastic honour to be nominated for any Award. Two problems I see - who cares about these awards? How do we keep it from a 'competition' and make it a 'recognition'?

Who cares? - The Brisbane Theatre Community - to an extent - but they've already seen the work. We instill awe at winners of Green Room and Helpmann awards - do those winners respect our awards? Does STC? MTC? Bell? Belvoir? I dare so no.....but I don't know. But I disaggree Katherine to your statement that a bigger cash reward would instill that respect -in fact that causes a problem - is it a competition or recognition? How do we compare A great comedy to a horrowing tragedy? Is falling off a ladder better than being a mentally challenged character? HELL NO. But the Matilda's recognise the acheivements of these artists. I hope....

Dare I say it but more publicity would instil more recognition to the wider community (Theatre and General Public). Nominations going public one week before the event and Facebook/Email invites don't get a whole heap of respect. I understand that the committee is run off their feet to get it happening but that arguement about admin stuff a few weeks ago is relevant here! We need that building block to let people know! Ignorance isn't bliss.....(that's my current motto)

Which brings us on to who's nominated and how. I've heard in the past that if a percentage of the committee haven't seen the shows, the production can't be nominated. That's a bit harsh. Of course the committee goes to Mainstage Productions but when it comes to independent shows I don't think all the committee feels the need to go? Again rumours and my ignorance. Otherwise I'm not sure how they are chosen. I saw many other shows that haven't been nominated - for example - The Leuitenant of Inishmore (excuse spelling please). Maybe it wasn't worthy in the eyes of the committee but some of the current nominations aren't worthy in my eyes. Is that just my bias?

All in all I think these Awards are extremely important to the Theatre Community but as with any Award, there will be repercussions. People feeling left out, people dissaggreeing. I've got lots to say but can't articulate it here and I've blabbed enough. See you on Monday!

P.s> What if you suck at Maths?

What about Holding the Man? Was that eligible? Hands down the best show in brisbane last year. a few critics said so too. how come it doesn't get a mention. it's weird. no one seems to know the rules. or they're secret. dodgy.

Given that I am on a no carb diet to fit into my Matilda Awards dress for tonight, and need to do at least an hour of yoga before I attempt to bend into it (I learnt this from reading WHO magazine interviews on the red carpet) I have to keep this brief, but will post in detail later.

I just wanted to TOTALLY agree with Matthew Ryan in regards to sound design. I thought Steve Toulmin did a great job with sound on AAA and I love the work that Chris Perren has and is doing for us at 23rd Productions. The Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble compose and PLAY LIVE all their sound for their productions. Sound is noticeable when it is doing its job in a show (because it enhances your theatrical experience) and especially when it is not. It is also VERY difficult to compose and design sound for a production (The White Earth is a great example of excellent composition and use of sound (I enjoyed the creaking house). It is not simply choosing a few tracks and paying the APRA rights. We have the ARIA's and the Grammys to acknowledge the creation of sound and music. Sound composition for theatre and film deserves the same acknowledgement.

Right I am off for a 2 hour run. GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATS TO ALL NOMINEES TONIGHT! 23rd Productions is honoured to be in your company x

I also agree that sound and light are completely different art and science and each deserve equal recognition, as for AV, I agree with Matthew there's not enough of it around and as a theatrical concept it is still an emerging art, a part of the whole theatre landscape. Every great project is a team that works together and effect each other to produce the best production possible.

It was great to get a nomination, congrats to all.

I agree with Daniel. I used to think of the Matildas as an opportunity for recognition for the artists of Brisbane. Now I see that they lack the diversity of the Brisbane industry itself. The Brisbane theatre industry is more than what I saw on Monday night. We create work that encapsulates physical theatre, dance, theatre for young people, circus, contemporary performance etc and yet I saw very little evidence of this on Monday night. I was very happy to see “The Lady in the House of Love” get nominated and very happy to see “AAA” get awarded. But what happened to CIRCA's "Furiso" or Flipside's "Storm in a Teacup". Two very different types of work by two very different companies I realise, but why are they being excluded? Is it because it’s circus, or because it’s circus and theatre made by young people in the case of Flipside?

Robyn Archer spoke last night at the State Library of Queensland. Her rhetoric clearly articulated that in order to forge innovation in arts practice, policy should support the fringe or what she calls the "ferals". Where is the Matilda's support of the "ferals", the emerging artists creating their own work without the support of a major arts organisation, such as QTC. Or emerging artists that are not only actors, but who are actively involved in the creation of a new work? What happened to the physical theatre makers? What happened to the contemporary performance makers? Oz Co and Arts Queensland speak of support of interdisciplinary practice, but the state's own awards (who operate on a grassroots level) can't recognise the work of these artists.

Archer also stated that risk and creativity go hand in hand. What I see in Brisbane is an industry that wants to take risks. And I’m happy to see that (slowly) change and the forging of new, innovative arts practice is becoming apparent. I only hope that the Matilda's can catch up, because if not the awards will cease to be relevant and again artists will sell themselves short as another opportunity to celebrate the artistic diversity of the region slips by.