The ANU Arts Centre bookings are near-capacity for 2012, with many student groups being unable to hire the venue.
Morgan Little, current Producer at the National University Theatre Society (NUTS), said in a statement to Woroni: “To the best of my knowledge, there is very little in the way of booking space available within the ANU Arts Centre for 2012”.
Little, who has been in close contact with the ANU Arts Centre management, also explained the difficulties this has raised for students, particularly in terms of transparency. “They've [Facilities] held all their information very close to the chest, and it takes a lot of prying to get availabilities out of them”
Amongst those who have been unable to access the venue are the Arts Revue, the Law Revue, the Med Revue, and the John XXIII Play. In their place, the ANU has given the bookings to external hirers and theatre companies, who pay substantially more than students do for the Arts Centre space.
NUTS only managed to secure their usage of the Arts Centre in 2012 by booking in the first semester of 2011.
Despite the society’s successful bookings, however, NUTS Artistic Director Remy Graham is not happy with the situation.
“In the past, the theatre has actually had a focus on students first,” he said, citing the fact that external companies have only recently begun to utilise the Arts Centre en masse. “I think there should be an amount of bookings reserved for students. If [booking] is prioritised on the basis of getting more money or whoever got in first, I feel that’s problematic for the future of the theatre life at the university.”
Graham said that students have previously been able to hire out the theatre space with only a few months’ notice, and drama students and NUTS were able to use the Arts Centre for free.
Currently, ANU administration appears to be in charge of the Arts Centre’s bookings, although management of the space was once shared between CASS and the ANU Drama Department.
The ANU Students Association, however, may soon have a larger say in all this.
“ANUSA is currently looking into running the Arts Centre, because [its current management] isn’t prioritising student services,” said Fleur Hawes, incoming ANUSA president.
“We think drama organisations are a really critical part of the ANU student experience, and they need to have a guaranteed place to have their performances.”
The future of theatre productions which have yet to secure a 2012 ANU Arts Centre booking remains to be seen.
