Arena wasn’t always a Bendigo Theatre company
Arena started in 1966; founded on the belief that theatre for children should be created with the same level of professionalism, artistic ambition and quality as it is for adults. Ever since, Arena has been producing work that exemplifies that belief. And, along their journey, they’ve partnered with many of Australia’s large arts centres and theatre producers; and toured internationally.
In fact, the move is still relatively recent. Until 2017 they were based in Melbourne, but a series of events led Artistic Director, Christian Leavesley, to initiate a regional relocation. Today, he describes the move as, “By far, the most important thing I’ve done in terms of contributing to the arts”.
Leading up to the decision, Arena had become the go-to company for Melbourne’s notable arts centres whenever they wanted to program work for children or young people. The Melbourne Theatre Company, Malthouse, The Arts Centre – they’d all come to Arena for commissions and collaborations. Though Christian values those partnerships and projects highly, he worried that Arena, as its own organisation, was becoming an invisible entity, lost behind the banners of these much larger companies. “I felt like we had become a wholesaler in a way, and we lost a strong connection with the children that knew Arena and would come because they had a connection with the company.”
A regional move held the promise of greater connection
Christian says that in light of this, the company and its board were considering the answer to the question: “What is an Arena family?” They knew they wanted to build a stronger sense of community around the company – one that grows up with Arena. But, they also knew that creating works-of-scale for large organisations meant they weren’t producing independently or frequently enough to build the community they desired. The idea of a regional move was floated.
Then, in 2015, under the Abbott government, Arts Minister George Brandis made unprecedented funding cuts to the Australia Council for the Arts to the tune of $104 million. Arena was one of the huge number of companies defunded; and became one of the few that managed to survive. This loss of funding catalysed the idea of a regional relocation. It had the potential to solve two problems in one move – it was more financially sustainable, while holding the possibility of greater community connection. “I felt like we could be more prominent in a regional area,” says Christian, “versus in a city with lots more competition. We could set up an important company in a city that doesn’t have a professional theatre company.”
Central Victoria, a hive of artists
But, it was also a daunting prospect. Christian and the company had to overcome misconceptions about “needing” to be in a capital city. Christian said he looked to companies he admired, mostly in Europe, noting lots were operating outside of major centres and still finding success. He thinks it’s probably more of an underlying Australian sensibility that regional art is perceived to be less artistically ambitious than in capital cities. And, even if that were true for a time, he believes COVID has helped to dispel that myth. “Central Victoria is currently a hive of artists, and major national institutions are still really interested in what we’re doing – I don’t feel disconnected from that.”
Finding success in the Greater Bendigo Region
Now, Arena has evolved into the company with the deep community connections they sought. Not only are they producing theatre more frequently to build “Arena families”, but their theatrical projects originate in classrooms across the Greater Bendigo Region through workshops and residencies. “Our artists empower students to be creative, critical thinkers and cultural agents within their community.” These ideas are then taken through professional creative development and evolve into fully-realised theatre productions, allowing young people to see themselves and hear their voices in new, original works unlike anything they’ve seen before
To learn more about Arena Theatre and their inspiring work and vision, visit them here.
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