Lucas Stibbard
- 15 Jul 2014
What
Lucas Stibbard took his theatre work boy girl wall to the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) showcase in the USA and the Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM) in Brisbane in early 2014.
boy girl wall is a one-person play written by Lucas and Matthew Ryan. The show had already received critical success in Australia with Lucas receiving a 2011 Helpmann Award nomination for his performance (he was beaten by Geoffrey Rush) and the production touring Australia during 2012 to 25 venues across five states.
Arts Queensland funding supported travel and accommodation expenses in the US and enabled Lucas to restage the production at IPAY in Pittsburgh. boy girl wall was one of only 17 productions to receive a full-length showcase at IPAY in 2014.
At APAM during February 2014 in Brisbane, boy girl wall was afforded two 25 minute showcases.
The project provided a professional development opportunity for this mid-career artist to develop new artistic relationships and networks and to showcase his work in an international context.
When
December 2013 to February 2014
Where
Pittisburgh, USA; Brisbane Australia
Arts Queensland contribution
$8000 – Individuals Fund
Outcomes
- Lucas and his company, The Escapists, have enjoyed increased visibility in new markets and generated networking opportunities for the touring of extant work and the possibility of international co- productions from the showcases.
- New relationships have been developed with international agents, particularly for the touring of work in the northern American market.
- Negotiations are underway for touring boy girl wall, performing at festivals in New Zealand and a three-month tour to the USA and Canada in 2017.
- Lucas is also pursuing a performance opportunity in the UK for boy girl wall.
Learnings and reflections
Lucas reflects on the challenges of touring work internationally for independent artists:
Without the financial resources to offset risk, presenting at international markets is a costly endeavour that may not result in significant outcomes.
There are variables which cannot be controlled which directly influence the success of a showcase performance, such as the timing of the performance within the market and the venue. International touring on a small-scale is not likely to return a huge financial benefit to independent artists so the touring must be beneficial in other ways including increased artistic profile, professional development and learning and the opportunity for possible co-productions and international collaborations.
Regardless of future outcomes, this opportunity to present at both IPAY and APAM was a wonderful learning experience for me as an artist. I also took every chance to engage in dialogue with my peers around best practice and to view other works on showcase. Our work, boy girl wall, was universally well-received and this benefits not only myself as an artist, and my team of collaborators, but also continues to represent the high quality of Australian theatre work.
Contact for further information
Website: http://metroarts.com.au/artist/the-escapists/
Links
APAM: http://performingartsmarket.com.au/apam2014/program/details/boy-girl-wall.html
A pdf version of this case study (PDF) (301.2 KB) is available.