Keeping the light on for the performing arts

Despite the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for the performing arts industry, acclaimed playwright and UTS Alumna Alana Valentine is excited about the future. She sees the events of the past two years as an opportunity, rather than the impediment to the arts it has been widely perceived as, and believes Australians are ready to come back to experience theatre after almost two years of being largely confined to screen entertainment.

‘What is exciting for me is that there is a renewed understanding of the difference between storytelling in a live context and storytelling in a screen context,’ she said, ‘I think people now understand that the experience of sitting in an audience with other people reacting as a group, being confronted with ideas and story and artistry, is an entirely different experience —a communal experience that we actually crave as human beings.’

And she believes that exciting stories told in dynamic ways that have relevance to people’s lives will draw Australians back to the theatre.

‘Australian theatre does a pretty good line in bringing people in because they can see their lives reflected on the stage in various different ways. I think that there’s a hunger for local Australian stories in the same way, metaphorically, that people have discovered their local area during lockdown.’

It is these Australian stories, often about marginalised communities, that have fascinated Valentine throughout her career. She believes that bringing their voices to the stage is what the performing arts is all about.

The exciting thing that has happened in the last five years is that we’re starting to see a reflection of the kinds of diversity, intelligence and variety that we see in our communities, on the stage.

‘I find these stories fascinating and surprising and incredibly entertaining,’ she said ‘I guess it’s to do with where you, as a human being, find hope… I find that real people, often marginalised people, who we haven’t seen on stage, often have surprising diversity and behaviour that we wouldn’t always expect, and that’s good because we need to be reminded that life is much more complex and surprising than we give it credit for. And I think that’s what the theatre does, it says if you’ve got this black and white idea of life, here, let me complicate it for you!’

Valentine is heartened by the increasing diversity being represented in the arts in Australia.

‘The exciting thing that has happened in the last five years is that we’re starting to see a reflection of the kinds of diversity, intelligence and variety that we see in our communities, on the stage. It’s really wonderful when you see a group of young adults who see themselves reflected on stage. It’s a change that has really taken hold in the arts and the more we can keep putting a mirror up to the actual real world, the more we start to realise that our lives are important because we see them on the stage.’

Valentine believes that the key to the future of the performing arts in Australia relies on respect from the wider community for what artists do, and she urges people in the community to speak to their elected representatives about the importance of the arts.

‘If you find yourself at a rally, or next to a politician or someone else who has influence, remind them that the performing arts are important to you,’ she said, ‘I think that respect for what the arts are, understanding the complexity of the language of the arts, will lead to support from people and funding, and I think that is already happening.’

And she continues to mentor young writers who have been inspired through studying her plays, attending her seminars at school or reading her book, Bowerbird, which details her writing process.

‘It’s a source of great pride to me that people have come up to me and said “I’ve gone into the industry because of your work”, you cherish those comments in your heart like precious gemstones.’

As she waits for theatres to reopen, she is keeping the light burning by working on preparations for her new play, Wayside Bride, which will premiere at Belvoir Street in 2022, and working on a show with Bangarra for the Sydney Festival. She’s also working on a story featuring teenagers’ use of social media in western Sydney, but she continues to long for the stage.

‘I’ve watched some live theatre on screen and the thing that strikes me the most is the sound of the audience laughing, I just want to be in the room with that.’