Sonny Tilders

“The VCA supplied eight graduates for King Kong’s all-Australian cast, the most of any tertiary institute.” (The Age)

Interesting piece in today’s The Age where King Kong Creature Designer Sonny Tilders talks about the important of education for artists. Read it here.

You may remember Sonny spoke out when VCA Puppetry was cut back in 2009. Read it here.

Great to see VCA Music Theatre, which was cut in 2009 then reinstated after the SAVE VCA campaign, kicking goals – 5 grads in King Kong!

Sam Hooper, Joshua Robson, Adam Lyon, Chris Ryan, Jacob Williams

In 2009 Uni Melb abruptly cancelled VCA Music Theatre and Puppetry. Today, VCA Acting, Music Theatre and Opera grads have dominated the KING KONG full cast announcement (read it on Aussie Theatre here).

Furthermore, the former head of VCA Puppetry Peter Wilson is now the Puppetry Director on King Kong.

You may remember the Producer of King Kong Global Creatures was one of the first to come out in defence of VCA in The Age, so we’re thrilled to see them hire so many graduates. Music Theatre is officially alive and well at VCA and we hope to see Puppetry return soon.

How’s VCA for you now? Tell us on Facebook!

Want to see how far we’ve come? Cruise through the media reports from 2009 in our Resources section – yikes!

SAVE VCA FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/savevca

OFFICIAL VCA FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/thevictoriancollegeofthearts

KING KONG MEDIA RELEASE INCLUDED IN FULL (with our highlights of VCA grads)

___________________

MEDIA RELEASE THURSDAY 29 NOVEMBER 2012
FULL CAST ANNOUNCEMENT
Victoria’s elite art school grads dominate Kong-sized company

On 15 June, 2013 forty-nine actors, singers, dancers, circus performers and puppeteers will become the world premiere cast of the epic music theatre event KING KONG – and most of them are Victorians.

“We’ve been scouring the country since February 2011 for our cast and I am thrilled that we can finally reveal the all-Australian company that will join our principal cast, international creative and music team to bring Kong to life,” said Carmen Pavlovic, CEO of Global Creatures.

“Not only will KING KONG be exclusive to Melbourne, but we are building Kong himself in our West Melbourne workshop, and we were pleased to discover it was Victoria’s arts training institutions that have proven to be the crucibles of the talent we needed.”

The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the biggest tertiary provider of cast to KING KONG, with both Adam Lyon (Carl Denham) and Chris Ryan (Jack Driscoll) being graduates, in addition to another six of the cast. In particular, the College’s Music Theatre course has made a miraculous recovery after being briefly cancelled by the University of Melbourne in 2009, supplying five graduates to the show.

“At the last election we committed to providing additional support for the VCA because we recognised the importance of access not only to world-class venues, but also to local, highly-skilled artisans if Victoria is to remain the arts capital of Australia,” said Premier and Arts Minister Ted Baillieu. “It is heartening that so many Victorian artists are involved in KING KONG, and we look forward to the production’s 2013 season being another reason for people to visit Melbourne.”

Professor Su Baker, Director of the VCA said, “It is thrilling to see so many of our graduates, across a number of art forms, working on KING KONG. It demonstrates the quality of education and strength of training at the VCA is proving attractive to producers like Global Creatures and establishes Melbourne as the home of Music Theatre in Australia, supported by the reintroduction of our Bachelor of Fine Arts (Music Theatre) program.”

Victoria’s National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) has also proved an invaluable resource for the production, not only during the numerous workshops of KING KONG, but in supplying six of the “Kings Men”. These aerialists will be purpose-trained by Puppetry Director Peter Wilson (and former head of VCA Puppetry) and Aerial/Circus Director Gavin Robins to manipulate the one-tonne, six-metre, giant silverback Kong on stage, complimenting the animatronic wizardry for which Global Creatures is renowned.

“I am thrilled to see NICA graduates bringing Kong to life as part of the ‘Kings Men’. It is fantastic that NICA and its facilities are playing a vital role in this very exciting industry,” said Pamela Creed, NICA Director & CEO.

KING KONG has shied away from big-name casting, and put its faith in a diverse cast that are highly skilled in their respective fields of specialty.

“I am ferociously proud of our 100% made-in-Australia cast. Audiences should brace themselves; not only does our cast dance and sing and act, but they fly, flip, and fall through the air, looking darn gorgeous in the process. Never before have I had the privilege of working with such a group of world-class entertainers,” said KING KONG Director Daniel Kramer.

In addition to its 49-strong cast, KING KONG will also employ a crew of 76 for the entire run of the show. Because of the sheer scale of the production it will not tour to other states or to New Zealand.

KING KONG is authorised by the Merian C. Cooper Estate and is proudly supported by the State Government of Victoria and Tourism Victoria

KING KONG http://kingkongliveonstage.com/

Previews from 28 May, Opening 15 June 2013

Regent Theatre, Melbourne

THE PRINCIPAL CAST

Esther Hannaford (Ann Darrow)

Adam Lyon (Carl Denham) – VCA OPERA

Chris Ryan (Jack Driscoll) – VCA MUSIC PERFORMANCE AND ACTING

Richard Piper (Captain Engelhorn)

Queenie van de Zandt (Cassandra)

THE COMPANY

Charles Bartley

Damien Bermingham

Amy Berrisford

Amy Campbell

Sophie Carter

Angelique Cassimatis

Will Centurion

Andrew Cook

Samantha Leigh Dodemaide

Simon Fairweather

Samantha Hagen

Ross Hannaford – VCA MUSIC THEATRE

Melanie Hawkins

Danni Hegarty

Sam Hooper – VCA MUSIC THEATRE

Loren Hunter

Travis Khan

Leah Lim – VCA MUSIC THEATRE

Sam Marks

Hayley Martin

Scott McConnell

Tracie Morley

Glen Oliver

Chris Ostrenski – VCA MUSIC THEATRE

Joshua Robson – VCA MUSIC THEATRE

Romina Villafranca

Dean Vince

Leigh-Anne Vizer

THE KINGS MEN

Lincoln Barros

Steve Coupe

Adam Davis

Harley Durst

Ricky J. Everett

Josh Feldschuh

Brett Franzi

Nathan Jones

Nathan Kell

Russell Leonard

Brent Osborne

Troy Phillips

Mike Snow

Jacob Williams – VCA ACTING (ANIMATUERING)

Tayo Wilson

(note – one “Kings Man” still to be cast)

Full cast headshots and bios available at

http://kingkongliveonstage.com/meet-the-team/

ABOUT THE SHOW

KING KONG is the new epic music theatre event from Global Creatures, the makers of the international hits Walking With Dinosaurs – The Arena Spectacular (WWD) and How To Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular (HTTYD).

The show includes new and existing songs from some of the world’s best contemporary artists, including 3D from Massive Attack, Sarah McLachlan, Justice, Guy Garvey from Elbow and The Avalanches. The music is being overseen by composer and arranger Marius de Vries, whose credits include the soundtracks for Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet.

KING KONG has been in development for the last five years with an award-winning international team comprising: director Daniel Kramer, a rising star of the European opera and theatre stages; Tony-nominated writer Craig Lucas; BAFTA winner and Grammy-nominated composer and arranger Marius de Vries; young New York-based lyricist Michael Mitnick; American Choreography Award-winner John O’Connell; the multiple Helpmann Award-winning production designer Peter England; creature designer Sonny Tilders, the mastermind behind the amazing animatronics in WWD and HTTYD; Tony Award-winning costume designer Roger Kirk; the multi-talented UK lighting designer Peter Mumford; Grammy, Tony and Olivier Award-nominated US sound designer Peter Hylenski; Berlin-based, Green Room Award-winning projection designer Frieder Weiss; international aerial and circus director Gavin Robins and puppetry director Peter Wilson, a Sidney Myer Performing Artist of the Year.

Click here for your invite to the VCA 40th Anniversary Street Party (23 March 2012)

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For all the independent news, join the SAVE VCA Facebook.

Click here to read the article.

The Australian newspaper has achieved what SAVE VCA could not – finally getting the new VCAM Dean to give an update on where the outrageous Uni Melb admin and rental charges are at:

But Conyngham stresses that while the VCA has significant independence it still has obligations to the university. “We can’t have it all our own way,” he says. “The faculty has to contribute to the running of the university.”

It is the size of these obligations, in the form of administrative charges and rent that were a big part of last year’s disputes. And they continue to bubble.

Conyngham has been able to negotiate a reduction in the annual rent the university charges of about $800,000 from next year. For some it’s proof the VCA was being overcharged. (READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE)

$800K discount from what? Alas the Dean did not answer that question.

The Dean finished his interview noting:

“I like a bit of scepticism, so I think it is terrific that they [SAVE VCA] are there and if they have issues that bite then we should be able to respond to them,”

Ummmm Barry we’re still waiting for the clarification on the rent and admin charges (we’ve been chasing you for a meeting since May remember?). You could save us some time though and (1) publicly release the dollar figure of the VCAM funds that are flowing to the University of Melbourne for rent and admin charges, (2) detail what percentage of VCAM’s income they represent, (3) provide a comparison of this percentage against other Uni Melb faculties and (4) provide detail on how you’re making sure the Vic Gov $6m p/a flowing to VCA will not end up in Uni Melb’s pocket.

If Uni Melb has wiped off $800K without publicly beating their chest over their ‘generosity’, we suspect the fee sizes must remain to VCA’s detriment.

Thanks to The Australian for this fantastic update (and we hope next time the VCA community does not have to rely on the media for updates).

Barry Conyngham

Yesterday the lavish University of Melbourne advertorial lift-out in The Age featured VCA as its lead story.

Not surprisingly, there was no mention of the SAVE VCA campaign, and there seems to be an unusually heavy focus on justifiying the new Dean (Barry Conyngham) is right for the job, but of note:

• The long-held suspicion that the University of Melbourne wanted to free up its Parkville real estate has come to fruition – after 120 years, the Conservatorium is being moved to the VCA campus (Southbank).
• Despite the advertorial being paid for by the University of Melbourne (makers of the generalist “Melbourne Model” who tried to cut specialisation from VCA), the new Dean Barry Conyngham spruiks the traditional VCA training method of vocational training – “our dream is for the Faculty to be intertwined with the arts industry, so our students can optimise their training and be ready to work”.  Unfortunately some of the catch phrases of the former Dean Sharman Pretty live on in the new Dean (albeit watered down), in regards to starting education with the premise not all VCA graduates will succeed in their chosen field, referring to some students having to settle for being “privately creative” and perhaps working in “management, education”. You may remember this attitude was challenged by Geoffrey Rush who suggested this was starting education from a “point of mediocrity”.
• However, perhaps most telling in the massive change in University rhetoric, is an advertisement for the new BA Fine Art degrees which say “this new degree allows you to specialise in your chosen area from day one”.

So what do you think? A PR job by the University in an attempt to mend their reputation in the arts sector? A clever way to gloss the University’s real estate aspirations? Or is this necessary brand building for VCA to attract high-calibre applicants back to the College? Do you think the new Dean is being practical by preparing for some students to fail in their chosen field? Comment below or on Facebook.

Download the PDF of the advertorial here (note it is a large PDF file – 12MB).

Sidebar – despite repeated requests, both the Dean of VCAM and the Director of VCA have provided no update re: VCA’s continued payment of the exorbitant rental and admin charges to the University of Melbourne. Not surprisingly, VCA’s financial woes under University management are not mentioned in the advertorial.

UoM VC Glyn Davis loves some VCA cash & land!

The Age has today reported where the $6m p/a in Victorian Government funding for VCA will go (click here to read the story). It seems Premier & Arts Minister Ted Baillieu is mindful these funds need to be protected from the University of Melbourne, so he’s drawing up a “memorandum of understanding” – but will that be enough?

There has been silence from VCA itself as to how, when and to what extend the outrageous University of Melbourne rentals and administration costs will be challenged (70% of VCA income going to non-teaching costs in 2010), and we know UoM wont give up any of VCA’s money without a fight.

What do you think? Do you think history shows us that VCA management need to be more public in trying to assert VCA’s financial autonomy? Or is it a case of allowing the new Director & Dean to work quietly to try and get rid of the rent and admin costs? Post below or on our Facebook.

FURTHER READING:

• The Premier’s VCA speech delivered on 12 May 2011 (pdf)
• The Age’s Editorial 16 May 2011 about VCA

Dear SaveVCA,

FRIDAY 20 MAY at the NGV, THE HISTORY OF THE GALLERY SCHOOL AND THE BIRTH OF THE VCA

• 9.15 AM         Official Welcome and overview of the symposium by Professor Su Baker, Director, Victorian College of the Arts, Faculty of the VCA and Music
• 9.30 AM        Official Welcome to the NGV by Frances Lindsay, Deputy Director, National Gallery of Victoria, welcomes attendees to the NGV and introduces hon. Heidi Victoria, MP, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier and Assisting the Premier with the Arts

Professor Su Baker
Director, VCA
Faculty of the VCA and Music
University of Melbourne
234 St Kilda Road
Melbourne 3004
Victoria
Australia
bakerse@unimelb.edu.​au
Tel (03) 9685 9464
Fax (03) 9685 9459

Other news:

• Melbourne Leader 11 may 2011 – “Big Win For Melbourne’s Arts”
  

So the State Government has well and truly delivered on its funding promise for VCA – but when will the University of Melbourne get real on VCA rental and admin fees (see our last post for more info)? Over 70% of income going to non-teaching costs in 2010 is just unacceptable.

Regardless of your political leanings, a huge thanks is certainly due to Parliamentary Secretary for the Arts Heidi Victoria and Arts Minister Ted Baillieu who were the very first politicians to meet with SAVE VCA back in 2009, and have been unwavering in their support for the College.

THE AGE: Baillieu confirms his election promise of $6 million a year to the Victorian College of the Arts, although talks with its parent body, Melbourne University, have ”a way to go” before the funding can be commissioned. ”It is not there to displace any other income,” he says, meaning that it cannot be used to pay university rent. (read today’s coverage from The Age and The Herald Sun)

The Victorian Government has confirmed with SAVE VCA that the $6m p/a is for the VCA portion of VCAM only.

Overcoming the huge cost of remaining part of the University of Melbourne will be the marker of whether the merger will ever succeed. The last budget SAVE VCA has seen for the 2010 year includes staggering amounts of money flowing out of VCA which the University likes to refer in the media as “subsidy”:

2010 Budget (for the 2010 calendar year)

• University Rental to VCA $5.69M
• Common Services Fee Changed to VCA $3.25M
• VCA Contribution to University Overheads $4.27M
• $13.2M going directly central University costs.

 This is in addition to other central non-teaching costs of $8.56M  consisting of marketing, external relations, public programs, recruitment, executive director, student centre etc.

Total non –teaching costs $21.76M

$31.03M income, meaning 70.1% of the income is going to non-teaching costs compared to a average rate of 45% pre-merger.

This equals over $12,000 in non-teaching costs per VCAM student, compared to under $7,000 pre merger.

And also keep in mind that before the Federal Funding cut in 2005 (which has now been reversed), VCA ran in the black for the vast majority of its life (i.e. it wasn’t in debt).

None of this was ever factored into the merger that the Victorian Government approved in 2007 and 2009.

Do you think VCA is benefitting being a Uni Melb Faculty? Post below or on Facebook.