THE Arts Council's commitment in the Arts Plan 1995-97 to undertake a study on theatre in Ireland was heard by many in the theatre world as a warning bell. In the context of some of the other statements in the Plan, such as: "Council will rationalise the number of Dublin-based companies ..." it sounded like a cold audit. In practice, the Theatre Review, which involved seven public meetings with the theatre community around the country, as well as much research, has proved much more positive than that. Quite early on in the process, Vie Merriman, Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Review, went on record saying that the theatre chapter of the Arts Plan would be rewritten on the basis of the Review's findings. And many of these findings refer to better practice in the Arts Council itself, as well as in the theatre sector.
The new chapter has just been distributed by the Arts Council to its theatre clients, under the title Going On: Policies, Objectives, Measures And Schemes For Drama. (Could the theatre constituency teach the Arts Council a basic rule of drama - get rid of those leaden titles?)
The most exciting measure in the chapter is the introduction of a new, graded funding structure for theatre companies. "Contract" or "franchised" companies, "in which the Arts Council reposes confidence" will receive funding on an annual basis for their activities, or may be invited onto a pilot scheme of three-year funding commitments, which will run next year.
Other successful grant applicants may be funded on a "project" basis, depending on the plans they submit, for one year - and occasionally, for two. There will also be "mise-en-scene" grants to encourage experimentation, such as inter-disciplinary or multi-media work. There will be a number of "start-up" grants to help new companies develop an administrative structure.
There will now be, says the Council, an "open and transparent" process of awarding grants - and what a helpful change that will be, if it happens. In the words of one client, sometimes theatre practitioners were left wondering: "Did I say something to someone at a party?" when the funding suddenly and inexplicably dried up. The criteria for awarding grants are published in the chapter in black and white, and they include questions like these: is the artistic policy coherent? Does this company duplicate the work of another company? What is the legal basis of the organisation? Are detailed budgets established?
Rather than restating a desire to "rationalise" the number of Dublin companies, the chapter contains a commitment to meet the newly-formed Dublin Independent Theatre Companies Association in advance of the 1997 grant decisions to examine the "problematic" venues situation in Dublin - that is, the lack of enough decent-sized, properly resourced, available performance spaces.
