JUTE Conference 2011

4 November 2011 - 6 November 2011 The JUTE National Regional Playwrights & Theatre Makers Conference 2011
Reconnect + Re-inspire = BIG IDEAS. Bringing together isolated regional theatre practitioners and connecting them into the national theatre sector, building networks, developing skills and undertaking creative developments of new work.

Conference history & purpose

JUTE has produced very successful conferences from 2001 - 2011 and the demand for the conference of this nature has not abated over those years.  With significant structures in place to produce a highly professional but friendly conference, the quality of this event is assured.

The JUTE National Regional Playwrights & Theatre Makers Conference is about developing regional theatre artists and the sector, it is therefore not targeted to general public.  At a local level, it is targetted to a range of established and emerging practitioners, JCU Creative Industry students, drama teachers, JUTE’s young ambassadors and their peers and amateur theatre makers keen to develop their practice and their engagement with the industry.  There has been a strong demand for the conference over 10 years with the feedback from previous conferences and the outcomes towards the development of the regional theatre sector speaking for themselves.

Regional Artists often feel the effects of geographic isolation. They can feel disconnected and undervalued outside of their regional centres.  Having chosen to pursue their practice in regional centres, they lack the funds to gain access to skills development opportunities.  The JUTE conference has proven over the years that it can reignite the passion for theatre making by providing the space and the opportunity to connect and take part in discourse about the sector that can lead to breaking down that isolation.  In a practical way, it can connect them with other theatre makers who might want to collaborate and produce and tour their work.  At the very least it provides some new skills for regional practitioners to take back to their own community of artists and can contribute directly to the quality of work being produced in regional centres.  The conference also plays a role in regional theatre makers having a voice to advocate for the needs of regional theatre.

The 2011 conference was supported through an Industry Development Grant from Arts Queensland and the funds from this grant went towards supporting the travel and accommodation costs of regional theatre makers from other centres across Australia.