Artistic Director, Charles Parkinson will lead the ‘Tasmania towards 2020 Arts Forum’ to survey the broader community’s vision for the future in the lead up to the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit in April 2008.

Charles Parkinson joins the brightest brains of the nation at Parliament House on April 19 and 20 to provide advice on the future direction of Australia. The Summit draws together delegates from across industries including business, sport, science and 100 hand-picked delegates from the arts including Cate Blanchett, Claudia Karvan and Andrew Denton.

“Arts is the reflection of a community’s soul. Our national identity is protected and enhanced through the arts. It is also a major player in the state and country’s economy. There has been a lot of discussion recently about the direction Australia should take over the next decade and this is our opportunity to make sure the arts has a strong presence in the discussion and that Tasmania can contribute to a strong national cultural strategy”, - Charles Parkinson.

Mr Parkinson who is set to launch a new Tasmanian Theatre Company in May 2008, will host the Tasmania towards 2020 Arts Forum. His achievements in the industry are highlighted by his time as Artistic Manger of Albury/Wodonga’s HotHouse Theatre which he grew from a company at risk of losing its funding to Australia’s most successful regional theatre and his artistic directorship of a number of other companies including the internationally renowned Flying Fruit Fly Circus.

The Forum, supported by Arts Tasmania, is open to individuals and organisations who wish to voice their opinion on the future of the arts. Design, visual arts, literature, film, music and theatre industry persons are encouraged to attend and will be invited to comment on - if you could change one thing in the arts, what would it be?

Co-presented by Is Theatre and Arts Tasmania, the Tasmania towards 2020 Arts Forum will be held at the Backspace Theatre, Sackville St Hobart (behind Theatre Royal) on Wednesday 16 April 5:30pm for a 6pm start and 7pm finish. Light refreshments will be served and drinks available.

For more information please contact Is Theatre 03 6234 8561 or visit istheatre.com

Class Clowns 2008

Saturday night was a sell out night at the Backspace Theatre with the State Finals of the Class Clowns competition. 15 finalists from around the state had the audience laughing in the aisles, their acts ranging from anecdotes about friendly goats to overly friendly Facebook friends proving once again that young Tassie comedians are at the top of the national game.

Frenece Banovich from Mount Carmel College won the judges and crowd over with her deadpan performance about growing up in Mangalore and the importance of shutting gates. She is sure to win more votes when she performs at the Melbourne Town Hall as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival on April 11.

As well as a chance to perform in front of a crowd of over 1500 people, Frenece also stands a chance to win $1000 for herself and $1000 for her school. We wish Frenece all the best for the Nationals!

If you missed the this year’s Finals, the 2008 Class Clowns finalists will be performing on Parliament House lawns, Saturday 12 April as part of the Festival of Dreams National Youth Week event.

Running since 1996, Class Clowns is an annual comedy competition with hundreds of students and young people participating nationally. Previous winners have appeared on Channel Nine’s Footy Show and radio station Triple J and many have gone on to work professionally as comedians on the international circuit and in the Australian media.

Tasmania’s latest large-scale community theatre project takes to the stage at Hobart’s Theatre Royal this Wednesday marking the return of Les Miserables to local audiences.

Les Miserables was first presented in Tasmania in 1995 and has since made a number of appearances in theatres across the state. Clearly audiences are keen for more with an extension to this season recently announced. Billed as, “The World’s Most Popular Musical.” Les Miserables is the telling of Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel of the same name. Featuring a cast of more than thirty local performers, producer Craig Wellington hopes that this production will mark a return to the annual Theatre Royal musical event.

“I regard this production as the culmination of my twenty years in entertainment and I aim for it to be the pinnacle of achievement for all involved - and that means audiences are in for the time of their life.” – Craig Wellington, Producer

Claims about the caliber of the cast seem justified after a visit to the show’s website, with all principal roles filled by some of Tassie’s finest vocalists and performers, namely Brett Budgon as Valjean, Chris Richardson as Javert, Nicole Simms as Fantine and Gina Bashford as Cosette.

Les Miserables opens this Wednesday, March 12th and runs most nights till March 29th. Word on the street has it that tickets are selling fast so be sure to book your seat as soon as possible.