About Stages
Origins of Stages
STAGES was formed in the late 1980’s by the merging of two West Australian play development organisations; The Writers’/Performers’ Workshop and the WA Theatre Company’s Playwrights’ Workshop based at the Playhouse Theatre. With the encouragement and support of the Department for the Arts (now the Department for Culture and the Arts) the initial steering committee was formed in late 1989. Members of that committee included playwrights, theatre company representatives and Australian Writers’ Guild members.
Agreement was reached that there should be an independent organisation raising and administering resources dedicated to the development of playwrights and their works in WA. It was acknowledged that theatre companies didn’t have the resources to respond quickly to playwright submissions and that this could be done much more efficiently through the new organisation which was to be called the Western Australian Playwrights’ Consortium. Later on the more user-friendly name STAGES was adopted. Together the initial steering panel (which consisted of Aarne Neeme, Bruce Ridley, Phil Thomson, Pippa Williamson, Murray Oliver, Duncan Ord, Graham Gavin, Dickon Oxenburgh and John Aitken) worked to raise the necessary funding to provide play development resources, office expenses and a salary to employ the first Director (Stephen Agnew). STAGES opened its doors for business in April of 1991.
Vision
To be the leading professional organisation supporting, advocating and promoting the development of Western Australian playwrights and performance writing.
Mission
To maintain a professional organisation which supports new, emerging and established WA playwrights across a range of styles and genres to achieve the highest standards of professional performance writing, and to promote WA performance writing locally, nationally and internationally.
Key Objectives
1. To maintain a professional organisation which has
• strong partnerships with Western Australian arts industry
• significant links with performance companies, nationally and locally
• enduring links with script development organisations elsewhere in Australia
• provides a professional standard of services
2. To support established and emerging Western Australian playwrights across a range of styles and genres to achieve the highest standards of professional performance writing
3. To promote Western Australian playwrights and performance writing
4. To advocate for more professional productions of new Western Australian performance writing.
5. To continue to grow the organisation as a means to increased program delivery and greater impact locally, nationally and internationally.