Puffio

What's going on? After defunding and budget cuts for theatre groups this year, the big brother of funding bodies in this state, ArtsSA, have been sending out letters asking for interested persons to apply for funding to start one of three new theatre companies they'd like to see up and running sometime for 2007. The letters are signed by big Mike Rann and claim to represent some new fangled theatre development strategy which seeks to identify emerging theatre companies and strategically select up to three of them for a slice of the loot. Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

The good times just keep rolling on for Australian Dance Theatre; on Sunday night at the Australian Dance Awards held at Sydney Opera House, their Festival piece 'Devolution' won the award for 'Outstanding Performance by a Company'. Brilliant work, congratulations all! 'Devolution', with metallic creatures and manic dancers, comes back to Adelaide for return performances at the Festival Theatre next year - don't miss it.

Down at the Festival Centre they've coming up with ideas to help you stuff your stockings... Christmas stockings, of course. Whilst the bad news is that Christmas is just around the corner, the good new is that they've plenty of good ideas for presents. 'Subscribe to a year's worth of performances and you have created the perfect gift that gives all year', they say. More economically, you can choose one of their packages associated with the 'CentreStage', 'Pivot(al)' or 'Trans:mission' programmes and get some real ticket discounts. A six performance package starts from $126.85 and a four performance package (spread out over the year) from $89.00, which is rather good value indeed.

The Adelaide Chamber Singers (ACS) bring their triumphant 2006 performance calendar to a close in November and December with two special concerts. On Fri 24 (8.00pm) and Sat 25 Nov (6.30pm) in St. John's Church they'll perform 'Visions' and on Fri 8 Dec in St Francis Xavier Cathedral, and Sat 9 Dec in St Peter's Cathedral, at 8.00pm they'll turn their attention to Handel's 'Messiah', which they describe as one of the most sublime musical expressions of love and sacrifice ever composed.

Wed 29 Nov 2006 from 11am at Linde Reserve (on Nelson Street, Stepney) is the diary date for the 3rd Annual Disability Arts Party. Dunno what it is? Go along and find out... there's live drama cool trees raucous rock 'n roll hot BBQ hats, all presented by No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability.

'Stories, Memories And Vistas' is actually a collection of three likeminded exhibitions, opening at the Flinders University City Gallery, in the State Library of South Australia on North Terrace, from Fri 24 Nov. 'Postcards From Forgotten Places' is a collection of photographs of regional and urban South Australia by Eric Algra, who used to shoot bands in all the best known venues around Adelaide. 'Instilled With Memories' is a series of glass sculptures by Ede Horton that focus on personal and cultural identity, and emotional vulnerability. The third exhibition is 'Memories And vistas' a collection of works on paper from the Flinders University Art Museum collection featuring colonial and 20th century landscapes and urban images from South Australia. 'Stories, Memories And Vistas' is on display until Sun 7 Jan 2007. The picture is Eric Algra's Towitta.

The big summer musical season kicks off with an all new performance of Gilbert & Sullivans 'Pirates Of Penzance' in an all new and all star cast featuring David Campbell, David Hobson and Dennis Olsen. This promises to be a bit of a ripper show, with pirates and costumes remodeled on the Capt Jack Straw character made so loved by Johnny Depp in the 'Pirates Of The Caribbean' movie series. 'Pirates' comes to the Festival Centre from 10 Jan 2007.

That's not all, that's just not all at all, at all. 'Menopause The Musical' is currently one of the hot box-office tickets worldwide, and the Australian performances of this smash hit show come to the Festival Centre from 9 Jan 2007.

The 2006 Italian Film Festival opens at the Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas on Thurs 23 Nov and runs for about two weeks. This is a hand-picked selection of films, the largest and strongest selection in the event's seven-year history, the organisers claim. There's a programme of award-winning contemporary films, and the largest collection of films from legendary director Michelangelo Antonioni ever screened together nationally in Australia. The opening night sees the SA premiere of popular actor and director Carlo Verdone's 'My Best Enemy (Il Mio Miglior Nemico)', a generational comedy that re-unites Verdone with his 'Manual Of Love' co-star Silvio Muccino.

Local playwright and AWGIE Award winner Stephen House is the newly appointed peer advisor to the Literature Board of the Arts Council. They're the people who assess and recommend Australia Council grants to poor struggling writers and artists across the country.

Sad news from Restless Dance Company who have announced that Artistic Director Kat Worth has decided not to return to the company after completing her latest spell (of maternity leave) and that the company are therefore seeking her replacement. Worth was AAD at the company for over four years, and they reckon she'll be hard to replace, but feel confident the right person for the job is out there.

In some other news at the MRC, entries are now open for SA's Short Screen Awards, now in their eighth year. The SA Short Screen Awards reward excellence and outstanding achievement in the South Australian film community, and this year - for the first time - the SASSAs will be presented in partnership with the Adelaide Film Festival (AFF). The Gala Awards presentation night will be held on Wed 28 Feb as a highlight of AFF 2007. There will also be three new award categories introduced for 2007: Best Composition, Flinders University Emerging Screen Producer Award and an award for Innovation in Digital Media. Entry forms and guidelines for the SA Short Screen Awards may be downloaded from the MRC's website at www.mrc.org.au

If you're keen for a little Rachmaninov and Dvorak, the place to be is the Elder Conservatorium for the last of this year's Music Evening Concert Series. The aptly named 'Finale' is on Sat 25 Nov from 6.30pm, and features soloist Louise McKay (cello), performing with the Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Conductor-in-Residence Keith Crellin. The concert opens with Dvorak's Cello Concerto, and closes with Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2.

The Adelaide Festival Centre's has instituted a new scheme promoting excellence in arts administration, named the Anthony Steel Fellowship in honour of the Centre's first CEO and an Artistic Director of the Festival of the Arts. The first such award has been made to Belle Hammond, an arts graduate from the University of Adelaide, who signs on for 12 months of intensive professional experience in South Australia's centre of creativity and heart of the arts.