THE CASE FOR TAX DEDUCTABLE THEATRE TICKETS PRIME MINISTER

Whilst it is safe to argue that our understanding of infectious disease has advanced significantly in 100 years, the same can’t be said for our collective management of it. Witness the variable global approaches and comparative successes or lack thereof. Australia looks to have done a good job, the USA arguably not so good. 

What might we learn from leadership from the Spanish Flu era? 

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt is a favourite of mine. Roosevelt held the office of President of the United States from 1901 to 1909, just before the Spanish Flu Epidemic but a time of tremendous development and foundation.

Roosevelt was a president who even to this day is affectionately regarded as one of the top five American presidents ever to hold the office. His image stands alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln on Mount Rushmore. 

Here’s what Roosevelt had to say about in whom to place your trust. “It is not the critic who counts; not the person who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the person who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends themselves in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if they fail, at least fails while daring greatly, so that their place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

The theme of having a go is important. As a father of four kids I see all too regularly their fear of making mistakes or making the wrong call. They bear witness to how all too often our media crucify people that make mistakes. To those, Roosevelt would caution, “there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt.”

Edward de Bono and ‘Po’

Edward de Bono is acknowledged as one of the greatest exponents of ‘thinking’ in our lifetime. His work in creative thinking, lateral thought processes and provocation have been used the world over. 

His provocation work in particular is an area that has always been of interest to me. De Bono uses the word ‘Po’. The words from which ‘Po’ are derived include hypothesis, suppose, possible and the like. The statement of ‘Po’ signals the following idea or statement, that may in itself be ludicrous, is put forward purely to try and advance thinking to a place where new ideas or solutions may be found.

 Inspired by de Bono’s ‘Po’ provocation, it’s long been a practice of mine to come up with absurd ideas that on the surface would never be considered. I have seen the worried looks around our marketing and production tables that say “the pressure has finally got him and he’s gone mad” or, “why would he even suggest such a thing”. I know that an idea might sound ridiculous, however, more often than not it leads to changes in attitude and thinking and a subsequent list of ideas is created that, some of which occasionally work well enough to be worthwhile and some just magically exceed all our expectations.

 We as an industry find ourselves at just such a juncture.  Will the marketing ideas of old still work? To suggest they will is to also suggest that audience purchase patterns will immediately return to what was once considered ‘normal’. I do not believe we can be so bold as to suggest this will be the case.  The model of announce, pre-sale, social media campaign, announce cast, another presale, open, vox pop, offers etc has to be rethought.

Earlier this week researchers Instinct and Reason released a particularly informed comparative report ‘Public Sentiment Study on COVID -19, Australian vs 15 Countries . (I have uploaded the full report to my linked in page https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-donnell-0465a79/ go to documents). The report compiled data from the findings of 15 studies in 15 countries between the 27th March and 15th April. Participating countries included Australia, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, China and Mexico. There were 3 key pieces of information that I believe are relevant to our industry and that should be considered in regard to possible changes to spending patterns:

1. 38% of Australians are reducing their spending in anticipation of reduced incomes. (The UK result was 23%).
2. 50% of Australians expect to see a reduction in salary this year. (The UK result was 34%).
3. 39% of Australians fear for their jobs or those of their partner/spouse. (The UK result was 25%).

 If we believe that sales patterns will remain as they used to be when theatres reopen then we will all look to the advance ticket purchases to gauge how well our message is being received. However, what if our audience have been scared off buying in advance and until this nightmare is well and truly over, they will now buy the week before or the week or the day of the performance. Which producer will be the first to test this new way of being and hold their mettle long enough to actually open the show? If you were the producer and had a meagre advance that didn’t even cover the first couple of weeks running costs, would you proceed, hoping the audience purchases a ticket late, or would you pull the show rather than risk another calamitous collapse?

These are difficult questions to answer.  Those who step up to the plate first deserve our support. They must be given space to experiment, to succeed as well as to fail. And if they fail, we must as an industry be there to pick them up and support them through the process because “there is no effort without error and shortcoming”. For those alive today, these are unprecedented times.

And So, To ‘Po’

Here are some statements and suggestions to get the ball rolling. I would love to hear your ideas on ways we can bring the industry back using the outlandish, the crazy, the absurd and the abstract thought that just might sell 10,000 tickets.

Hypothesis #1: Audiences are struggling financially to afford tickets and need an incentive to come back to the theatre sooner.

PO:1:1  Make theatre tickets 200% tax deductible. 400% if you purchase a ticket for a child!

PO:1:2  The government registers as a group buyer and purchases 10,000 tickets in each city a tour is scheduled to play. Two tickets are given to each person that submits their tax return by a certain date.

PO:1:3  If a commercial production has struggled to attract a sufficient advance, the government purchases tickets to allow breakeven for the first six weeks of the season which are given to health care workers to assist to build word of mouth for the production.

PO:1:4  2 for 1 tickets

PO: 1:5 The government establishes a medical centre in the foyer of all major theatres offering on the spot testing for Covid 19.

Hypothesis #2: Can producers pay what they previous paid? Possibly not.

PO:2:1  The federal government reduces income tax for all theatre staff or increases the tax free threshold allowing producers to pay less and keep costs down but the effective financial benefit to theatre staff increases, they are paid less but get to keep more.

A side note: Why should the arts receive a better deal on taxes? Well, I would counter that a model like this recognises the numerous free events our industry creates and performs to raise funds for charitable causes. Surely all that ‘doing it for the profile’, ‘just one little freebie’ and good corporate citizenship deserves some recognition! 

PO:2:2  Producers are given charity status for a period and GST and all state and federal taxes are kept as income to be used for wages. All ticket purchases are considered donations.

PO:2:3  The government continues to pay Job Keeper for every staff member employed on the tour contributing up to 50% of a weekly wage, even if the Job Keeper program was to finish while the tour is still proceeding.

PO:2:4  The government provides generous subsidies to allow producers to employ more staff than is actually needed (e.g. actors, crew and technical staff,) to ensure talent within the industry is maintained.

Hypothesis #3: Audiences don’t like the idea of gathering in theatres. So, we make them safer. 

PO:3:1  Have the hazers used in theatre effects dispense antiseptic haze throughout the theatre.

PO:3:2  State governments immediately adapt small stadiums for theatres allowing wider seating but the same capacity (1500+). Eg Tennis and Convention centres. 

PO:3:3  During the early phase of the industry rebuild we build confidence by holding rehearsals in theatres and allow anybody who has purchased a ticket to come and watch the rehearsal process at scheduled times during the day.

PO:3:4  The federal government provides funding to theatre owners to provide point of contact virus and temperature testing on arrival at the theatre, sanitizers, venue treatments and PPE for any audience member that wishes to utilize it.

PO:3:5  Install hand sanitizer dispensers in every seat.

Hypothesis #4: Producers have to spend more on marketing to get the same size audience.

PO:4:1  The state government funds education campaigns to convince people it’s safe to come back to the theatre and sponsor each campaign with a production.

PO:4:2  State Governments fund 100% of intra and interstate marketing as long as it promotes the city of production.

PO:4:3  Minimum theatre content coverage limits are enforced on all TV, Media, Radio and Print producers.

PO:4:4  Government forces scalpers out of the industry, quadruples fines and uses all fines income to invest into theatre.

PO:4:5  Government makes Google promote shows in order to operate in Australia.

Hypothesis #5: Investors are scared of coming back to the industry for fear of a second, third or fourth wave of virus that requires the industry to shut down again. 

PO:5:1  The government allocates $200 million from the Future Fund ($205.4 Billion as at 31 March 2020) to invest into commercial theatre projects that can show a potential return.

 PO:5:2  The government makes all theatre investment and profits tax deductible.

 PO:5:3  The government establishes an investment fund with various tax incentives making investment in theatre attractive to major investment entities and super funds.

In 2019 Prime Minister Scott Morrison famously stated, “If you have a go, you get a go”. 

Well Prime Minister, our industry is fighting for survival, the future is challenging but we are equal to it - with the right support. We have not featured highly in your plans to date so now it’s time to bring it home for the big finish! Deliver on your promise.

Viktor Frankl once said, “As the struggle for survival subsides, the question will emerge: the survival for what? Ever more people have the means to live, but no meaning to live for.” 

The arts gives meaning, examination, explanation, education and joy. Help us Prime Minister to be there when we are needed.

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Originally published on Linkedin
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