Welcome to Connecting Places!
Do you want to bring incredible shows to your town?
Do you have access to a small hall or similar where you could host them?
Connecting Places is a performing arts touring program tailored to small halls and other community-run spaces. This program offers a range of productions for volunteer groups that present live performances in their communities, also known as community presenters.
In Winter, we release a new annual program of touring productions that will visit small halls throughout Victoria the following year. Within the program, there is usually a combination of comedic & dramatic theatre productions, live music, and other artforms like cabaret, puppetry or circus on offer!
We send shows on the road between March and November each year. With Regional Arts Victoria’s support, artists travel from venue to venue, usually for two to three weeks, and at a time of year that suits both presenters and touring artists.
Community presenters book shows from this program because they are high quality, affordable and can tour with their own technical equipment.
Read on to explore our 2022 offerings and feel free to get in touch with any questions or to make a booking.
We look forward to working with you!
Nikki Ralston
Connecting Places Coordinator
[email protected]
How does it work?
New to Connecting Places and want to put a show on in your venue? Here is our usual cycle for supporting community presenters to book touring productions from Regional Arts Victoria:
If you’re interested in booking one or more of the shows listed in this program, please get in touch. We’ll talk you through things in more detail and go from there.
Please note: We encourage you to book well in advance so you don’t miss out on dates that suit your venue and so that you can apply for funding if needed.
Waves
Trinket the Robot
Jazz High Tea
Sound of Your Town
JUNKLANDIA
Other Things to Keep in Mind
Funding
Regional Arts Victoria receives government funding to cover what we call ‘tour costs’: the accommodation, vehicle hire, petrol, meals and incidentals, and other costs for touring artists to get from venue to venue. This helps us to keep individual show fees affordable for community presenters.
For community presenters, we align our timelines for booking shows with other funding opportunities that small regional presenters can access to contribute to their presentation costs.
For certain funding programs, you can make a booking with us ‘pending funding confirmation.’ This means you are guaranteed a date that suits your venue but won’t be penalised if your funding application is not successful and you need to cancel your booking.
Technical Equipment Available with Bookings
Our touring artists can tour with their own equipment and technician, which means you don’t need to worry if your venue doesn’t have much gear. In each of the production listings, you’ll see that technical equipment has either been included in the show fee or is offered for a small additional cost with your booking.
If you opt-in for the Technical Equipment Package, the artists will tour with the equipment they need. They’ll set it up, operate it and pack it down when they arrive at your venue.
Marketing Materials
All RAV touring productions come with a Marketing Toolkit. This includes promotional images, show text or ‘show copy,’ marketing tips and tricks, logos, pre-designed poster & flyer templates, and more! With enough notice, RAV’s Programming Communications Coordinator can provide some hands-on support and advice on your marketing campaign.
Request support with marketing campaign.
Develop Your Presenting Skills
Throughout the year, we offer free in-person and online workshops, as well as other targeted programs like mentorships. These are tailored to community presenters and include topics such as marketing, volunteer management, and strategic planning, among others.
Check out our current development opportunities.
For one-on-one support, our Connecting Places Manager is available for consultations. You can contact us for advice in relation to presenting shows at your venue. No strings attached. Reach out and we’ll do our best to help you!
For Artists & Producers
Artists that tour with this program enjoy connecting with audiences in small regional communities and are supported by Regional Arts Victoria’s tour coordination service: we gather interest from presenters, manage contracting and invoices, and book travel and accommodation on behalf of artists and producers.
If you’re a performing artist that’s interested in touring with us, check out our information page for touring artists.
Stay in Touch
We regularly share information and resources to keep community presenters up to date with emerging issues and relevant opportunities. Join our Community Presenter ENews mailing list to stay connected!
Previous Programs
- 2020/2021 Connecting Places Program (
1.5mb) - 2019 Connecting Places Program ( 839kb)
- 2018 Connecting Places Program ( 2.8mb)
Couldn’t Do It Without Them
Our 2022 Connecting Places program is proudly supported by:
