AusStage
Type of site | Online database, information repository, relational database |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | Consortium of institutions headed by Flinders University |
URL | https://www.ausstage.edu.au/ |
Commercial | No |
Launched | 2003 (prototype 2002) |
Current status | Online |
OCLC number | 855153043 |
Dataset of live events in Australia since 1789, excluding music-only events. |
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up until the present day. The only repository of Australian performing arts in the world, it is managed by a consortium of universities, government agencies, industry organisations and arts institutions, and mostly funded by the Australian Research Council. Created in 2000, the database contained more than 250,000 records by 2018.
History
The AusStage project was instigated by the
The purpose was to address a gap in accessible information about events and resources in the area of Australian theatre, drama and performance studies, by creating an online database of events in Australia, with indexes to access it, and also to provide a type of online catalog, or directory, of research resources of many types held across the country. The plan was to first combine existing data from the participating universities, and then expand over time, allowing for further data to be input.[2]
In Phase 2, from 2003 to 2005, the project was expanded, with more funding from ARC and Curtin University joining the group. The database was reorganised and the interface improved, but the main effort was put into data entry, with the number of entries expanding from 7,000 to 35,000.[2]
The project continued through several more phases, which included sub-projects on specific aspects, funded by various sources. In Phase 6 (2017-2018), the aim has been to build a visual interface, using new
Partners and collaborators
As of August 2019[update], partners in the project are the Association of Performing Arts Collections (APAC), Flinders University, University of Queensland,
Project advisors come from
Past partners, advisors and collaborators have included staff and/or funding from the
There is a small team of volunteers at the NLA who have been researching and adding data from the library's PROMPT Collection (digitised in
Content and description
The database provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today,[11] searchable by playwright, venue, company, director and other categories. A team of people working around the country have indexed articles from journals such as the Australia and New Zealand Theatre Record as well as archived theatre programmes[1] and other printed and electronic materials.[4]
The first recorded theatre production staged in Australia, performed in the same year as the convict settlement was founded in Port Jackson, 1789, and put on by convicts in a hut, with Captain Arthur Phillip in the audience, is included in the database.[12]
Coverage includes all performing arts events (including theatre, music,
As of January 2018[update], AusStage contained more than 250,000 records, and has become a valuable resource for thousands of people who have an interest in researching Australian theatre companies, events, directors and anything else to do with the performing arts, for whatever reason.[12]
As examples of its many uses, one researcher used AusStage to geographically map different
In 2021, AusStage was welcomed to the UNESCO
Funding
As of January 2018[update] AusStage had received funding from the Australian Research Council, the National eResearch Architecture Taskforce (Nectar), the Australian National Data Service (the latter two being divisions of the Australian Research Data Commons since 2018) and the Australian Access Federation, but as its size has grown, so has its costs. The managers do not want to make it a subscription-only database, as this would contravene the spirit of its creation. It has received major funding from the University of Melbourne Library, the University of Wollongong Library, the UNSW Library and Flinders’ Central Library, but as of 2018[update] it needed to raise A$200,00 per annum to maintain the resource, so additional donations by university libraries and individual donors were being sought.[12]
See also
- Flinders University AusStage Prize
- Internet Broadway Database
- Internet Off-Broadway Database
Footnotes
- Seaborn, Broughton & Walford Foundation Archives and Library collection.[10]
References
- ^ ISSN 1039-3498.
- ^ a b c d "Project History". AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ Bollen, Jonathan; Harvey, Neal; Holledge, Julie; McGillivray, Glen (April 2009). "AusStage: E-Research in the Performing Arts". Australasian Drama Studies (54). Retrieved 13 August 2019.
- ^ a b Foster, Chris (12 April 2001). "AusStage National Performing Arts Database". The Wolanski Foundation Project. The Wolanski Foundation. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ "LE210100007 — Flinders University - AusStage Phase 7: The international breakthrough". Grants Data Portal. Australian Research Council. 2021. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
- ^ "Performing Arts Heritage Network". Australian Museums and Galleries Association. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "Partners and staff". AusStage. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ Daniels, Yole (13 September 2022). "The twists and turns of AusStage". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "Australian Live Performance Database (AusStage)". Australian Memory of the World. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ "The J.C. Williamson Distributed Collection". Australian Memory of the World. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Bollen, Jonathan; Harvey, Neal; Holledge, Julie; McGillivray, Glen (April 2009). "AusStage: e-Research in the Performing Arts". Australasian Drama Studies. 54: 178–194. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "The world's largest directory of Australian stage performances, AusStage, is under threat". Daily Review. 15 January 2018. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
- ^ "Browse". AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ "Search". AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Australian Live Performance Database (AusStage)". UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Program. Australian National Committee for UNESCO. 2021.
- ^ Clayton, Jane (15 January 2018). "World's largest record of Australian performing arts in funding jeopardy". InDaily. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
Further reading
- Burvill, Tom; Seton, Mark (January 2014). "Access to digitized performance documentation and the AusStage database". Studies in Theatre and Performance. 30 (3): 305–321. S2CID 62545487.