In 2025 the Live Performance Committee was busy with a lot of work being done negotiating with industry bodies that have the potential to influence the way we work as designers. This work is continuing in 2026, as well as the formulation of ready-to-use rate cards to assist designers in negotiating a fee fee for our work.
We have negotiated with ANZSCO to have designers properly identified in census surveys; we have collaborated with other industry guilds to make submissions to the Senate Estimates Commission Hearing on AI and met with the Productivity Commission to argue the case for why Australian designers should retain copyright in their work, and should not be signed over to the AI multinationals.
We have engaged with Prague Quadrennial to interview and select a curatorial team for the Australian submission to 2027 PQ and have selected APDG members Richard Roberts and Christina Smith to lead the Australian exhibition; we are in conversation with the Society of British Theatre Designers (SBTD – the UK equivalent of the APDG) sharing resources and conferring on issues – yes, low fees are the major concern for them too); we have initiated discussion with the MEAA (the union that represents LP designers) to investigate the viability of getting an Award for designers to protect minimum pay and conditions.
Continuing with the topic of fair pay, the Committee is in the process of investigating ways we can market ‘Fair rates for Designers’ beyond the current tables of fair fees we publish in the Live Performance Design Guidelines. A draft of Rates Cards has progressed and the next step is to check weekly rates against designers’ lived experience to check that we get the balance right between being realistic and not underselling designers’ labour. We are also planning a rates card for designers working in the unsubsidised independent sector, with a rate that reflects that sector. We are keen to hear from designers who would like to join us in this initiative.
We have also advocated for individual designers several times over the year. While this work is largely invisible, I see it as one of the guild’s most important functions – being able to add weight to the case of a designer who is dealing with unfair conditions.
All of this takes time, and I am grateful to all of the members of the LP Committee for their generosity in coming to meetings and providing invaluable guidance on all of these issues along the way. We meet via Zoom every three months. The less formal nature of these meetings allows for lively discussion about the issues facing live performance designers and helps to inform the National Executive policies that affect live performance set, costume, lighting and video designers.
I thank all of the members of the Live Performance Committee for their thoughtful contributions, and welcome any designers who would like to join the committee. Live Performance Committee members: Anna Cordingley, Anna Tregloan, Ben Hughes, Christina Smith, Casey van Sebille, Eamon d’Arcy, Imogen Ross, Isabel Hudson, Cris Baldwin, Tobhi Stone Feller, Jennifer Irwin, Charlotte Lane, Simone Romanuik, Ella Butler, Geoff Cobham
Upcoming 2026 Live Performance Committee Meeting Dates (7:30 – 9:30pm via Zoom)
- Tuesday May 19
- Tuesday August 18
- Tuesday November 17
Lastly, a big congratulations to Lighting Designer Spencer Herd who is the recipient of the 2026 Kristian Fredrikson Scholarship. Spencer is a multidisciplinary lighting designer and artist working across all forms of live performance including theatre, contemporary circus, cabaret, concerts and events. Spencer intends to use the scholarship to travel to The United Kingdom to develop and expand his skills.
– Stephen Curtis, Chair, Live Performance Committee
Image: Set, Prop and Costume Design by APDG Outstanding Student Certificate Recipient Ella Wilkinson, ‘Peter Pan’ NIDA Spring Playseason, 2025. Adapted and Directed by Benjamin Schostakowski. Photo: Brett Boardman