1 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
vision, mission, values
vision
Polyglot’s vision is of a future where children are
empowered artistically, socially and culturally.
mission
Placing kids at the heart of our art, Polyglot creates
interactive experiences which ignite imaginations
everywhere from tiny Australian country towns to the
world’s leading centres for the arts.
values• aCCessiBiliTY to our audiences in price, place
and process.
• CollaBoRaTion with children and peers in our
creative processes, encouraging partnerships.
• DiveRsiTY of audiences and participants, activity
and income.
• eXCellenCe in process, production, performance
and operations.
• BRaveRY in our work to enable new discoveries.
• PlaYFulness in artistic discovery and in
operations, having as much fun as possible in the
process.
• ResouRCeFulness in order to make seemingly
impossible things happen.
• ResPeCT for our artists, audiences, colleagues,
and for the insights of children.
• susTainaBiliTY of operations, of artistic work and
of the planet.
2012 staff list simon abrahams Executive Producer / co-CEO (to March)
Tamara Harrison Executive Producer / co-CEO (from July)
sue Giles Artistic Director / co-CEO
adi Diner Associate Producer / General Manager (from August)
imbi neeme Administrator
scott Dunsdon Marketing & Communications Coordinator (to August)
Catherine French
Marketing & Communications Coordinator
(from September)
Julie Wright Operations Coordinator
Cathy Kirwan
Philanthropy Manager (to December)
Fleur Brett Bookkeeper (contract)
Ts Publicity Publicists (contract)
2012 Board of Directors
Julia White Chair (from June)
angela o’Brien General Secretary
Johanna Platt Treasurer
Dr. Patricia edgar am Tom Gutteridge David Hanrahan Rhiannon Keen Richard Roberts Jamie Dawson
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 2
Polyglot Theatre is an internationally renowned
creator of interactive experiences for children and
families, inspiring kids to turn the simplest things into
extraordinary creations. At Polyglot, theatre is child’s
play.
Polyglot’s artists are inspired by the artwork, play
and ideas of children and our works feature active
participation from audience members through
touch, play and encounter. Our artistic works
respond to the childhood need for experiences
that encourage free artistic expression and an
imaginative interpretation of the world. We seek to
challenge, to foster curiosity and to inspire.
For over 30 years, Polyglot has been recognised as
one of Australia’s leading children’s arts companies.
We make new theatre work, present performances,
run workshops and community projects in Melbourne
and around Australia. In recent years, the company
has been in demand internationally, performing in
five languages in ten countries on four continents.
We have played at some of the world’s most
prestigious arts centres – from the Sydney Opera
House, to London’s Royal National Theatre, to
Washington’s Kennedy Center, to the National
Theatres of Korea and China.
Feed The art
Feed The Art is Polyglot’s
model for appraising,
critiquing and valuing our work,
creating and fostering a holistic
culture of outstanding theatre making.
Feed The Art includes the following five steps:
• CHilDRen’s inPuT engaged throughout the
creative process
• ConneCTion WiTH PeeRs through conversation,
seeing work, and artistic exchange.
• CaTalYsT aRTisTs, who contribute new ideas
to provide provocation and push the artform
development throughout the creation process
• CRiTiCism through invited external responses
from experts who look at our work with a
specialised lens
• ConTinual imPRovemenT is sought through
ongoing skills development and a commitment
to excellence, so we never stop learning.
Feed The Art is a major component of Polyglot’s
Artistic Vibrancy model, designed to assess the
quality, relevance and success of our artistic
program.
aBouT PolYGloT
3 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
2012 was a year of internal evolution and change
for Polyglot. An increase in touring, the creation and
world premiere of two new works, and the successful
delivery of two community projects and a major
school residency, resulted in one of the busiest years
we’ve had. At the end of the year we had played to
over 90,000 people in 6 different countries.
We were sad to say farewell to Simon Abrahams
after four and a half years at the helm with
Sue Giles. With their leadership, Polyglot
traversed uncharted territory which helped reshape
the direction of the company.
Tamara Harrison was appointed to the company
as Executive Producer, bringing a wealth of
experience and energy with her from her position
at Malthouse Theatre. Tamara joined Sue Giles as
co-CEO, continuing the successful management
model implemented several years ago. We also
welcomed Catherine French as our new Marketing
& Communications Coordinator, Emma Dodd as
Production Manager, and Adi Diner took on the
newly created position of General Manager.
New energy was brought to the Board with Dr.
Patricia Edgar AM, Jamie Dawson and Rhiannon
Keen joining our dedicated team. Their different
areas of expertise have bought further support
to the small Polyglot team, and we thank all the
Board for their guidance and advocacy in this
busy year. Moving into 2013 we bid farewell to two
longstanding Board members, David Hanrahan and
Richard Roberts. Both brought a wealth of skills and
experience to the table and provided invaluable
advice and leadership over their board terms.
The steady investment from our long term partners
of Arts Victoria, City of Melbourne and City of
Stonnington has provided a consistent base to
our core operations. In 2012 we were fortunate
to receive the support of a number of trusts and
foundations which had a huge impact on our ability
to deliver two well received community projects -
Expecting Something? engaged new young and
expecting mothers with their local communities in
Gippsland; Tangle MOTION won a VicHealth Award
for its activation of communities through creativity.
Both Australia Council and Arts Victoria were
crucial in assisting the company’s international tours
including a showcase performance of Tangle at the
prestigious Lincoln Center in New York.
We also thank our donors and Ambassador program
supporters who made a difference to our creation
of new work. With How High The Sky Polyglot made
its very first work for younger children – babies under
1 year old – and their carers. It premiered to great
success at the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
We thank especially the continued support of Miss
Betty Amsden OAM, Patron of our Ambassadors’
Circle, as well as Daniel and Danielle Besen for their
involvement in this project.
The end of the year saw the company invest back
into reserves with the added security of confirming
Emerging Key Organisational support from the
Australia Council for the next triennium.
On behalf of the Polyglot Board, I thank all of our
partners and the tirelessly devoted Polyglot Team
for propelling the company forward and the
unswerving, ever enthusiastic and artful direction of
our Artistic Director Sue Giles.
Julia White
Chair
CHaiR’s RePoRT
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 4
Ceo’s RePoRT
The creative force that is Polyglot, never ONCE
flagged during 2012!
Despite executive changeover and increased
activity across the whole organisation, our staff and
artists continued to deliver and create fun, inspiring,
ambitious and unique performances and workshops
to our every growing audience of kids and families
around the world.
Special mention in 2012 goes to the team of
dedicated artists who have stepped up to
operate independently, working to the company’s
philosophy in Australia and overseas, bringing skill,
professionalism and a joyful spirit of adventure to our
many public events.
Tangle started the year at Sydney Festival and then
played Art Centre Melbourne, APAM in Adelaide,
Morwell, Darwin, Lincoln Center in New York,
Shepparton and Melbourne Museum – a glorious
mix of local, national and international presentations
that has become the hallmark of our Play Space
projects. On top of that we developed a fascinating
model of community process around the touring
works, with the VicHealth supported Tangle MOTION
project taking us to regional areas.
We Built This City was discovered by new audiences
in New Zealand, USA, Brisbane, Korea and Hobart,
continuing the breadth of reach of this now 11 year
old project. Paper Planet transformed the public
spaces at Casula Powerhouse in Sydney and the
Smorgon Family Plaza at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Sticky Maze attracted over 20,000 people at the Out
Of The Box Festival in Brisbane. It then went to the
desert in Newman WA before finishing a fabulous
year in Taipei at the National Theatre of Taiwan.
Our new play space project Ants wowed them at
Federation Square in July and together with outer
west school children we created 24 tent worlds en
masse at Campbelltown Arts Centre with a new
project My Tiny World.
After a three year development process we
presented the world premiere of How High The Sky,
our unique performance for babies under 12 months
old, in a triumphant season at Arts Centre Melbourne
as part of the Melbourne International Arts Festival.
It was also the year that Expecting Something? -
our artistic process with young pregnant women
in Gippsland – found new ways to reach out and
engage those who are isolated in the community.
In 2012, a classic hit was revived as Muckheap
was re-invented as an Auslan/English production
and through philanthropic support, toured regional
schools for free.
We also created a beautiful walk-through installation
with school children from our extended school
residency at Mahogany Rise Primary School in
Frankston North called Knock, Knock! Who’s There?
We roved with our puppets, we ran workshops with
schools and commissioned independent evaluation
reports on elements of our program and we also
won a VicHealth Building Health Through Arts Award
for the Tangle MOTION project. How High The Sky
received a special mention as one of two shortlisted
5 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
companies at the Age Critics’ Awards. Media
coverage was excellent, industry word on the street
even better.
The company goes from strength to strength and with
good humour, bundles of creativity and extraordinary
passion and commitment at its centre. We thank
all our government and philanthropic partners, our
Ambassador Program donors led by the one and
only Miss Betty Amsden OAM, and all the partnerships
that enable us to have such impact with our work,
and to dream as big as we do!
To our extremely hard working staff and artists, our
admiration and gratitude continues – you are also
the heart of our art!
Tamara Harrison Executive Producer/ co-CEO
Ceo’s RePoRT
Sue Giles Artistic Director/ co-CEO
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 6
• Polyglot gave 362 performances of seven
extant works and two new works, facilitated two
community engagement residencies, undertook
three creative developments and led 177
workshops, reaching over 90,000 people in six
different countries
• Our first work for babies How High the Sky
premiered at Melbourne International Arts
Festival to critical acclaim and a sold out season
• We Built This City celebrated 11 years touring
around the world including Melbourne’s Arts
Centre, Federation Square, The Royal National
Theatre, the Kennedy Centre Washington, and
performances across England, Ireland, Scotland,
Singapore, Korea, North America and Australia
• Muckheap has toured continuously for ten
years in three languages (English, Auslan and
Mandarin-Chinese), with an estimated 90,000
children having seen the work to date – in 2013 it
embarks on a national Australian tour
• Tangle MOTION, a partnership between Polyglot,
VicHealth, Kinship Care and Berry Street
Playgroups received the VicHealth Motion
Award for Building Health Through the Arts
• Tangle premiered at the prestigious Lincoln
Center in New York
• Polyglot partnered with Lord Mayor’s Charitable
Fund, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust, the Ian
Potter Foundation and Australia Council for
the Arts to deliver a long-term community
engagement program for young mothers and
their babies in Gippsland, Expecting Something?
YeaR in RevieW 2012
7 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
anTsAnts brings human-sized ants into a public site
for a mix of roving performance and large scale
interaction with children and their adults.
Giant crumbs are scattered all over the ground in
public spaces. The Ants are there to collect their
winter food and make order out of the random
scattering of crumbs. Children gradually follow
the Ants in their endeavor, bringing them crumbs
and laying them in patterns that stretch across the
landscape like mystical messages, interrupting the
desire lines that adults construct around them of
paths and points from A to B.
Soon the entire area is a hive of industrious activity
as the children learn to interact with these gentle
creatures, following the ants’ lead as they in turn are
inspired by the children’s ideas. Breadcrumbs are
stacked and ordered, organised and re-ordered in a
never ending cycle of playful work.
KeY aCTiviTies
Creative DevelopmentDevelopment dates: 14 May & 15 May
number of workshops: 2
Total Participants: 84
Creative Collaborators: Stonnington Primary School, Windsor
Currajong Primary School, Malvern East
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Nick Barlow, Vanessa
Ellis, Katrina Gaskell, Sue Giles, Dan Goronszy, Steph
O’Hara, Emily Tomlins
PerformancesPerformance dates: 2 July – 8 July
number of performances: 39
Total audience: 5850
venue: Federation Square, Melbourne
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Nick Barlow, Dan
Goronszy, Emily Tomlins
FunDinG suPPoRTCommissioned by Federation Square
“ants is a play
space with a
difference.”
– Herald Sun 2012
neW WoRK DeveloPmenT anD PResenTaTion
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 8
How High the Sky is an immersive theatrical experience for pre-walking babies and their parents and carers.
The performance is a dual experience for adult and child that takes the audience into a sense-surround experience of lightness and dream-like images, gradually peeling away the logic of narrative to allow adults to absorb images with as open a mind as a baby.
It explores the questions - is it possible for adults to perceive the world as babies do? How often do we get an opportunity to really value and even be influenced by a baby’s unadulterated wonder?
HoW HiGH THe sKY
“it was the kind of
wonder that you so
rarely see in a theatre
but it’s what you want
from an experience
of art. a beautiful,
beautiful joyous
experience”
- John Bailey
KeY aCTiviTies
showcaseDevelopment dates: 20 January
number of performances: 1
Total audience: 50
venue: State Rehearsal Room, Arts Centre, Melbourne
Key artists: Nick Barlow, David Franzke, Sue Giles,
Andrew Livingston, Emily O’Brien, Anna Tregloan,
Emily Tomlins, Gerard Van Dyck, Jessica Wilson
PerformancesPerformance dates: 19 October - 28 October
number of performances: 18
Total audience: 619
venue: Arts Centre Melbourne as part of Melbourne
International Arts Festival
Key artists: Penny Baron, Marco Cher-Gibard, David
Franzke, Michelle Heaven, Sue Giles, Rita Khayat,
Andrew Livingston, Emily O’Brien, Anna Tregloan,
Emily Tomlins, Gerard Van Dyck, David Wells, Jessica
Wilson
FunDinG suPPoRTAustralia Council for the Arts
(Theatre Board and Music Board)
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust
Arts Centre Melbourne
Miss Betty Amsden OAM
Daniel and Danielle Besen
9 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
mY TinY WoRlD
My Tiny World saw Polyglot artists working with local
school children from six schools in Sydney’s west
at Campbelltown Arts Centre to create a process
culminating in a festival installation of 24 small
painted dome tents.
Children were asked to dream up different interior
worlds within each tent, under the artwork title My Tiny World. The tents explore the idea of a temporary
home and a world where the boundary between
what is permanent and what will disappear the next
day are blurred.
Working with 110 school children, four artists, a
sculpture garden and 24 small dome tents in one
week, we created a camping site of tiny individual
worlds inside brilliantly painted skins. On the festival
weekend for Fisher’s Ghost Kids Polyglot were also
part of the street parade and took over the sculpture
garden with My Tiny World tents.
KeY aCTiviTies
WorkshopsDates: 30 October – 1 November
number of workshops: 6
number of participants: 110
venue: Campbelltown Arts Centre
Key artists: Sue Giles, Dan Goronszy, Steph O’Hara,
Stefanie Robinson
Public outcomes Public outcome dates: 3 November – 4 November
number of performances: 2
Total audience: 7,200
venue: Campbelltown Arts Centre
Key artists: Sue Giles, Dan Goronszy, Steph O’Hara,
Stefanie Robinson FunDinG suPPoRTCommissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 10
sePaRaTion sTReeT
Separation Street is a large-scale experiential theatre
work exploring the blurred line between dreaming/
reality and truth/fabrication. It works with perspective
and information, acknowledging that our
understanding of the world is affected by everything
we hear and by the people whose authority we
accept. Participants undertake one of two distinct
journeys, with adults following one path and children
another.
This new experiential theatre work, a collaboration
between Polyglot Theatre and The Suitcase Royale,
is also in creative development throughout 2013-14
and will premiere in 2015.
KeY aCTiviTies
Creative Development:
Development Dates: 18 July, 13 - 14 November
venue: Cromwell Road Theatre
Key artists: Marg Horwell, Sue Giles, Joseph O’Farrell,
Miles O’Neil, Glen Walton
11 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
“i have never felt string
that was so elasticy in
my whole life. i have
learnt that just some
simple balls of string
can be soooo cool.”
– Eve, 10
TanGleTouRinG RePeRToiRe
Tangle is a large scale, interactive elastic weaving
event created live by children and their families. It’s
part live visual art installation, part performance,
part playground and all fun. On giant peg board
platforms, where slim golden poles tower above,
children and families create a multi-coloured
landscape together, threading elastic around the
poles and each other until the space becomes
dense and difficult to traverse, creating a stretchy
bouncy playground, fuelled by live music. Tangle is a wonderful world where children take control and
everyone creates a spectacular abstract artwork.
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
sydney Festival Performance dates: 7 January
number of performances: 1
Total audience: 1,083
venue: Hyde Park, Sydney
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Nick Barlow, Sue Giles,
Felicity Horsley, Justin Marshall, Julie Wright (PM)
arts Centre melbournePerformance dates: 18 – 22 January
number of performances: 15
Total audience: 4,602
venue: Forecourt, Arts Centre Melbourne
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Nick Barlow, Sabrina
D’Angelo, Felicity Horsley, Sarah Kriegler, Lachlan
Macleod, Justin Marshall, Emily O’Brien, Jess Smithett,
Glen Walton, Justine Warner
australian Performing arts market (aPam)Performance dates: 28 February
number of performances: 4
Total audience: 205
venue: Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Emma Dodd, Lachlan
Macleod, Justin Marshall, Astrid Pill, Tamara Rewse,
singapore international arts Festival
Performance dates: 18 May – 2 June
number of performances: 46
Total audience: 5,270
venue: Rainbow Canopy, Festival Village, Singapore
Key artists: Sabrina D’Angelo, Sue Giles, Lachlan
Macleod, Justin Marshall, Emily O’Brien, Justine
lincoln Center for the performing artsPerformance dates: 26 – 29 July
number of performances: 20
Total audience: 3,556
venue: Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Center, New
York
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Emma Dodd, Lachlan
Macleod, Bree-Anna Obst, Ania Reynolds, Laura
Sheedy.
Darwin FestivalPerformance dates: 12 August – 17 August
number of performances: 7
Total audience: 1,670
venue: Festival Park, Darwin
Key artists: Sabrina D’Angelo, Emma Dodd, Felicity
Horsley, Lachlan Macleod, Benjamin Morrison, Kyle
Warren
FunDinG suPPoRTArts Victoria International Program (Export & Touring)
Australia Council for the Arts (Going Global)
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 12
PaPeR PlaneT
Paper Planet is a constantly evolving artistic
work created live by Polyglot Theatre artists,
children and their families using the simplest
of materials: paper and cardboard. Moving
beyond audience participation, Paper Planet is experiential, tangible and wholly immersive; a
world filled with tall, strange cardboard trees, paper
leaves, boulders, ponds and other mysterious shapes
that inhabit this imaginary world. Visitors populate
the space with their own creations and rustling
paper selves, making fantastical costumes, flora
and fauna out of paper, tape and their own nimble
fingers.
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
Way out West FestivalPerformance dates: 11 July – 14 July
number of performances: 16
Total audience: 1,206
venue: Casula Powerhouse, Sydney
Key artists: Nick Barlow, Anneli Dyall, Dan Goronszy,
Madeleine Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Winter Humphrey,
Mischa Long, Stefanie Robinson
arts Centre melbourne Performance dates: 26 September – 30 September
number of performances: 5
Total audience: 1,536
venue: Smorgon Family Plaza, Arts Centre Melbourne
Key artists: Penelope Bartlau, Anneli Dyall, Madeleine
Flynn, Tim Humphrey, Rita Khayat, Stef Robinson, Glen
Walton
FunDinG suPPoRTOriginally commissioned by Federation Square
13 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
The edgePerformance dates: 18 April – 21 April
number of performances: 11
Total audience: 2,051
venue: The Edge, Auckland
Key artists: Danielle Goronszy, Felicity Horsley, Mischa
Long, Lachlan Macleod, Tam Pay
usa TourPerformance dates: 1 October – 7 October
number of performances: 18
Total audience: 3,298
venues: Scottsdale Center, Arizona
Walton Arts Center, Arkansas
Discovery Green, Texas
Key artists: Emma Dodd, Mischa Long, Glen Walton,
Bree-Anna Obst, Stefanie Robinson
Busan Cinema ComplexPerformance dates: 26 May – 31 May
number of performances: 23
Total audience: 1,640
venue: Busan Cinema Complex, Busan
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Emma Dodd, Dan
Goronszy, Paul Matthews, David Pidd, Zoe Williams
We BuilT THis CiTY
We Built This City is an interactive play space for
families which celebrates absolute simplicity and
the power of children’s imaginations. A giant public
construction site, We Built This City uses thousands
and thousands of cardboard boxes and the
energy and ingenuity of kids and families to build a
magnificent imagined city in one day.
Buildings go up, others are pulled down, redesigned,
extended, walked through and reconstructed. The
participants make tunnels, archways, towers and
labyrinths. At the end of the event, we ritualistically
build a final cityscape, using every box in the space,
and then everyone joins in trampling the city down
into a gloriously chaotic heap of cardboard rubble.
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 14
out of the Box FestivalPerformance dates: 13 June – 17 June
number of performances: 20
Total audience: 2,107
venue: Cultural Forecourt, Southbank, Brisbane
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Penelope Bartlau, Emma
Dodd, Danielle Goronszy, Rolando de Leon DJ, David
Pidd
south Korea TourPerformance dates: 1 October – 7 October
number of performances: 10
Total audience: 3,426
venues: Garden 5 Festival, Garden 5 Square, Seoul
Hi-Seoul Festival, Seoul Plaza, Seoul
Key artists: Emma Dodd, Mischa Long, Lachlan
Macleod, Bree-Anna Obst, Zoe Williams
Hobart Theatre Royal Birthday CelebrationsPerformance dates: 10 & 11 November
number of performances: 4
Total audience: 2,748
venues: Theatre Royal, Hobart
Key artists: Penny Bartlau, Emma Dodd, Dan
Goronszy, David Pidd, Glen Walton
FunDinG suPPoRTArts Victoria International Program (Export & Touring)
Australia Council for the Arts (Going Global)
“i got to
build a big
tunnel.”
- Ella, 6
15 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
out of the Box FestivalPerformance dates: 12 June – 17 June
number of performances: 38
Total audience: 23,088
venue: Cultural Forecourt, Southbank, Brisbane
Key artists: Tirese Ballard, Bronwyn Batten, Sam
Bennellick-Jones, Mischa Long, Justin Marshall,
Lachlan Macleod, Amie Moffat, Robbie O’Brien
outback Fusion Festival
Performance dates: 8 September
number of performances: 1
Total audience: 790
venue: Newman Senior High School Oval, Newman
Key artists: Tirese Ballard, Bronwyn Batten, Emma
Dodd, Lachlan Macleod, Stefanie Robinson, Glen
Walton
national Chiang Kai-shek Cultural CenterPerformance dates: 27 October
number of performances: 4
Total audience: 600
venue: Main Plaza, National Chiang Kai-Shek Cultural
Center, Taipei
Key artists: Tirese Ballard, Bronwyn Batten, Emma
Dodd, Mischa Long, Justin Marshall, David Pidd
sTiCKY maZe“polyglot is the
best. i went in
a sticky maze!”
- Liza, 9
Sticky Maze is an interactive play space for kids of
all ages where simple and everyday materials are
used to transform public spaces into a labyrinth of
fun. Kids and adults enter a see-through maze made
out of straight upright poles and walls of clear sticky
tape which mark out the twists and turns of a maze
structure. From this see-through, shimmery beginning,
the participants are invited to ‘colour in’ the walls
by sticking newspaper onto the tape. Gradually
the walls become filled in, creating the ultimate
bewildering maze. There are drawing stations outside
the maze, providing materials to draw pictures,
write messages and directions that are also stuck to
the maze walls. The task is huge and gradually the
children explore further and further the potential of
the maze, creating games and tasks for themselves
and their friends: hiding, chasing and tricking others.
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 16
muCKHeaP auslan
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
victorian metropolitan & Regional schools TourPerformance dates: 10 March – 24 March
number of performances: 11
Total audience: 1,565
venues: Bendigo Deaf Facility at Kennington
Primary School, Kennington
Currajong Primary School, Malvern East
Cromwell Road Theatre, South Yarra
Furlong Park School for Deaf Children, Sunshine
Gaslight Festival, Maldon
Horsham Primary School, Horsham
Victorian College for the Deaf, Melbourne
Wilmot Primary School, Craigieburn
FunDinG suPPoRTAustralian Communities Foundation
Besen Family Foundation
Ivor Ronald Evans Foundation
Jack Brockhoff Foundation
“perfectly
bilingual,
gorgeously
visual, funny
and engaging”
– Anna Vost,
participant
Muckheap Auslan is a re-invention of an enduring
Polyglot classic, Muckheap, first created in 2001. This
production took the original touring script and with
the help and consultation of children from Furlong
Park School for Deaf Children, changed it into a
Deaf/hearing compatible work that toured for free
to Victorian schools.
Muckheap is a fun and fantastically messy tale of
two people who have to move out of their house
and must throw away the accumulated junk of
years to do so. As a way of coping they find stories
embedded in their clean out, including a re-telling
of Jack and the Beanstalk, with a twist that mirrors
their own situation. The play uses physical action,
comedy, puppetry, signing and vocal delivery,
all beautifully combined to make a third, new
language.
17 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PeRFoRmanCe DeTails
national Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Centerinternational venue: Main Plaza, National Chiang
Kai-Shek Cultural Center, Taipei
number of performances: 5
Total audience: 1,000
Key artists: Christian Bagin, Emma Dodd, Bruce
Paterson, Justine Warner
RovinG aCTs
Polyglot’s Roving Acts continue to be popular
activities for audiences and our artists. These
beautifully realised puppets activate large public
spaces and provide interactive engagement with
audiences.
national Performancesaustralian venues: Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne
Piers Festival, Port Melbourne
University of Melbourne, Parkville
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation ‘Youth in
Philanthropy Day’, Melbourne Town Hall, Melbourne
Picnic in the Gardens Festival, Albury
Manningham Multicultural Festival, Doncaster
number of performances: 29
Total audience: 7,606
Key artists: Nick Barlow, Penelope Bartlau, Danielle
Goronszy, Mischa Long, Lachlan MacLeod, Stefanie
Robinson
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 18
Polyglot’s workshops continue to foster important
relationships with schools and other artists. Our
junk workshops remained very popular and we had
the opportunity to tailor some of our processes to
particular requests from schools and organisations.
In 2012 our workshops included: Junk Puppetry, Rod
Puppetry, Shadow Puppetry, Classroom Blitz.
naTional anD inTeRnaTional WoRKsHoPsvenues:Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne
Buxton Primary School, Buxton
Camp Blitz, Angelsea
Carnegie Library and Community Centre, Carnegie
Catholic Regional College, Keilor North
Croydon Leisure & Aquatic Centre, Croydon
Drama Victoria Workshop, James Forbes Academy,
Hawthorn
Greensborough Library, Greensborough
Haileybury College at Cromwell Rd Theatre, South
Yarra
Ivanhoe Library, Ivanhoe
Manchester Primary School, Mooroolbark
Mill Park Library, Mill Park
Methodist Ladies College Junior Campus, Kew
Penbank School, Moorooduc
Berry Street Offices, Morwell
Regional Arts Expo, Melbourne Exhibition Centre,
Southbank
Roola Boola Festival, Chapel-off-Chapel, Prahran
St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School, Keilor
St Christopher’s Primary School, Airport West
A Children’s Christmas & Carols in the Park, Ardrie
Park, Malvern East
Studio, National Theatre, Taipei
Wantirna Primary School, Wantirna
muCKHeaP auslan WoRKsHoPs
While touring Muckheap Auslan, the performers ran
creative workshops wherever this offer was taken up
by the schools.
muckheap auslan Workshopsvenues: Furlong Park School for Deaf Children, Sunshine
Gaslight Festival, Maldon
Horsham Primary School, Horsham
Victorian College for the Deaf, Melbourne
Wilmot Primary School, Craigieburn
number of workshops: 5
Total Participants: 204
Workshop artists: Jodee Mundy, David Pidd
FunDinG suPPoRT Australian Communities Foundation
Besen Family Foundation
Ivor Ronald Evans Foundation
Jack Brockhoff Foundation
WoRKsHoPs
Number of workshops: 70
Total Participants: 4,136
Workshop Artists: Nick Barlow, Penelope Bartlau, Dan
Goronszy, Mischa Long, Jodee Mundy, David Pidd,
Stefanie Robinson, Emily Tomlins, Justine Warner
19 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
eXPeCTinG someTHinG?
“i think from
being in the project
it’s made me more
confident in myself
and proud of myself
as a young mum,”
– Deanna Fear,
participant
KiDs in ConTRol
Expecting Something? is a project mobilising young
mothers to strengthen vital relationships with their
babies, family and community through creative play
and performance. Polyglot Theatre, in partnership
with Latrobe City Council, facilitated the project in
regional townships of the Latrobe Valley.
The project aimed to engage isolated or
disengaged young pregnant women and mothers
who accessed support programs through Berry
Street, Latrobe Community Health Service, Good
Beginnings, Anglicare, Central Gippsland Aboriginal
Health Services, Queen Elizabeth Centre, Quantum
Support Services, Head Space and Latrobe City
Council Enhanced Maternal Child Health Service.
These programs target children and families who had
significant support needs due to a range of factors
including mental illness, poverty and isolation from
family supports.
Expecting Something? included weekly workshops
involving the participants in art and creativity, that
produced a space where young mothers could
explore, make new connections, and develop their
parenting skills. This culminated in a Christmas party
and tactile interactive baby space created by the
participants and Polyglot.
This program is formally known as the Play Box Project.
KeY aCTiviTies
WorkshopsWorkshop dates: 21 June – 29 November
number of workshops: 31
average participants per workshop: 7venues: St Luke’s Church Hall, Morwell
Traralgon East Community Centre, Traralgon
Key artists: Lis Blake, Madeleine Flynn, Shaun
Gardiner, Tim Humphrey, Meg Viney, Claire van der
Velden, Jessica Wilson.
Public outcomeevent date: 6 December
Total Participants: 42
venue: Traralgon East Community Centre, Traralgon
Key artists: Lis Blake, Madeleine Flynn, Shaun
Gardiner, Tim Humphrey, Bree-Anna Obst, Claire van
der Velden, Jessica Wilson.
FunDinG suPPoRTAustralia Council for the Arts
(Projects with Public Outcomes)
Helen Macpherson Smith Trust
Ian Potter Foundation
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 20
TanGle moTion WinneR 2012 viCToRian HealTH PRomoTion FounDaTion aWaRDs – BuilDinG HealTH THRouGH THe aRTs
Tangle MOTION was a collaborative partnership
project between Polyglot Theatre, Berry Street, the
La Trobe Regional Gallery, Melbourne Museum, and
Shepparton Art Museum (SPP Kidstown). The project
included three multi arts based workshop programs
with early learning service providers, and preschool
aged children and their families who are part of Berry
Street’s supported playgroups. Three large-scale
public events were also presented based on the
Polyglot Tangle installation.
This project was a fascinating new direction for
the company, creating and producing tailored
explorative play sessions with playgroups across a
wide demographic and geographical area, working
with at risk families and non-arts goers, involving
these groups in specialised activities and then
hosting them for private sessions within the Tangle
event.
It was a discovery that connected our touring work
to a deeper process, up-skilled our artists and made
the touring relationship more attuned to cultural
exchange than to simply rolling out a show. Using
the materials of the work, the stretchy elastic and
the physical play, our artists explored the relationship
between parent and child, and sometimes between
grandparent and child, and how they played
together. The project took our team to at risk families
in Morwell, to the Sudanese community in Carlton
and to kinship care in Shepparton.
KeY aCTiviTies
moRWell
Professional Development WorkshopWorkshop date: 16 February
number of workshops: 1 number of Participants: 20 venues: Berry Street Offices, Morwell Key artists: Tamara Rewse, Justine Warner
Community Workshops Workshop dates: 6 March – 10 April
number of workshops: 5 average Participants per workshop: 22 venue: Noah’s Ark Children Research Centre, Morwell
Key artists: Tamara Rewse, Justine Warner
Public outcome Performance dates: 14 April & 15 April
number of performances: 5 Total audience: 538
venue: Latrobe Regional Gallery, Morwell
Key artists: Nick Barlow, Sabrina D’Angelo, Tamara
Rewse, Justine Warner, Julie Wright
21 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
“this is an
opportunity you
rarely get to do
since you can’t
do it at home or
anywhere else.”
- Bethany, 13
CaRlTon
Community Workshops Workshop dates: 11 September – 23 October number of workshops: 5
average Participants per workshop: 25 venue: Sacred Heart, Carlton Key artists: Tamara Rewse, Justine Warner
Public outcome Public outcome date: 24 October
number of performances: 3 Total audience: 900 venue: Romp & Stomp Festival, Melbourne Museum
Key artists: Sabrina D’Angelo, Dan Goronszy, Lachlan
Macleod, Jodee Mundy, Steph O’Hara, Julie Wright
sHePPaRTon
Professional Development WorkshopWorkshop date: 30 October
number of workshops: 1
number of Participants: 12
venues: sound Shell Queens Gardens, Shepparton
Key artist: Jodee Mundy
Community Workshops Workshop dates: 31 October – 21 November
number of workshops: 4 average Participants per workshop: 8 venue: Church Hall, Pine Road, Shepparton
Key artists: Jodee Mundy, Justine Warner
Public outcome Public outcome date: 24 & 25 November
number of performances: 5 Total audience: 399 venue: SPC Ardmona Kidstown, Shepparton Key artists: Emma Dodd, Lachlan Macleod, Justin
Marshall, Jodee Mundy, Bree-Anna Obst, Justine
Warner
FunDinG suPPoRTArts Victoria (Community Partnerships)
Berry Street
Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation
R.E. Ross Trust
VicHealth
TanGle moTion
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 22
KeY aCTiviTies
Workshops Workshop dates: 28 March – 16 August
number of workshops: 46
average participants per workshop: 25
venue: Mahogany Rise Primary School, Frankston
Key artists: Nick Barlow, Lis Blake, Kate Kantor, Carla
Ori, Zak Pidd, Jacob Williams
opening night Performance Performance date: 31 August
number of performances: 1
Total audience: 250
venue: Mahogany Rise Primary School, Frankston
Key artists: Nick Barlow, Lis Blake, Kate Kantor, Carla
Ori, Zak Pidd, Jacob Williams
exhibition exhibition dates: 3 September – 7 September
Mahogany Rise Primary School
10 September – 23 September
The Cube, Frankston Arts Centre
number of exhibition days: 19
Total audience: 1,700
FunDinG suPPoRTArts Victoria (Extended School Residencies)
Department of Education and Early Childhood
Development (Strategic Partnerships Program)
KnoCK, KnoCK! WHo’s THeRe?Knock, Knock! Who’s There? saw Polyglot Theatre
working closely with students from Mahogany
Rise Primary School to develop an interactive
multi-artform installation focusing on the theme of
transition.
The idea of transition – moving from place to place,
whether in geography or in your mind – is a powerful
one. It involves change and invokes fear, excitement,
anticipation and trepidation. This project fostered
a connection between two distinct age groups -
the youngest and the oldest in the school – finding
similarities in their feelings when exploring their
dreams, fears, challenges and hopes through
photography, animation and three dimensional
installation art.
Polyglot artists spent May to September 2012 at
the school. The first half of the project was spent
eliciting ideas and responses to materials, talking
and listening in groups and one-on-one, setting
up exercises that start each day across the whole
school, collecting information, drawings and art
works, exploring physical play and performative
styles. The creative process followed the impulses
of the children. The second half of the process was
spent drafting the final plan, creating the elements
of the work, finessing the images and animation
and setting up the aesthetic framework for two
installation outcomes.
Knock, Knock! Who’s There? followed the child-led
practice through to the creation of a walk through
installation maze for the whole school community
to enjoy. A pared down version of the installation
was produced for the general public at Frankston
Arts Centre, complementing the presentation at
Mahogany Rise Primary School.
“i’ve learnt
many new
things and
learnt to never
give up my
dreams.”
– Billie, 11
23 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
In 2012 Polyglot commissioned Dr. Ricci-Jane
Adams, research fellow at the Graduate School
of Education, University of Melbourne, to write an
independent evaluation of the social and cultural
impact of company’s 2012 extended school
residency project Knock, Knock! Who’s There?
This residency was curated with a Mahogany Rise
Primary School centring on themes of transition for
children in years prep/one and five/six.
The project’s aims were used to conduct the 2012
evaluation, these being:
1. Learning exchange between
teachers and artists.
2. Fostering a respectful relationship between
children, teachers and artists in the short
and long term.
3. Showcasing the school to the community.
4. Strengthening child participants’ literacy and
oral language skills through an art based activity.
5. Providing children with coping
mechanisms for change.
6. Increasing children’s self-esteem, ability to
contribute, ability to work as a team and
ability to work productively on their own.
7. Increasing children’s confidence in
their own creativity, defined by:
i. An ownership and pride in their own work
and an appreciation of others creative work
ii. Willingness to take risks, share ideas
and offer suggestions
evaluaTion PRoJeCT
KeyfindingsThe direct findings of the evaluation based on the
project aims are summarised below, grouped in
terms of the process, impact and outcome for the
stakeholders:
Process• The partnership successfully engaged all key
stakeholders in the delivery of the residency.
• Clear and regular communication, a mutual
respect, a willingness to learn from one another,
a diversity of skills and a supportive learning/
creative environment facilitated a relatively
stress-free and smooth partnership.
• In both year groups the majority of the students
demonstrated a genuine engagement with the
workshops and an enthusiasm to participate.
• Children were treated with respect and
encouraged to take the lead creatively in the
workshops.
• The twice weekly workshops functioned to
provide students with both breadth and depth
in the creative arts, as well as opportunities for
increasing social and emotional intelligence
in the young people in offering them ways of
learning and interacting outside of the usual
teaching environment.
“this partnership, in my
assessment, stands as a
model of best practice in not
only collaboration between
professional artists and
the education sector, but in
regards to the use of the arts in
achieving the core demands of
the curriculum”
– Dr. Ricci-Jane Adams
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 24
impact • The residency offered students - especially in the
senior class - coping mechanisms for change, an
increased confidence in themselves and their
fellow class mates, and a more coherent group
dynamic.
• Building trust steadily between students, teaching
staff and artists created a space where bold
student-led artistic exploration could take place.
• The younger students demonstrated increased
imaginative capabilities and a greater
vocabulary of ‘play’.
• Language and literacy skills for both the junior
and senior students were improved upon in
‘authentic’ and stimulating ways.
• The majority of teachers directly involved in the
residency reported that they were equipped with
new skills in regards to engaging their students,
and felt that they were able to see their students
with renewed enthusiasm as a result of the
workshops.
outcome• Several children in the year five/six group now
self-identify as creative people with a desire to
continue to pursue the creative arts in their adult
lives.
• All of the children reported gaining new skills and
discovering latent artistic talent.
• It is likely that these young people will continue
to feel confident to partake in creative activity
in high school, and with that feel a sense of
familiarity in an unfamiliar environment.
• Strengthening young people’s sense of
self facilitates a smoother transition for the
young person as they work to find a place for
themselves in this new landscape.
• The art based skills taken on by the teachers,
will ensure that those students who operate best
in imaginative (rather than cognitive) learning
environments will have the opportunity to excel.
• Strengthening individual teacher’s capacities to
teach through the use of the arts improves the
class room environment for everyone.
• Concluding the workshop process with the
final event in the school hall was vital to the
success of the residency, as it allowed students
the opportunity to experience a sense of
achievement, display their new artistic skills,
imaginative capacities and increasing self-
confidence.
• All students reported a sense of pride in
displaying the work to their family and friends.
• The broader community connection to the
school has been built upon allowing them to
experience the school in a unique and dynamic
way.
• The bonds between the school and the arts
organisation have been strengthened as a result
of this effective partnership, paving the way for
further collaboration in the future, something that
would immensely benefit the students.
“imagine if i
became one
of the polyglot
people.”
– Rosanna, 10.
25 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PolYGloT aRounD ausTRalia anD THe WoRlDPolyglot continued to travel far and wide in our
adventures in 2012. Our national development
strategy prioritises face to face meetings, which can
often occur at the same time as seasons of work.
In 2012 this activity included:
• Artistic Director Sue Giles and Executive Producer
Tamara Harrison visited Sydney for key meetings
with government funding bodies and some
presenters.
• Tamara attended the Association of Performing
Arts Centre’s Australia (APACA) conference and
Long Paddock in Darwin in August.
• Tamara accompanied the We Built This City tour
to Hobart to meet with Tasmanian presenters.
• Tamara attended the 2012 International
Association of Theatre for Children and Young
People (ASSITEJ) meeting in Okinawa Japan,
which coincided with the Kijimuna Children’s
Festival. Meetings were also held in Tokyo and
Taipei.
• Tamara attended the Performing Arts Market
Seoul (PAMS) which is the major performing arts
market event for the region.
• Sue & General Manager Adi Diner travelled to
New York when Polyglot presented a showcase
season of Tangle at the Lincoln Center, and
met with presenters who had flown in especially
to see the work, in addition to other New York
based presenters.
FunDinG suPPoRTDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Australia Council for the Arts
Arts Victoria
We thank you!
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 26
aRTs inDusTRY leaDeRsHiPArts Industry development, networking, employment
and leadership within our sector, remains a strength
of our activity within the arts community. There is a
growing recognition of our artistic practices and our
national and international reach.
Polyglot continues to organise the Artistic Director/
General Manager (AD/GM) network which meets
regularly to discuss issues relevant to small-to-medium
arts organisations and invites speakers from the
industry and beyond to meet the group and answer
questions. This network group forges valuable
connections between companies and is aimed at
sharing information and knowledge and providing
opportunities for conversation and potential
collaboration.
Young People and the Arts Australia (YPAA) invited
Sue Giles to be Keynote Speaker for the national
symposium held at Casula Powerhouse. Sue
delivered a paper on the subject of Speaking in
Tongues. Sue was also a guest speaker at The Boite
Annual General Meeting.
Simon Abrahams was part of the Australia Council’s
Emerging Leaders’ Development Program. Polyglot
also showcased Tangle and presented How High The Sky at Australian Performing Arts Market (APAM).
Tamara Harrison spent the first few months of her
tenure overseas at industry events ASSITEJ in Japan,
Korean PAMS and at the APACA gathering in Darwin,
making connections and getting to know the
industry. She also continued to work on the board of
Balletlab.
Sue undertook grant assessments for Arts Victoria
which gave a fantastic insight into the breadth of
artistic work in Victoria and the directions artists are
going in across artforms in terms of development of
new work.
We also continued our one-on-one artist support
program, offering advice to independent artists on
funding, touring, budgeting, and providing artistic
feedback on their work, as well as lending them
props, puppets, lights and giving them free and
discounted use of our venue. We wrote many letters
of support for artists across a year.
27 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PolYGloT’s amBassaDoR CiRCle
Polyglot’s Ambassador Circle continued to be an
important group of supporters for the company,
led by our great advocate and patron Miss Betty
Amsden OAM.
In July Betty hosted a morning tea at Federation
Square for donors to coincide with Polyglot’s
premiere of Ants. A group of supporters also joined us
for an end of year celebration at the home of board
member Dr. Patricia Edgar AM.
We thank all of our donors for their continued and
crucial support and the positive impact they have on
building our capacity.
CiTY BeneFaCToR ($10 000+)Miss Betty Amsden OAM
Daniel and Danielle Besen
House amBassaDoRs ($1,000 - $2 499)Greg Shalit and Miriam Faine
BoX amBassaDoRs ($200 - $999)Simon Abrahams
Dr. Patricia Edgar AM
Ruth Giles
Damien Hodgkinson
Tom Gutteridge
Angela O’Brien
Rosalind Price
Naomi Tippett
Tim & Lynne Sherwood
Fiona Sweet
Fiona Wahr and Julian Pocock
Julia White
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 28
THanK You
Dr. Ricci-Jane Adams
Gavin D Andrew
Joseph Alessi, Katherine Tsai
and Juliet Woo at Austrade
Miss Betty Amsden OAM
Polyglot’s Artistic Catalyst
Group: Madeleine Flynn, Tim
Humphreys, Julianne O’Brien,
Anna Tregloan
Michelle Armstrong, Greg
Andrews, Amanda Browne, Fay
Chomley, Julie Cotter, Penny
Hutchinson, Lisa Jennings, Anna
Kelly, Erica Sanders and all at
Arts Victoria
Asphyxia and Jesse
Robin Batt and Merryn Tinkler at
the Frankston Arts Centre
Simon Abrahams, Hannes
Berger, Emer Harrington, Sally
McPhee and Robin Penty at
Arts Centre Melbourne
Daniel and Danielle Besen
Nicole Beyer and Anna Kelsey-
Sugg at Theatre Network
Victoria
Collette Brennan, Ellen Dwyer,
David Everest, Rose Hiscock, Tori
Louden, and Lyn Wallis at the
Australia Council for the Arts
Brisbane Powerhouse
Campbellfield Arts Centre
Megan Cameron, Cosmo
Cosmolino, Graeme Davis,
Jim Fulton, Sarah Kriegler, Paul
Newcombe, Bronwyn Pringle,
Kathryn Sproul, and the 16
Muckheap casts over its 10
years of touring
Sheryl Cardozo and Dizzy
Claudia Chidiac at Casula
Powerhouse
Laura Colby, Sabine Dabady,
Anna Amadei and all at Elsie
Management in New York
Colorific Storage Solutions
Kate Denborough
Federation Square especially
Matt Jones and Renee Dudfield
Furlong Park School for Deaf
Children and the wonderful
Robyn Lawrence
Andrew Gun
Hi-Seoul Festival, thank you!
Hal, Nina, Leo, Evie, Orla, Coco,
Allegra, Jarvis and Hugo
Damien Hodgkinson
Anita Hopkins
Bill Bragin at Lincoln Center for
the Performing Arts
Michiyo Horita at the Australian
Embassy in Tokyo
Junction Festival, CU@Home
and Uniting Care
Jim Lawson and the YPAA team
Bo-Young Lim and the staff at
the Australian Embassy, Korea
James O Lucas
Edwina Lunn at Darwin Festival
Maryanne Lynch
Debby Maziarz
Candy Mitchell and the City of
Melbourne
The brilliant folks at Melbourne
Museum
Monique McNamara and
Jenna Read at Up and Up
Creative
The people of Minami Sanriku,
Japan
Jodee Mundy
Tim Munro
Alice Nash
Ray Park
Jan Panettieri
Ian, Rosie and Zak Pidd
The staff of Pink Ginger for
delicious sushi
Peter Redden, Rhylla Mitchell
and the City of Stonnington
Lee Hyun Sil (Zoe Jones)
Emma Costello, Amaya Courtis,
Bree Mansell, Tatia Sloley, Mary
Thompson at TS Publicity
Kirsten Slifirski and all at Berry
Street
Julia Topliss, Jim Koutsouris and
Amber Henry at Web Prophets
Sarah Walker for capturing us
beautifully!
Julia White and the rest of our
amazing Board: Jamie Dawson,
Dr. Patricia Edgar AM, Tom
Gutteridge, David Hanrahan,
Rhiannon Keen, Angela
O’Brien, Richard Roberts and
Johanna Platt
White Room Design
Jessica Wilson
Michelle Wild
David Young
We give huge thanks to all the children and parents who were part of our creative processes this year
all of our core artists and creatives – thank you for your inspiration!
Thanks to all of our non-Polyglot family and friends for supporting us, forgiving our absences and helping us find the playfulness in the rest
of our lives. We would also like to sincerely thank and acknowledge the support our many volunteers who generously give their time to
support the company and teachers and kids from Mahogany Rise, Carrum Downs, Karingal, Dinjerra, Currajong and Stonnington Schools.
29 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
PaRTneRs anD suPPoRTeRs
Triennial Funding Partners
Government Funders
Philanthropic Partners
Corporate Partners
PaRTneRs anD suPPoRTeRs
Project Partners
market Development Funding Partners
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 30
31 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
FinanCial snaPsHoT
2012 inCome
Trust & Foundations
Donors
nationalinternational
Workshops
other
34%
14%
1%4%
23%16%
8%
Government
2012 eXPenses
Core
new Work
national
international
Residencies
Workshops
46%
11%11%
15%
15%
2%
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 32
DiReCToR’s RePoRT
The Directors present their report together with the
financial report of Polyglot Theatre Limited for the
year ended 31 December 2012 and the auditor’s
report thereon.
DiReCToRs lisTThe Directors of the Company at any time during or
since the end of the calendar year are:
Julia White (Chair) Board member since march 2009___________________________________________________
Member of Finance Sub-Committee
Currently Philanthropy Manager with Zoos Victoria,
Julia has a wealth of experience working in the not
for profit sector in both marketing and development.
Most recently employed as Development Director
at Melbourne Theatre Company, Julia has also
worked with Frankston Arts Centre, The Australian
Ballet School, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
and Melbourne Festival, acquiring skills in venue
management, touring and event management as
well as marketing and fundraising.
angela o’Brien (General secretary) Board member since april 2011 ___________________________________________________
Dr Angela O’Brien is a Barrister-at-law and
independent consultant with specialist expertise
in the areas of dispute resolution, education and
the arts. In 2009 she retired from the University of
Melbourne where she was an Associate Professor,
Deputy Dean of the School of Graduate Studies
and Discipline Chair of Creative Arts in the School of
Culture and Communication, Faculty of Arts.
Johanna Platt (Treasurer) Board member since april 2008 ___________________________________________________
Member of Finance Sub-Committee
Johanna works as General Manager Financial
Planning & Analysis for Kraft Foods. Prior to this
Johanna held corporate executive positions
as Financial Controller Sales at Cadbury and
Commercial Manager at Mayne Nickless. Johanna
has an MBA from Melbourne Business School.
David Hanrahan Board member since april 2008___________________________________________________
David is General Manager of Microsoft Infrastructure
Solutions for Dimension Data. Previously, David was a
freelance lighting designer, working at Her Majesty’s,
Comedy and Princess Theatres, and for Australian
Opera and Australian Ballet. David has an MBA
from Southern Cross University and completed the
Graduate Company Director Course from Australian
Institute of Company Directors
Richard Roberts Board member since December 2007 ___________________________________________________
Richard Roberts is a freelance theatre designer and
teacher based in Melbourne. His design experience
has included designs for drama, dance, film,
television and opera. Alongside his design practice,
he has considerable experience in design training.
He was head of Design at WAAPA in Perth from 1991-
96, head of Production at the VCA from 2000-2007
and senior lecturer in Design at the VCA 2007-10. He
is the recipient of four Greenroom Awards. He won
33 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
best design for Drama in 1998 for Stolen, and in 2000
for the original production of Life After George and
best design in Dance in 2001 for Requiem and in 2004
for Molto Vivace.
Tom Gutteridge
Board member since october 2009___________________________________________________
Tom Gutteridge is the Artistic Director of Union House
Theatre. He was the former Artistic Director, Black
Swan Theatre Company Perth. Performance and
multi-media creator, with credits including mainstage
opera and theatre direction, sound design and
composition, and dramaturgy and writing across
all live and digital media. Tom has worked with
Melbourne and Queensland Theatre Companies;
Australian, Queensland and West Australian Opera
Companies.
Dr. Patricia edgar am Board member since February 2012___________________________________________________
Founder and inaugural head of the Australian
Children’s Television Foundation (ACTF), Patricia
Edgar was also the architect of the Australian
Children’s Television Standards and founder of the
World Summit Movement, hosting the first World
Summit on Media for Children in Melbourne in 1995.
She is a teacher, researcher, producer, writer and
experienced policy maker. Her programs have
garnered more than 100 national and international
awards. She is the author of 10 books, numerous
articles and reports and widely recognized as an
authority in the media field.
Jamie Dawson Board member since February 2012 ___________________________________________________
Jamie is a Producer/Director with over 20 years
experience engaging communities across a wide
variety of artistic and creative programs. He has
held senior management positions with Queensland
Theatre Company, The Pleasance Theatre
(Edinburgh), Circus Monoxide and Merrigong Theatre
Company (NSW). He was Artistic Director of Sydney
Children’s Festival, a creative and performing
arts children’s festival, Executive Producer at
Carriageworks, Sydney’s newest contemporary
arts and culture centre, and Executive Director
of Platform Hip Hop Festival, Australia’s largest all-
encompassing hip hop and street art festival.
Jamie is currently Coordinator of Arts & Cultural
Development for the City of Greater Dandenong,
encompassing cultural development and planning,
festivals and events, public art and heritage
programming.
Rhiannon Keen Board member since march 2012___________________________________________________
Rhiannon is an Associate Director in KPMG’s
Economics and Government Advisory Services
practice. She has a strong interest in politics,
public policy and advising government on the
efficient allocation of resources. Rhiannon previously
worked as a ministerial adviser at both a State and
Federal level, working for the Victorian Leader of
the Opposition, the Office of the Prime Minister, and
Minister for the Environment. Rhiannon has worked
in Hong Kong, as well as in London, working for the
now British Prime Minister, David Cameron. Rhiannon
also has a Master or Public Policy and Management
(Economics) from the University of Melbourne and a
Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications).
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 34
Feb mar apr* Jun sept nov Dec Totals
angela o’Brien ü ü ü ü ü 5
David Hanrahan ü ü ü 4
Jamie Dawson ü ü ü ü ü 5
Johanna Platt ü ü ü ü 4
Julia White ü ü ü ü ü 5
Dr. Patricia edgar am ü ü ü ü ü ü 6
Rhiannon Keen ü ü ü 4
Richard Roberts ü ü ü 3
Tom Gutteridge ü ü ü ü ü 5
Total Present 6 6 6 5 7 6 5
2012 PolYGloT BoaRD meeTinG aTTenDanCe
PRinCiPal aCTiviTiesThe principal activities of the entity during the course
of the financial year are the creation and production
of theatre for children and young people.
Placing kids at the heart of our art, Polyglot creates
interactive works which explore the relationship
between children’s play and theatrical experience.
There were no significant changes in the nature of
the activities of the entity during the year.
CHanGes in sTaTe oF aFFaiRsIn the opinion of the Directors there were no
significant changes in the state of affairs of the entity
that occurred during the financial year under review.
evenTs suBsequenT To BalanCe DaTeThere has not arisen in the interval between the end
of the financial year and the date of the report any
item, transaction or event of a material or unusual
nature likely, in the opinion of the directors of the
Company, to affect significantly the operations of
the entity, the results of those operations, or the state
of affairs of the consolidated entity, in the future
financial years.
35 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
environmental RegulationsThe entity’s operations are not subject to any
significant environmental regulations under either
Commonwealth or State legislation. However, the
Board believes that the entity has adequate systems
in place for the management of its environmental
requirements and is not aware of any breach of
those environmental requirements as they apply to
the entity.
inDemniFiCaTion anD insuRanCe oF oFFiCeRs anD auDiToRs
IndemnificationSince the end of the previous financial year, the
company has not indemnified or made a relevant
agreement of indemnifying against a liability any
person who is or has been an officer or auditor of the
company.
insurance PremiumDuring the financial year the company has paid
premiums on behalf of the company in respect of
directors’ and officers’ liability and legal expenses
insurance contracts for the year ended 31
December 2012 and since the financial year, the
company has paid or agreed to pay premiums on
respect of such insurance contracts for the year
ended 31 December 2012. Such insurance contracts
insure against certain liability (subject to specific
exclusions) persons who are or have been directors
or executive officers of the company
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 36
auDiToR's inDePenDenCe DeClaRaTion unDeR seCTion 307C oF THe CoRPoRaTions aCT 2001 To THe DiReCToRs oF PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD
I declare, that to the best of my knowledge and
belief, during the year ended 31 December 2012
there have been:
(i) no contraventions of the auditor
independence requirements as set out in
the Corporations Act 2001 in relation to the
audit; and
(ii) no contraventions of any applicable code
of professional conduct in relation to the
audit.
name of Firm: Alan Dredge & Co Pty LtdChartered Accountants
Alan Dredge FCA
address: 16 Hill Street, Richmond VIC 3121
Dated this 15 day of april 2013
37 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
sTaTemenT oF FinanCial PosiTion as aT 31 DeCemBeR 2012 PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD. aBn 86 099 894 147
INCOME Note 2012 $ 2011 $
GRanTs 2
Arts Victoria 193,686.00 173,247.00
Australia Council 137,600.00 75,500.00
Local Government Funding 37,800.00 65,005.45
DFAT Grants 25,000.00 98,068.18
Other Government Funding 86,250.45 60,000.00
Philanthropic Organisations 203,203.00 40,000.00
Total Grants income 683,539.45 511,820.63
eaRneD inCome
Performance & Audience Sales 639,872.63 393,374.26
Resources Income 64,440.11 36,565.70
Sponsorship & Fundraising 19,885.00 42,095.45
Business Related Income 18,198.73 23,462.95
Total earned income 742,396.47 495,498.36
ToTal inCome 1,425,935.92 1,007,318.99
eXPenses
Administration 628,110.26 519,578.18
Marketing & Promotion 61,501.63 45,850.76
Production Costs 705,981.36 491,286.05
ToTal eXPenses 1,395,593.25 1,056,714.99
suRPlus (DeFiCiT) FoR THe YeaR 30,342.67 (49,396.00)
other comprehensive income:
Net gain on revaluation of financial assets - -
other comprehensive income for the year - -
Total comprehensive income for the year 30,342.67 (49,396.00)
Total comprehensive income attributable to the members of the entity 30,342.67 (49,396.00)
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 38
sTaTemenT oF FinanCial PosiTion as aT 31 DeCemBeR 2012 PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD. aBn 86 099 894 147
ASSETS Note 2012 $ 2011 $
CuRRenT asseTs
Cash and cash equivalents 3 615,613.67 323,791.05
Other current assets 4 112,039.34 273,776.89
ToTal CuRRenT asseTs 727,653.01 597,567.94
non-CuRRenT asseTs
Property, plant and equipment 5 7,816.85 9,987.17
ToTal non-CuRRenT asseTs 7,816.85 9,987.17
ToTal asseTs 735,469.86 607,555.11
liaBiliTies
CuRRenT liaBiliTies
Trade and other payables 6 48,421.89 30,642.74
Provisions 7 18,988.80 15,401.36
Other current liabilities 8 446,700.00 373,712.45
Provision for Bad Debts - 1,900.00
ToTal CuRRenT liaBiliTies 514,110.69 421,656.55
non-CuRRenT liaBiliTies
Provisions 7 16,525.85 11,407.91
ToTal non-CuRRenT liaBiliTies 16,525.85 11,407.91
ToTal liaBiliTies 530,636.54 433,064.46
neT asseTs 204,833.32 174,490.65
equiTY
Retained earnings 9 204,833.32 174,490.65
ToTal equiTY 204,833.32 174,490.65
39 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
sTaTemenT oF CHanGes in equiTY as aT 31 DeCemBeR 2012 PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD. aBn 86 099 894 147
Note Retained earnings Total
$ $
Balance at 1 January 2010 223,158 223,158
Surplus (deficit) attributable to members 729 729
Balance at 31 December 2010 223,887 223,887
Surplus (deficit) attributable to members 9 (49,397) (49,397)
Balance at 31 December 2011 174,490 174,490
Surplus (deficit) attributable to members 30,343 30,343
Balance at 31 December 2012 204,833 204,833
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 40
sTaTemenT oF CasH FloWsFoR THe YeaR enDeD 31 DeCemBeR 2012 PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD. aBn 86 099 894 147
CasH FloWs FRom oPeRaTinG aCTiviTies 2012 $ 2011 $
Receipts from customers 1,663,212.23 1,068,304.16
Payment to suppliers and employees (1,384,517.68) (1,127,698.42)
Interest received 16,928.07 15,732.65
net cash provided for operating activities 295,622.62 (43,661.61)
CasH FloWs FRom invesTinG aCTiviTies
Payment for plant and equipment (3,800.00) (4,223.64)
net cash provided for investing activities (3,800.00) (4,223.64)
Net increase (decrease) in cash held 291,822.62 (47,885.25)
Cash at beginning of financial year 323,791.05 371,676.30
Cash at end of financial year 615,613.67 323,791.05
41 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
noTes To anD FoRminG PaRT oF THe FinanCial sTaTemenTs FoR THe YeaR enDeD 31 DeCemBeR 2012 PolYGloT THeaTRe lTD. aBn 86 099 894 147
1StatementofSignificantAccountingPolicies
The financial statement is for Polyglot Theatre Ltd as an individual entity, incorporated and domiciled in Australia. Polyglot Theatre Ltd is a company limited by guarantee.
Basis of Preparation
Polyglot Theatre Ltd has elected to early adopt the Australian Accounting Standards – Reduced Disclosure Requirements as set out in AASB 1053: Application of Tiers of Australian Accounting Standards and AASB 2010–2: Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards arising from Reduced Disclosure Requirements. As a consequence, the entity has also adopted AASB 2011–2: Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards arising from the Trans-Tasman Convergence Project – Reduced Disclosure Requirements and AASB 2011–6: Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Extending Relief from Consolidation, the Equity Method and Proportionate Consolidation – Reduced Disclosure Requirements. This is because the reduced disclosure requirements in AASB 2011–2 and AASB 2011–6 relate to Australian Accounting Standards that mandatorily apply to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 July 2011.
The financial statements are general purpose financial statements that have been prepared in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards – Reduced Disclosure Requirements of the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Corporations Act 2001. The company is a not-for-profit entity for financial reporting purposes under Australian Accounting Standards.
Australian Accounting Standards set out accounting policies that the AASB has concluded would result in financial statements containing relevant and reliable information about transactions, events and conditions. Material accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these financial statements are presented below and have been consistently applied unless stated otherwise.
The financial statements, except for the cash flow information, have been prepared on an accruals basis and are based on historical costs, modified, where applicable, by the measurement at fair value of selected non-current assets, financial assets and financial liabilities.
accounting Policies
Revenue
Grant revenue is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income when the entity obtains control of the grant and it is probable that the economic benefits gained from the grant will flow to the entity and the amount of the grant can be measured reliably.
If conditions are attached to the grant which must be satisfied before it is eligible to receive the contribution, the recognition of the grant as revenue will be deferred until those conditions are satisfied.
When grant revenue is received whereby the entity incurs an obligation to deliver economic value directly back to the contributor, this is considered a reciprocal transaction and the grant revenue is recognised in the state of financial position as a liability until the service has been delivered to the contributor, otherwise the grant is recognised as income on receipt.If Polyglot Theatre Ltd receives non-reciprocal contributions of assets from the government and other parties for zero or a nominal value, these assets are recognised at fair value on the date of acquisition in the statement of financial position, with a corresponding amount of income recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.
Donations and bequests are recognised as revenue when received.
Interest revenue is recognised using the effective interest rate method, which for floating rate financial assets is the rate inherent in the instrument.
Revenue from the rendering of a service is recognised upon the delivery of the service to the customers.
All revenue is stated net of the amount of goods and services tax (GST).
Property, Plant and equipment
Each class of property, plant and equipment is carried at cost or fair value as indicated, less, where applicable, accumulated depreciation and any impairment losses.
Plant and equipment
Plant and equipment are measured on the cost basis and are therefore carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment. In the event the carrying amount of plant and equipment is greater than the estimated recoverable amount, the carrying amount is written down immediately to the estimated recoverable amount. A formal assessment of recoverable amount is made when impairment indicators are present.
Plant and equipment that have been contributed at no cost or for nominal cost are valued and recognised at the fair value of the asset at the date it is acquired.
Depreciation
The depreciable amount of all fixed assets, including buildings and capitalised lease assets, but excluding freehold land, is depreciated on a straight line basis over the asset’s useful life to the entity commencing from the time the asset is available for use. Leasehold improvements are depreciated over the shorter of either the unexpired period of the lease or the estimated useful lives of the improvements.
The depreciation rates used for each class of depreciable assets are:
Class of Fixed asset Depreciation RatePlant and equipment 33%
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 42
The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted, if appropriate, at the end of each reporting period.
Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing proceeds with the carrying amount. These gains or losses are included in the statement of comprehensive income. When revalued assets are sold, amounts included in the revaluation reserve relating to that asset are transferred to retained earnings.
Financial instruments
initial Recognition and measurement
Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the entity becomes a party to the contractual provisions to the instrument. For financial assets, this is equivalent to the date that the company commits itself to either purchase or sell the asset (ie trade date accounting is adopted). Financial instruments are initially measured at fair value plus transactions costs except where the instrument is classified “at fair value through profit or loss”, in which case transaction costs are recognised in profit or loss immediately.
Classificationandsubsequentmeasurement
Finance instruments are subsequently measured at either fair value, amortised cost using the effective interest rate method or cost. Fair value represents the amount for which an asset could be exchanged or a liability settled, between knowledgeable, willing parties. Where available, quoted prices in an active market are used to determine fair value. In other circumstances, valuation techniques are adopted.
Amortised cost is the amount at which the financial asset or financial liability is measured at initial recognition less principal repayments and any reduction for impairment, and adjusted for any cumulative amortisation of the difference between that initial amount and the maturity amount calculated using the effective interest method. (i) Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Financial assets are classified at ‘fair value through profit or loss’ when they are held for trading for the purpose of short-term profit taking, or where they are derivatives not held for hedging purposes, or when they are designated as such to avoid an accounting mismatch or to enable performance evaluation where a group of financial assets is managed by key management personnel on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy. Such assets are subsequently measured at fair value with changes in carrying value being included in profit or loss. (iI) Loans and receivables
Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market and are subsequently measured at amortised cost. (iii) Held-to-maturity investments
Held-to-maturity investments are non-derivative financial assets that have fixed maturities and fixed or determinable payments, and it is the entity’s intention to hold these investments to maturity. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost. (iv) Available-for-sale financial assets
Available-for-sale financial assets are non-derivative financial assets that are either not capable of being classified into other categories of financial
assets due to their nature, or they are designated by such by management. They comprise investments in the equity of other entities where there is neither a fixed maturity nor fixed or determinable payments.
They are subsequently measured at fair value with changes in such fair value (ie gains or losses) recognised in other comprehensive income (except for impairment losses and foreign exchange gains and losses). When the financial asset is derecognised, the cumulative gain or loss pertaining to that asset previously recognised in other comprehensive income is reclassified into profit or loss.
Available-for-sale financial assets are classified as non-current assets when they are expected to be sold within 12 months after the end of the reporting period. All other available -for-sale financial assets are classified as current assets. (v) Financial liabilities
Non-derivative financial liabilities other than financial guarantees are subsequently measured at amortised cost. Gains or losses are recognised in profit or loss through the amortisation process and when the financial liability is derecognised.
impairment
At each reporting date, the company assesses whether there is objective evidence that a financial instrument has been impaired. In the case of available-for-sale financial instruments, a prolonged decline in the value of the instrument is considered to determine whether impairment has arisen. Impairment losses are recognised in profit or loss. Also, any cumulative decline in fair value previously recognised in other comprehensive income is reclassified to profit or loss at this point.
In the case of available-for-sale financial assets, a significant or prolonged decline in the market value of the instrument is considered to constitute a loss event. Impairment losses are recognised in profit or loss immediately. Also, any cumulative decline in fair value previously recognised in other comprehensive income is reclassified to profit or loss at this point.
In the case of financial assets carried at amortised cost, loss events may include: indications that the debtors or a group of debtors are experiencing significant financial difficulty, default or delinquency in interest or principal payments; indications that they will enter bankruptcy or other financial reorganisation; and changes in arrears or economic conditions that correlate with defaults.
For financial assets carried at amortised cost (including loans and receivables), a separate allowance account is used to reduce the carrying amount of financial assets impaired by credit losses. After having taken all possible measures of recovery, if management establishes that the carrying amount cannot be recovered by any means, at that point the written-off amounts are charged to the allowance account or the carrying amount of impaired financial assets is reduced directly if no impairment amount was previously recognised in the allowance accounts.
When the terms of financial assets that would otherwise have been past due or impaired have been renegotiated, the company recognises the impairment for such financial assets by taking into account the original terms as if the terms have not been renegotiated so that the loss events that have occurred are duly considered.
Derecognition
Financial assets are derecognised when the contractual rights to receipt of cash flows expire or the asset is transferred to another party whereby the entity no longer has any significant continuing involvement in the risks and benefits associated with the asset. Financial liabilities are derecognised
43 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
when the related obligations are discharged or cancelled, or have expired. The difference between the carrying amount of the financial liability, which is extinguished or transferred to another party, and the fair value of consideration paid, including the transfer of non-cash assets or liabilities assumed, is recognised in profit or loss.
impairment of assets
At the end of each reporting period, the entity assesses whether there is any indication that an asset may be impaired. If such an indication exists, an impairment test is carried out on the asset by comparing the recoverable amount of the asset, being the higher of the asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use, to the asset’s carrying amount. Any excess of the asset’s carrying amount over its recoverable amount is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount in accordance with another Standard (eg in accordance with the revaluation model in AASB 116). Any impairment loss of a revalued asset is treated as a revaluation decrease in accordance with that other Standard.
Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the entity estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
EmployeeBenefits
Provision is made for the entity’s liability for employee benefits arising from services rendered by employees to end of the reporting period. Employee benefits that are expected to be settled within one year have been measured at the amounts expected to be paid when the liability is settled. Employee benefits payable later than one year have been measured at the present value of the estimated future cash outflows to be made for those benefits. In determining the liability, consideration is given to employee wage increases and the probability that the employee may not satisfy vesting requirements. Those cash outflows are discounted using market yields on national government bonds with terms to maturity that match the expected timing of cash flows.
Contributions are made by the entity to an employee superannuation fund and are charged as expenses when incurred.
Cash and Cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits held at-call with banks, other short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within short-term borrowings in current liabilities on the statement of financial position.
Goods and services Tax (GsT)
Revenues, expenses and assets are recognised net of the amount of GST, except where the amount of GST incurred is not recoverable from the Australian Tax Office (ATO).
Receivables and payables are stated inclusive of the amount of GST receivable or payable. The net amount of GST recoverable from, or payable to, the ATO is included with other receivables or payables in the statement of financial position.
Cash flows are presented on a gross basis. The GST components of cash flows arising from investing or financing activities, which are recoverable from or payable to the ATO, are presented as operating cash flows included in receipts from customers or payments to suppliers.
income Tax
No provision for income tax has been raised as the entity is exempt from income tax under Division 50 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997.
Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the entity has a legal or constructive obligation, as a result of past events, for which it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will result and that outflow can be reliably measured. Provisions recognised represent the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation at reporting date.
Comparative Figures
Where required by Accounting Standards comparative figures have been adjusted to conform with changes in presentation for the current financial year. When an entity applies an accounting policy retrospectively, makes a retrospective restatement or reclassifies items in its financial statements, a statement of financial position as at the beginning of the earliest comparative period must be disclosed.
Trade and other Payables
Trade and other payables represent the liability outstanding at the end of the reporting period for goods and services received by the company during the reporting period which remain unpaid. The balance is recognised as a current liability with the amounts normally paid within 30 days of recognition of the liability.
Critical accounting estimates and Judgements
The directors evaluate estimates and judgments incorporated into the financial report based on historical knowledge and best available current information. Estimates assume a reasonable expectation of future events and are based on current trends and economic data, obtained both externally and within the company.
economic Dependence
Polyglot Theatre Ltd is dependent on grant income from Australia Council and Arts Victoria for the majority of its revenue used to operate the business. At the date of this report the Board of Directors has no reason to believe Australia Council and Arts Victoria will not continue to support Polyglot Theatre Ltd.
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 44
2012 $ 2011 $Grants
Arts Victoria 193,686.00 173,247.00
Australia Council 137,600.00 75,500.00
Local Government Funding 37,800.00 65,005.45
DFAT Grants 25,000.00 98,068.18
Other Government Funding 86,250.45 60,000.00
Philanthropic Organisations 203,203.00 40,000.00
Total Grants income 683,539.45 511,820.63
earned income
Performance & Audience Sales 639,872.63 393,374.26
Resources Income 64,440.11 36,565.70
Sponsorship & Fundraising 19,885.00 42,095.45
Business Related Income 18,198.73 23,462.95
Total earned income 742,396.47 495,498.36
ToTal inCome 1,425,935.92 1,007,318.99
eXPensesadministration Costs
Permanent Staff 386,048.46 321,367.91
On-Costs 80,240.91 50,272.65
Allowances 46,072.79 28,338.04
Other Staff Costs 13,186.13 8,993.50
Admin Costs 102,561.97 110,606.08
628,110.26 519,578.18
marketing, Promotion & Documentation 61,501.63 45,850.76
Production Costs
Artist & Creative Fees 319,980.84 200,371.51
Production & Technical Fees 62,556.10 47,067.66
Feed The Art 6,400.00 1,256.45
Venue 17,472.01 20,643.57
Scenic & Staging Costs 153,852.09 76,287.04
Travel & Touring Costs 145,720.32 145,659.82
705,981.36 491,286.05
Total eXPenses 1,395,593.25 1,056,714.99
2 Revenue and other income
45 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
3 Cash and Cash equivalents
4 other Current assets
2012 $ 2011 $
Cash on Hand 4,010.27 1,573.44
Cash at Bank 110,359.10 25,932.39
Cash at Bank - Theatre Fund 29,878.87 16,827.12
Cash at Bank - Business Online Saver 471,122.73 224,458.10
Cash at Bank – Other 242.70 55,000.00
Total cash and cash equivalents as stated in the statement of financial position
615,613.67 323,791.05
Reconciliation of cash
Total cash and cash equivalents
as stated in the cash flow statement615,613.67 323,791.05
615,613.67 323,791.05
2012 $ 2011 $
Accounts Receivables 29,130.15 200,000.90
Interest Receivables 1,247.93 -
Prepaid Material Stock 51,088.41 52,156.43
Sundry Prepayments 19,450.09 13,037.32
Prepaid Insurance 7,332.55 5,400.47
Prepaid WorkCover 3,790.21 3,181.77
112,039.34 273,776.89
Provision for impairment of ReceivablesCurrent trade receivables are generally on 30-day terms. These receivables are assessed for recoverability and a provision for impairment is recognised when there is objective evidence that an individual trade receivable is impaired.
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 46
5 Propery, Plant and equipment
Plant and equipment:
At cost 40,728.23 258,705.25
Accumulated depreciation (32,911.38) (248,718.08)
Total Plant and equipment 7,816.85 9,987.17
movements in Carrying amounts
Movement in the carrying amounts for each class of property, plant and equipment between the beginning and the end of the current financial year.
$ Plant & equipment
motor vehicles
leasehold improvements equipment Computer
equipment Total
$ $ $ $ $ $
Balance at 1 January 2012
- 6,311.19 - 3,675.98 - 9,987.17
Additions - - - - 3,800.00 3,800.00
Adjustments* (6,311.19) - 1,805.41 - (4,505.78)
Depreciation expense - - - (1,360.04) (104.50) (1,464.54)
Carrying amount at 31 December 2012 - - - 4,121.35 3,695.50 7,816.85
47 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
2012 $ 2011 $
Current
Accounts Payable 23,038.61 7,431.57
Sundry Creditors & Accruals 4,145.74 975.00
Superannuation Payable 3,115.83 2,786.65
PAYG Payable 6,527.70 6,037.70
GST Liabilities 11,594.01 13,411.82
48,421.89 30,642.74
Financial liabilities at amortised cost classifiedastradeandotherpayables
Trade and other payables:
- Total current 48,421.89 30,642.74
Financial liabilities as trade and other payables 48,421.89 30,642.74
6 Trade and other Payables
8 other liabilities
7 Provisions
Provision for annual leave
Provision for long service leave Total
Opening balance at 1 January 2012 15,401.36 11,407.91 26,809.27
Additional provisions raised during year 4,915.66 5,117.94 10,033.60
Amounts used (1,328.22) - (1,328.22)
Balance at 31 December 2012 18,988.80 16,525.85 35,514.65
2012 $ 2011 $
Current 18,988.80 15,401.36
Provision for Annual Leave
non-Current
Provision for Long Service Leave 16,525.85 11,407.91
35,514.65 26,809.27
A provision has been recognised for employee entitlements relating to long service leave. In calculating the present value of future cash flows in respect of long service leave, the probability of long service leave being taken is based on historical data. The measurement and recognition criteria relating to employee benefits have been included in Note 1 to this report.
2012 $ 2011 $
Current
Core Grants in Advance 100,000.00 88,759.00
Project Income in Advance 83,450.00 32,500.00
Project Grants in Advance 263,250.00 252,453.45
446,700.00 373,712.45
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 48
9 Retained earnings
10 Key management Personnel
11 Related Party Transactions
2012 $ 2011 $
Retained earnings at the beginning of the financial year
174,490.65 223,886.65
(Net deficit) Net surplus attributable to members of the company
30,342.67 (49,396.00)
Retained earnings at the end of the financial year 204,833.32 174,490.65
Short-termemployeebenefits 2012 $ 2011 $
Total Compensation 214,408.86 205,380.88
Total Compensation 214,408.86 205,380.88
There were no related party transactions that occurred during the year.
12 Cash Flow information
2012 $ 2011 $
Reconciliation of Cash Flow from operations with net surplusNet surplus (net deficit) 30,342.67 (49,396.00)
Non-cashflowsinsurplus
Depreciation 5,970.32 2,966.00
Doubtful Debt Expense - 300.00
Loss on disposal of equipment - (338.99)
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of the effects of purchase and disposals of subsidiaries(Increase) Decrease in current receivables 169,622.82 (141,175.90)
(Increase) Decrease in prepayments (7,885.27) (54,039.26)
Increase (Decrease) in trade creditors 15,607.04 3,055.35
Increase (Decrease) in sundry creditors 3,170.74 (2,967.05)
Increase (Decrease) in superannuation 329.18 466.26
Increase (Decrease) in PAYG 490.00 1,240.00
Increase (Decrease) in GST (1,817.81) 6,810.56
Increase (Decrease) in Core Income in advance 11,241.00 88,759.00
Increase (Decrease) in Project Income in advance 61,746.55 104,823.45
Increase (Decrease) in provisions 6,805.38 (4,165.03)
net cash provided from (used in) operations 295,622.62 43,661.61
49 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
13 Financial Risk management
2012 $ 2011 $
Financial assets
Cash and cash equivalents 615,613.67 323,791.05
Loans and receivables 112,039.34 273,776.89
Total Financial assets 727,653.01 597,567.94
Financial liabilities
Trade and other payables 48,421.89 30,642.74
Total Financial liabilities 48,421.89 30,642.74
Financial Risk management Policies
The finance committee consist of senior board members, and the committee’s overall risk management strategy seeks to assist the company in meeting its financial targets, whilst minimising potential adverse effects on financial performance. Risk management policies are approved and reviewed by the finance committee on a regular basis. These include credit risk policies and future cash flow requirements.
net Fair values
(i) For listed available-for-sale financial assets and financial assets at fair value through profit or loss the fair values have been based on closing quoted bid prices at the end of the reporting period.
In determining the fair values of the unlisted available-for-sale financial assets, the directors have used inputs that are observable either directly (as prices) or indirectly (derived from prices).
(ii) Fair values of held-to-maturity investments are based on quoted market prices at the ending of the reporting period.
14 Company Details The principle place of business is:
Polyglot Theatre Ltd27a Cromwell RoadSouth Yarra VIC 3141
15 income Tax
The company is exempt from income tax under Section 50-45 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 as its objective is the encouragement of art and culture and its business is not carried on for the profit of its individual members.
The company’s financial instruments consists mainly of deposits with banks, accounts receivable and payable.
The totals for each category of financial instruments, measured in accordance with AASB 139 as detailed in the accounting policies to these financial statements are as follows:
ANNUAL REPORT 2012 50
The directors of the company declare that:
1. The financial statements and notes, as set out
on pages 36 to 49, are in accordance with the
Corporations Act 2001 and:
(a) comply with Accounting Standards –
Reduced Disclosure Requirements; and
(b) give a true and fair view of the financial
position as at 31 December 2012 and of the
performance for the year ended on that date of
the company.
DiReCToRs’ DeClaRaTion
2. In the directors’ opinion there are reasonable
grounds to believe that the company will be able to
pay its debts as and when they become due and
payable.
This declaration is made in accordance with a
resolution of the Board of Directors.
Director:
Julia White Johanna Platt
Chair Treasurer
Dated this 14 day of april 2013
51 ANNUAL REPORT 2012
inDePenDenT auDiToR’s RePoRT To THe memBeRs oF PolYGloT THeaTRe lTDaBn 86 099 894 147
Report on the Financial Report
I have audited the accompanying financial report of Polyglot Theatre Ltd which comprises the statement of financial position as at 31 December 2012, and the statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year then ended, notes comprising a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, and the directors’ declaration.
Directors’ Responsibility for the Financial Report
The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation of the financial report that gives a true and fair view in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards – Reduced Disclosure Requirements and the Corporations Act 2001 and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
auditor’s Responsibility
My responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on my audit. I conducted my audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. Those Standards require that I comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial report is free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report.
I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my audit opinion.
independence
In conducting my audit, I have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. I confirm that the independence declaration required by the Corporations Act 2001, which has been given to the directors of Polyglot Theatre Ltd, would be in the same terms if given to the directors as at the date of this auditor’s report.
opinion
In my opinion, the financial report of Polyglot Theatre Ltd is in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including:
i. giving a true and fair view of the company’s financial position as at 31st December 2012 and of its performance for the year ended on that date; and
ii. complying with Australian Accounting Standards – Reduced Disclosure Requirements and the Corporations Regulations 2001.
name of Firm:
Alan Dredge & Co Pty LtdChartered Accountants
Alan Dredge FCA
address:
16 Hill Street, Richmond VIC 3121
Dated this 15 day of april 2013
more informationPolyglot Theatre
27a Cromwell Road, South Yarra
Victoria 3141 Australia
T +61 3 8060 4680
Top Related