Every company 50,000 euros more. Youth theatre in the Netherlands should be very happy with the letter culture minister Bussemaker sent to the chamber last Monday. After years of squeezing under Halbe Zijlstra, finally more air for the makers. But the investment of 4 tonnes a year turns out to be a cutback. In fact, Bussemaker only gives a gift to eight companies. Company number nine can disband. Theatre group Kwatta, just back from a successful tour of America, is most at risk.
Currently, the Netherlands has eight youth theatre companies in the BIS. Even though there seem to be nine. One of the headache files that Bussemaker inherited from Halbe Zijlstra concerned the removal of Theatre Group Kwatta from the BIS. But the substantiation used by the Culture Council and adopted by the ministry proved legally unsound, the Council of State eventually concluded.
What was going on?
Council and ministry filled in the regional distribution of youth theatre by analogy with the distribution of general theatre companies and thus across the three big municipalities of Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, and the North, Central, East and South regions. West does not exist as a region, west being the Randstad. Since both South and East turned out to have two, the distribution over core areas was taken into account. In South there are two, in East one. What followed was an embarrassing comparison between two eastern companies, pitting one plus against the other minus in order to finally eliminate one company - Kwatta.
But youth theatre is not a general theatre and no distribution criteria were formally laid down at all for youth theatre. Legal procedures resulted in 2012 in the decision to grant Kwatta a subsidy after all. It looked as if Kwatta had thus been saved for the BIS, but the reality is different. Enquiries with business director Gerda van der Kamp reveal: "Kwatta is not in the BIS. The BIS subsidy is an operating subsidy, we have subsidy that can only be used for projects. It is an artificial construction. The subsidy is also not indexed annually, which is the case with BIS companies, and there is no friction money should Kwatta not be in the BIS in the next arts plan. The BIS companies do get this."
Zijlstra policy continue...
Then Bussemaker's booming press release takes on a sour side. Because even for the coming period, there is room for up to eight companies, as Halbe Zijlstra wanted. Lieke Bisseling, business manager of Theatre Sonnevanck in Enschede rightly notes: "Very gratifying that there is such positive talk about the quality and merit of youth theatre and that additional funds are being made available for youth theatre. Both in the BIS and the Performing Arts Fund. But there is still talk of eight BIS youth theatre companies. We have always argued for expansion to two youth theatre companies in the eastern part of the country: there is room and more than enough demand for two youth theatre companies there."
... with with new rules
Comparing the 2011 grant rules with the provisional rules of today, it is clear that the ministry does now try to formally lay down spread. But then sloppily and open to many interpretations. Where did it say: "Up to eight institutions shall be eligible for grants under this article, subject to the provision of a grant to a maximum of one institution per municipality.", state now: "Up to eight institutions shall be eligible for grants under this article, subject to the following conditions there is at least one institution and to no more than one institution per municipality grant is strengthened."
A small difference, but with big implications. Formally, the battle is completely open and The Hague, for example, could drop out, but most likely the Randstad will keep its three companies, leaving five spots for 'the region'.
If we assume that every company currently in the BIS reapplies, and with the knowledge that it is notoriously difficult for newcomers (who will undoubtedly also apply) to obtain BIS status, Het Filiaal (Utrecht, region Zuid) and Het Houten Huis (Groningen, region Noord) are reasonably safe. After all, they are the only ones in their region. Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague will obviously also want to keep their companies, and the ministry's peripheral view does not bode well. As a result, the battle seems to be between the companies in Oost (Kwatta and Sonnevanck) and Zuid (Artemis (Den Bosch) and Het Laagland (Maastricht)). These four are more or less equal.
But you are right and right
Of course, the Council's opinion will not include any friction costs. And of course the Council will not compare two companies from the same region again sec. But the ministry does emphatically consider additional costs, especially after the unexpected costs of Kwatta's successful court case. Remarkably, the minister is again ignoring the Council's advice here. After all, the Council wrote: "In youth theatre, all BIS companies receive the same amount. Nor does that one standard amount do justice to the diversity in the companies. High-quality plans in the field of large-venue productions, talent development or education cannot be rewarded extra. The council believes that the state-subsidised system of theatre institutions and youth theatre institutions would benefit from more differentiation."
But the ministry finds differentiation scary. So just, simply: eight companies fifty thousand more. Positive thinking, a jubilant presentation of your plans and conceal the fact that you are throwing one out the back door.
It's called politics.
to be continued
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