The state of technical and production skills in the live performing arts industry: the Maltese islands
The primary aim of this study is to explore and analyse the existing state of technical and production skills within the live performing arts industry in the Maltese islands - from the perspective of producers, venue managers, and technical creatives - with a view towards informing policymakers and equipping the future workforce.
What are the objectives of the study?
- to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the current workforce, skills intelligence, and supporting resources within the local live performing arts industry, considering diverse perspectives;
- to identify significant skills gaps and educational needs related to technical skills in the local live performing arts industry, including a forward-looking approach to anticipate future skill requirements;
- to assess the extent to which environmental considerations are integrated into production planning within the local live performing arts industry;
- to gather insights on potential initiatives and projects that can contribute to the holistic development of technical skills in the local live performing arts industry;
- to communicate findings to policymakers and educational institutions, ensuring that the research outcomes actively inform decision-making processes and educational strategies.
Who can participate?
We have developed a questionnaire aimed at the following target groups who operate in the Maltese live performing arts industry:
- Producers
- Venue Managers
- Technical Creatives
For the purposes of this study, each target group is defined as follows:
- Producers: Encompasses multiple roles and refers to the individual/organisation/entity that is commissioning, initiating, developing and implementing an artistic concept, leading to a fully fledged live performing arts production.
- Venue Managers: Encompasses multiple roles and refers to the individual/organisation/entity that is responsible for coordinating logistics and operations within a performing arts venue, including the management of human (and other) resources. The term 'venue', for the purpose of our study, refers to spaces hosting live performing arts events and also to spaces proposing and producing their own programme of live performing arts events.
- Technical Creatives: All skilled individuals/teams with a technical and/or production function in the context of the local live performing arts industry, encompassing both design and operation roles. This includes production design, set design, set construction, stage management, assistant stage management, production management, costume design, costume making, light technician, light design, prop making, sound design, sound operation, make-up artist, projection design, backstage crew.
How to participate?
Click here to fill out the online questionnaire.
We estimate that this will take around 15-20 minutes to fill in and complete. Your honest responses, based on knowledge and experience, will be fundamental for our reports which we plan to share with stakeholders and relevant entities.
Practical information:
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Responses in this questionnaire will be collected anonymously and used solely for the purpose of conducting research by ARC Research & Consultancy Ltd.
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The aggregated data may be utilised in the creation of associated materials, such as reports publishing the research findings.
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Participation is voluntary, and individual responses cannot be withdrawn once submitted due to the anonymous nature of this questionnaire.
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Please direct any queries to [email protected].