But after the payment of the performers, venue and
props, it in no way compensates the work that we all
put into it. Not by a long shot. And, you know, with printing and advertising, yea. It can cost a lot of
money’.
That seems to be the problem with many producers in
the Melbourne comedy scene, or even just a comedy
scene in general. Passion will only get you so far. To
talk about true sustainability, there needs to be a working wage for the people behind the curtain.
‘But we lasted for just under two years with The Anarchist Guild. And I’m surprised that we did last for that
long. Even with us all in each other’s pockets. We were
all just really lucky that we got along really well. Which
kind of links back with what I was saying before in that
you have to get the right people for the job.
Get talented people but also, get people that you really
want to work with’.
The Anarchist Guild is over now. But Nick Caddaye is
still directing and producing shows for various talented
performers around the scene. With just over 15 years
of experience behind him, Caddaye now has a penchant for scouting talent for his next performances. He
knows what the pitfalls of potential productions are before they have manifested on stage and based on our
interview with him (see full video below) he is a font of
knowledge about the way of sketch comedy and how
to make good ideas thrive.
He sees production and direction as two separate
roles, and cringes at the well worn meme of comedians
producing, directing, performing, writing and publicising their comedy festival shows all by themselves. He
exclaims.
‘Even producing and directing are enough. You need
to get a producer for your show so that you can focus
on comedy’.
It’s a lucky performer who has Caddaye on their team.