Red Tour All Too Well

[Otilia Mojarro]

TheWELL offers guided tours to large groups, small groups, and individuals. We do provided tours on a walk-in basis, however, we recommend prescheduling your tour to avoid a long waiting period. Tours typically last between 5 - 15 minutes. Individuals on a tour must stay with the group the entire time, and are not authorized to use equipment or take photos inside the facility.

The WELL provides large tours to school groups, clubs, organizations, and campus visitors. A large tour is classified as 11 or more individuals. Each tour guide can accomodate 25 individuals per tour. If your group has more than 25 people we will separate them into groups. Please indicate the size and demographic (children, teenagers, college students, or adults) of your group. We request large tours to be scheduled at least one week in advance.

A small tour is classified as between 1 - 10 individuals. Small tours provide a more intimate experience, and allow patrons to ask details questions. Small tours are available to potential students, alumni, affiliates, current students, and campus visitors. Please indicate the size and demographic (children, teenagers, college students, or adults) of your group. We request small tours to be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance.

Groups interested in learning about the WELL's LEED certification can schedual a specalized tour. The Well is a LEED Green Building project. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is governed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

There are several levels of LEED certification that a project can achieve: Basic, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. These certifications are based on a point system for meeting environmental goals in new construction of a building. The Well has earned Gold Certification with 41 points in the following categories: Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation and Process, and Sustainable Sites.Please indicate the size and demographic (children, teenagers, college students, or adults) of your group, as well as the requested time length of your tour. We request specialized tours to be scheduled at least one week in advance.

The WELL lobby has a Foiltech skylight, just like the Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics. It is comprised of a composite foil material that is inflated to give it is mass and strength. The little metal circles are called fritting which is what changes how the light enters the space. In this case, this skylight has a shade/no-shade option which will inflate the pillow to let more light in by moving the frit further apart. To let less light in, the air is let out of the pillow which brings the fritting closer together, creating more shade.

The WELL has large fans from the Big Ass Fans company and measure 10 feet in diameter. These fans were added during construction. There are 10 big ass fans in the building which replaced 28 normal ceiling fans, for energy savings.

The WELL facility is oriented in a North-South direction, so the main entrances which contain all of the glass are not exposed to direct sun. This helps with energy management because the building will not have to work as hard to keep it cool in the summer and there was no need for use of special glass to keep the glare down from people being exposed to direct sunlight.

These interior building products were selected with no or low emissions of volatile organic compounds, and during construction the builders kept dust and fume production to a minimum to protect indoor air quality at the time and in the future.

Seventy percent (70%) of the wood utilized in The WELL is certified as sustainably harvested by the Forest Stewardship Council. This means that the ecological health of the forest from which the trees were taken is protected during wood harvesting. The wood is not from clear-cutting or other destructive forestry practices. A wonderful example of sustainably-sourced wood in The WELL is the exposed slats located beneath the lobby sky light. In all, 25% of the construction materials used to construct The WELL are from recycled materials.

WHO WE WORKED WITH

We partnered with major NSW touring organisations Bangarra Dance Theatre, Bell Shakespeare, CDP Theatre Producers, Critical Stages, Monkey Baa, Performing Lines and Sydney Dance Company, and ran workshops with psychologist Jane Miskovic-Wheatley and the highly experienced touring crew from each company to explore all aspects of tour planning and delivery from a mental health perspective.

WHY DOES TOURING PRESENT CHALLENGES?

Going on tour is great fun - exploring towns and cities, delivering shows to new audiences, meeting people and making lifelong friends. However, living out of a suitcase, being away from your family and friends, and spending hours travelling can take their toll on your mental health. As the peak body for touring in NSW we'd like to lead the way to ensure cast and crew on the road are well looked after, that their mental health is considered when building a tour and that we empower companies and producers to be well informed and make good decisions to support artists.

Research has shown that there are serious concerns for the mental health of those working in the entertainment and creative industries. With risk factors such as sleep disturbances, critical reviewing, social and publicity events involving drinking to name a few, there are measures that need to be taken to ensure self care and mental health are well maintained in an industry where people who work tend to be passionate and ready to give their all.

WHAT RESOURCES & SUPPORT ARE AVAILABLE? (see the side bar for more links too)

TOUR WELL - A guide for promoting positive mental health and wellbeing on tour

MEDITATIONS- A link to some audio clips of mediations

OTHER AWC RESOURCES - A link to the great resources that the Arts Wellbeing Collective have

SUPPORT ACT WELLBEING HELPLINE 1800 959 500 - More about the support line

WELLBEING MAGAZINE - A publication put together by the Arts Wellbeing Collective

TOUR WELL FOR TOUR MANAGERS- A guide for tour managers developing and delivering tours with mental wellbeing in mind

MENTAL HEALTH TOUR BRIEFING & NOTES - A template guide to delivering your own mental health tour briefing is available - email us

MHFA TRAINING WITH ARTS ON TOUR

Part of our vision for all cast and crew on the road is that each tour will have a Mental Health First Aider on the road with them. With this in mind we are scheduling two workshops each year to ensure as many people as possible are Mental Health First Aid certified. Our next workshop will be held in 2020. We aim to hold two or more each year. Join our mailing list to keep updated as dates get announced.

Arts on Tour is based in Redfern NSW and we respectfully acknowledge the Gadigal people as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the unceded land on which we work. As we tour artists and productions across these vast lands, we pay our respect to all First Nations Elders, past, present and future. We celebrate their continuing connection and contribution to culture, country and community, and thank all First Nations peoples for their wisdom in caring for the land, the sky, the rivers and the sea.

We celebrate their continuing connection and contribution to culture, country and community, and thank all First Nations peoples for their wisdom in caring for the land, the sky, the rivers and the sea.

Tour Well consists of practical, evidence-based tips addressing common mental health and wellbeing challenges that you might encounter while on tour, so you can better prepare, take care of yourself, and help support your mates on tour.

Tour Well is a resource of the Arts Wellbeing Collective, an Arts Centre Melbourne initiative. The content was created, reviewed and informed by passionate touring professionals from the Arts Wellbeing Collective Advisory Group, Arts on Tour, Entertainment Assist, ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, and Regional Arts Victoria, as well as more than 100 company and crew who shared their challenges and ideas. Key contributors include:

Charlotte is currently Company Manager at Bell Shakespeare. Previous roles include Stage Manager with Sydney Theatre Company, Force Majeure, and Griffin Theatre Company. Charlotte holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Technical Production (Queensland University of Technology) and a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (The University of Queensland).

Sarah graduated from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and worked as a performer before becoming Principal Clinical Psychologist at Green Room Psychology. Sarah remains active with peak industry bodies, including the MEAA, and balances her time working in acute community mental health settings with providing consultation to creative individuals and organisations.

Matt is a musical theatre performer who has toured extensively for nearly 20 years. Matt made his professional debut in the original Australian production of Mamma Mia! and most recently appeared in Les Miserables and the 60th Anniversary Production of My Fair Lady. Matt is also an associate producer of Out From Under, a concert series aimed at raising mental health awareness in the entertainment industry.

Jacqui has been a practicing psychologist for sixteen years, specialising in athletic transitions, performing arts, and critical incident management. Jacqui consults to a wide variety of high performance organisations, including the National Institute of Circus Arts, Melbourne Storm NRL team, and Vicentre Swimming Club.

Jane is a NIDA graduate in Directing, and currently works as a clinical psychologist who consults to companies such as Bell Shakespeare and CDP Theatre Producers. Jane is also a large event specialist choreographer, and has worked on Pan American, Commonwealth and Olympic Games Ceremonies.

Sarah-Jane spent most of her early 20s touring in both large and small-scale musicals throughout Australia and Asia as a professional dancer and musical theatre performer. Sarah-Jane now works as a nutritionist and naturopath, and specialises in exploring the connections between stress responses and nutrition.

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