Terry Sarten: Applause, but no encore for zero-fee programme

NEW Zealand audiences are an odd bunch. As a performer and fan I have seen the domestic and foreign versions in action and, on many occasions, the NZ variety have left me puzzled.

Here in Whanganui, at both the Musicians Club, Jazz Club and other venues, I have observed a rapt audience caught up in the thrall of a brilliant performance.

At the end of each number there is thunderous applause acknowledging the skilled artists on stage. Cleary they are lapping it up and totally engaged with the music, the voices and songs.

The band get towards the end of their set, having played a blinder. They prep the audience that this is their last number, introduce those on stage to loud acclaim and roll the show towards the final song.

Do the audience carry through their applause and call the band back for more? You can tell that they want to but it seems they don't know how. There is no continued applause, no stomping feet, no repeated calls for more, for another song - for an encore. Instead the band exit stage right while the audience all get up and start heading for the door.

What is this about? I have performed overseas and if they like you, they let you know and call for an encore. (At one venue they kept going for three encores by which time I was completely stuffed having sung my heart out for over two hours).

Here in New Zealand, audiences seem to be baffled by the nature of performance. Is there some kind of collective embarrassment at being seen to be first to continue clapping? Does a strange rictus come over people when it comes to acknowledging talent?

There is often a wait while the audience looks for direction from within. A classic example was at a university graduation where the music students were performing as the crowd shuffled in and found their seats.

The band were incredibly good but at the end of a number the audience remained hushed. This seemed odd and I wondered if they were looking for a signal - someone to set the idea of applause in motion. At the end of the next number I began to clap and then a thousand other people all went - "Hey that's what we are meant to do when we see and hear something great", and they all applauded.

On the political front, the proposal to provide a free first year of tertiary education is worthy of some applause but no encore.

The concept, although noble in terms of creating more opportunity for low-income families to send their children to university, appears to me to be around the wrong way. The first year of study should remain fee-based and, once a student has found their way through that level of academic hurdles, achieved respectable grades, finding they are heading in the right study direction, then the government should make finishing a degree a zero fee programme.

This would be a valuable investment in the future, encouraging those who show they can manage the academic challenges to complete higher study and contribute their knowledge to the economic wellbeing of the country. This approach would ideally be supported with first-year scholarships for low-income families to ensure these kids get a shot at the world of tertiary education.

We have family members who have got a degree or two along with considerable debt who all found the first year pretty hard going. Like most of their peers they wrestled with looming assignment deadlines, the pub and the hangover.

In year two they knew what was needed and were getting grades that demonstrated they were in the right place.

■ Terry Sarten (aka Tel) is a musician, writer, social worker and enthusiastic applauder.