Origins

In the year 2000 a massive crisis faced theatre in South Africa - among other things, the State Theatre Pretoria was mothballed with more than 450 jobs lost, the Market Theatre retrenched half of its staff, the Windybrow Theatre was about to shut down, PACOFS was facing closure after fraudulent investments of public funds, the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra was liquidated and numerous NGOs were facing funding crise. It was in this time that a national movement began, seeking to mobilise and aid theatre workers. The key player in this movement was Mike van Graan, who thus became instrumental in launching the Performing Arts Network of South Africa (PANSA), a national lobby to promote and defend the interests of the performing arts industry and of workers within the industry, in 2001. As the first General Secretary of PANSA, Van Graan was responsible for the initial fundraising, organizational structure and growth of the organization,

Structure

PANSA is a national network of individuals, NGO's, service providers and mainstream institutions that are engaged in the practice or support of the performing arts (all forms of dance, music, opera, musical theatre and theatre) in South Africa.

Members join at a provincial level and annually elect Provincial Steering Committees (PSC) that generally meet each month to manage the affairs of the organisation within the province. Currently members of the Provincial committees are put forward for election onto the National Steering Committee, at the National AGM.

It currently has formally constituted branches in the KwaZulu Natal, North West and Western Cape provinces, with representatives in the Free State and Gauteng. PANSA is working towards having active branches in each province of South Africa.