When did you first discover your passion for the arts?
My passion was discovered for me. Lynn Norris, who remains a brilliant and sage drama teacher in Brisbane, came up to me in 1981, after I’d performed some silly sketch at school camp and said, “You ‘must’ do Speech and Drama as a subject next year”. Well, with me flattery will get you everywhere, so that was that! However, I think I realised that working in the arts was a ‘vocation’, both a burden and a blessing, after I left NIDA in 1992. The key thing I learnt was to take ‘me’ and my needs as an artist out of the equation and focus on what the ‘work’ offers an audience – to put the ‘work’ at the centre of the process. That’s hard to do at first. But creating performance is collaborative and social in nature, part of a ritual of sharing. So I consider it a privilege to offer up a shared vision.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?
How to turn public failure into the best learning of my life. How to develop resilience. How to move beyond my own aesthetic and embrace and challenge audience expectations. That the work is never for me – it’s always for the audience.

You’ve directed more than 65 productions, won awards for performance research, held important roles within the industry and directed major festivals, but what do you personally consider to be your greatest achievement in life so far?
My 12-year relationship with my partner is personally my, our, greatest achievement. I mean it. I don’t know how he’s put up with me dragging him from pillar to post with my career. There’s a line in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus that reads, “There is a world elsewhere”. And it’s true, the older I get the more I understand there is a world beyond my career. I have to define myself beyond my art practice. I have to allow myself a happy and healthy professional and personal life. That was hard thing to fathom when I was a young and an appallingly ambitious artist.

Congratulations on your appointment as the new CEO of Metro Arts! What was the first thing you did when you heard you’d been successful?
Oh I was very excited because I’ve wanted to come back to Brisbane to work for some time. I remember saying something like this was “the perfect job for me” because it’s intellectually stimulating, challenging with regards to leadership, creative with regards to working with the aspirations of many artists and a great opportunity to give back to audiences and the community.

What can you tell us about your history with Metro Arts?
I first directed a production of The Chapel Perilous by Dorothy Hewett in the now Sue Benner theatre for QUT in 1991, so I’m a relative latecomer to Metro Arts’ auspicious history. Since then, I’ve worked as a dramaturge, a provocateur, a consultant and an artist with Metro Arts. Probably the most satisfying engagement with Metro Arts is when I get to work with young and/or emerging artists who are struggling with form and process in their art making. I feel I have something to give, to be helpful, and to hand on some learning. If it’s relevant and useful, all the better; if not, it’s about supporting artists to find their own way. That’s a privilege.

How do you manage to satisfy the varying artistic tastes of the Metro Arts audience? Is it possible?
I’m not sure it is possible. Not without significant resources. However, I do know two things: that we must maintain Metro Arts’ commitment to being a developmental engine for new contemporary arts; and we must keep giving artists professional development opportunities that help them grow and develop their practice.

Any major exhibitions coming up this year we should add to our calendars?
We’ve got a really exciting program ahead of us for 2015, packed tightly with performances, exhibitions and our monthly Friday Night events. The January to June program will be released before the end of this month, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

Who are some of your favourite local Brisbane artists?
There are so many local Brisbane artists who I’ve genuinely loved working with throughout my career, but it would be too naughty of me to single anyone out – and most politically inappropriate – however … I’m working with one at the moment, Brian Lucas, as we craft Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis for the stage as a contemporary theatre work. It goes up as part of Brisbane Powerhouse’s SWEET program in April and is produced by Metro Arts through our Maps for Artists initiative funded by The Australia Council. Often I describe working with Brian as working with ‘liquid gold’. He is one of Brisbane’s most intelligent, rigorous and brave artists – but Brisbane has so many.

What goals do you hope to achieve in the role of CEO?
My personal goals are all about learning, because I believe that’s a life-long challenge. One of my main personal goals would be to learn more about the type of professional development support artists require when collaborating with Metro Arts. The legacy of Metro Arts has been to change when change was needed. So at an organisational level, I’m looking forward to re-envisioning the organisation in a simple, articulate and bold manner.

You’ve spent almost three decades working in the industry, what major changes have you seen over that time?
I think that there are no longer clear career pathways in the arts – pathways that previous generations of arts workers may have experienced. I think that’s potentially a dangerous thing. For senior artists, where are the opportunities to maintain and advance their learning? For mid-career artists, where is the support for the long, hard road – the continuity of opportunities to master their craft? And for young and emerging artists, something is happening that could be quite hazardous – some young and emerging artists are being catapulted into positions and opportunities before they’ve developed a strong sense of themselves as an artist, before they’ve challenged themselves aesthetically or politically. Definitely some have been exposed to significant artistic challenges before they’ve developed much resilience and/or political knowhow to maintain a relatively healthy, sustainable arts career. Caring for all generations of artists is difficult as they all require different strategies of support. It’s something that I hope Metro Arts can do, not just privilege the development of contemporary art, but privilege the professional development of artists, no matter where they are in their career.

You’ve also directed the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival – any behind-the-scenes tales to share?
Well the things I could tell would make your eyelashes curl! However, I don’t kiss and tell. I shall say this: Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras taught me about curation, the art of taking ‘care’. Not specifically visual arts curation but larger festival curation. Putting a festival together is more than programming, it’s a deft balance of carefully finding themes and creating juxtapositions between works. I thank Mardi Gras for that opportunity. The cultural festival was a huge gig, with many stakeholders – none of whom were backward in coming forward with their needs and expectations of the old ‘fairy godmother’ of community organisations. I expect in some respect Metro Arts will be similar. Many artists, stakeholders and audiences alike have a place in their heart for Metro Arts. I’ll be listening intently.

What inspires you in your line of work?
Compassion, patience and a nuanced argument.

Only a Brisbane local would know that … the city has matured gracefully, become more cosmopolitan, and at night by moonlight she looks far more beautiful than she ever has before.

FAVOURITE WEEKEND SPOT TO:
Perk up … Mount Tamborine – if I had it my way, I would live in the clouds.
Relax … reading non-fiction. I don’t know why, but perhaps after being a theatre director for so long it’s just relaxing to take some leisurely time reading reality, not fiction.
Indulge … if I can get a massage I do. I have a little ritual that I get one before one of my opening nights. Often there’s a point where you must walk away from the work and let the actors take charge – at that point I recharge with a massage!
Be inspired … the Gallery of Modern Art – GOMA, GOMA, GOMA, GOMA, GOMA!