It’s been a huge couple of months – I’m about to write up a whole bunch of adventures in Art since I returned from Melbourne…

Lately I have been hard at work on my upcoming show at The Riverside Theatre “A View From Moving Windows” which features a team of over 35 artists who have been writing and rehearsing a new show which is an ode to commuter culture on the yellow train line in Sydney (more about that later).

I’ve also been talking on panels and delivering keynote speeches all around the place:
TINA (This Is Not Art) in Newcastle had a panel on
“I’ve started a blog… now I’m a critic”
“Just how much are we influenced by criticism? Reviewers, responders, critics and thinkers are emerging form the digital woodwork with the proliferation of the blog as mode of response. What does this mean for the quality and quantity of theatre criticism and what impact is it having on the development of new work?”
Jane Howard, Rima Sabina Alouf, Skye Gellmann, Elly Clough, Augusta Supple
(Which was a hoot to be airing the trials tribulations and the mess that comes with being a blogger)

And I spoke in Sydney at a forum for the Centre for Sustainable Leadership on
“The Art of Leadership”
Along side an impressive array of professional leaders – an Olympian, an ex-military leader, a pioneer in Women’s rights and a leader specialising in strengthening Indigenous community.
(To say I felt a bit in awe of my fellow speakers (and consequently delivered possibly the speech with the most swear words) is a HUGE understatement… but we are all different and it clearly demonstrated that there are no two leadership styles – nor pathways to being a leader.)

I guess both appearances I made similar admissions – that really – I’ve never really had a plan, that I think sometimes allowing yourself to make mistakes, experiment and blunder about is ok. I’ve not been a hard lined strategist in anything I have done: I just try to live by a few simple ideas.

Invest in the local and what you love.
Just because it hasn’t been done, doesn’t mean it can’t be done.
Art is not about feeling legitimized or comfortable.
Never do anything you can’t discuss over dinner.

It’s something I have to remind myself:
Be brave.
Back yourself.
Don’t wait.
It’s ok to not know all the answers.
Don’t be a hero, but surround yourself with heroes.
Don’t forget compassion.
Play the long game.

Anyway… that’s a brief note to break the drought…

I have a swarm of shows I will be writing about… stay tuned.