BLACK SWAN STATE THEATRE COMPANY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
- John Barrington AM
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Andrew's career as a playwright and screenwriter spans thirty years. His works for the stage have been performed throughout Australia and internationally, including on the West End, Broadway and throughout Europe. His films include A Most Wanted Man, Edge of Darkness, Head On, Lantana and Strictly Ballroom. He has served on the Literature Board of the Australia Council and on the boards of Playwriting Australia, the Australian Writers Guild and the Adelaide Film Festival.
Job Titles:
- Company Secretary
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
Anna is a Partner at national law firm Clayton Utz and holds a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Western Australia, and a Master of Laws from the University of Melbourne. With over 20 years' legal experience Anna advises a broad range of clients on all aspects of employment, industrial relations and safety law. Anna also practices in regulatory litigation and compliance with a focus on large financial services.
Anna leads a number of diversity initiatives at Clayton Utz in Perth and sits on the firm's national diversity and inclusion committee, Momentum. Anna is recognised as a ranked practitioner for Employment in Chambers Asia Pacific 2023, and a leading Employment Lawyer (Employer Representation) in the 2023 Doyle's Guide. Anna is also the Chair of Council at St Hilda's Anglican School for Girls and is a member of the Law Council of Australia Industrial Relations Committee.
Job Titles:
- Wardrobe Assistant / Dresser
Job Titles:
- Composer & Sound Designer
"The jaw-dropping brilliance of Taylor Mac's script, an exercise in take-no-prisoners imagination and hilarious writing." Huffington Post
Hir (a gender-neutral pronoun of "his" and "her," pronounced "here") is an audacious dive into the dysfunctional-family playpen of American theatre. A highly intelligent, heartfelt and humorous portrayal of a family in crisis.
Isaac returns home after serving a three-year stint in Afghanistan, only to discover his family household in revolt. His father, Arnold, has suffered a stroke rendering him nearly speechless. His mother, Paige, has become a gender studies aficionado. And his younger sister, Max, is now his younger brother. Isaac suddenly finds himself at the centre of a very different kind of war zone.
Taylor Mac's subversive comedy about a middle-class family in transition is fresh, feisty and emotionally gripping - it's like ‘The American Dream' is stuck in the American reality. Darkly comic - like "Roseanne on acid"!
Job Titles:
- Casting Director / Company Manager
Job Titles:
- Creative Learning Manager
Job Titles:
- Head of Business Development
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Donor Engagement & Finance Officer
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chair
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Treasurer
- Chief Financial Officer of Fortescue Future Industries
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants
Ms. Gooding is the Chief Financial Officer of Fortescue Future Industries (FFI). Prior to joining FFI, Ms. Gooding was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Minderoo Foundation, a modern philanthropic organisation. Ms. Gooding was also Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer of Minderoo Foundation and Minderoo Group (now known as Tattarang) for 6 years, a time of significant growth for both organisations. Ms. Gooding has more than 20 years' finance experience across various sectors in Washington DC, Singapore, and London, holding senior positions at PwC, Diageo Plc, Fortescue Metals Group and Sirius Minerals Plc.
Ms. Gooding is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a Graduate of the Institute of Company Directors. She has held a number of directorships and is also director of the Freedom Fund, a London based organisation dedicated to ending modern slavery.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Senior Executive
Francois Witbooi has worked as a senior executive in a range of industries across 4 continents. A classically trained concert pianist and winner of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship in 2002, Francois graduated from Columbia University in the City of New York with a Master's in Arts management before taking up positions at the Arts Council England and the National Foundation for Youth Music UK. More recently he worked in micro enterprise development in a number of communities across regional and remote Western Australia. He is a co-founder of Redspear Safety and was most recently included as a winner of the 40under40, an award which celebrates Western Australia's leading entrepreneurs under the age of 40. Francois also serves on the board of directors for Aboriginal Choice, a charity aimed at supporting and giving emotional strength to elders in their communities.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Consultant
- Executive Producer
Ian has worked in the creative industries in Western Australia for over 20 years, principally in the Australian film and television industry.
Ian started his working career as a lawyer, and after a variety of legal and film industry roles including working as Business Affairs Manager for Drama and Comedy at the ABC in Melbourne, Ian served as CEO of Screenwest from 2007-2017, the Western Australian peak film financing body.
In a period of strong growth for the sector, Ian led the Screenwest team that financed hundreds of film and television projects, with some highlights including Red Dog, Satellite Boy, Looking for Grace, Paper Planes, Bran Nue Dae, Australia, Breath, Cloudstreet, Mystery Road, Outback Truckers, SAS: The Search for Warriors, Who Do You Think You Are, and many more.
Ian is currently a Commonwealth Government appointment to the board of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, and has previously been a Board member of national screen agency Ausfilm, Awesome Arts Festival, and the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre.
Job Titles:
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Partner
James is a Partner in KPMG's Customer and Operations Advisory Team with a focus on supporting Australia's largest organisations through transformative change and improving business outcomes. Over the last 30 years he has led and supported large-scale business transformations across the globe. His knowledge and experiences position him well in dealing with Boards, Executives and Business Leadership to bring about impactful, practical and outcomes driven change. His skills are oriented around business process optimisation, operating models, cost take-out, strategy definition, customer engagement and experience, marketing, digital solutions and shared services.
As a committed triathlete, James leads an active lifestyle which is centred around his passion for community engagement. He is the current President of the Swan River Rowing Club, and supporting the growth and success of his community on a local and national stage is his primary objective. James also has a strong interest in global arts and culture, evidenced through his personal collection of artwork that celebrates the creativity of contemporary artists from South Africa, UK, USA, the Middle East and Australia.
"I am truly delighted to be able to support the growth and development of the Black Swan Theatre Company. The Company has an important role to play in nurturing the skills required to develop and deliver productions as well as bringing diverse perspectives and insights to all West Australians."
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
- John Barrington AM
Job Titles:
- Marek Szyler Scenic Artist
Kate has decades of experience working in theatre, dance-theatre, opera, musicals, film and circus - in many genres ranging from devised original work, new Australian plays, classics, comedy, multi-art form work, interactive and physical theatre.
In 2002, Kate founded the company Force Majeure based in Sydney, and helmed the company from a project-based concern to a multi-year funded company premiering five original main stage works for major festivals and touring extensively regionally, nationally, and internationally until 2015. Force Majeure has toured twice to WA.
Kate works extensively on large-scale projects, and for major theatre companies as well as in the small-to-medium and independent theatre scene. Kate is presently working as director on the development of a new play with local Perth actors Mandy and Hayley McElhinney.
Kate had a 26-year career as a performer and dancer with companies both nationally and internationally and created two acclaimed solo shows. Kate performed her solo show Face Value at PICA.
Kate is a multi-award winning artist, winning the Helpmann Award Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production for Same, Same But Different (Sydney Festival), Most Outstanding Performance by a Company at the Australian Dance Awards for Already Elsewhere (Sydney Festival and Biennale de la Danse in Lyon), the 2012 Helpmann Award for Best Visual or Physical Theatre Production for Not In A Million Years, and Most Outstanding Performance by a Company at the Australian Dance Awards for The Age I'm In (Sydney and Adelaide Festivals, touring to Dublin, Montreal and Seoul).
Job Titles:
- Head of Production
- Stage Manager
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Ticketing and Customer Service Manager
Job Titles:
- Marek Szyler Scenic Artist
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Mimi Packer graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Commerce degree and is an accountant and mother of four children. Mimi is on the Board of the Australian Bridge Federation Foundation and is a former director of the PLC Foundation and The Fathering Project. She has been involved with numerous charities including Clontarf Foundation, The Smith Family and Brightwater Care Group. Mimi has been keen supporter of the Black Swan State Theatre Company for many years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Philanthropy Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
- Associate Editor of Theatre
David is the Executive Director of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
A professional actor with extensive experience in theatre, film, television and radio, David trained at the Arts Educational Schools and at RADA.. The founding Chair of the Conference of Drama Schools Research Forum and a former Co-convenor of the 20th/21st Century Performer Training Group at TaPRA (Theatre and Performance Research Association), David is actively engaged in promoting research initiatives across the HE performer training sector. His own research includes published articles/book chapters related to Stanislavsky and Russian Naturalism, British Actor and Director training, the American Method, the work of Samuel Beckett and Postdramatic Theatre.
David was formerly the Chair of the Federation of Drama Schools (FDS) in the UK and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (FRSA) and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA).
David is an Associate Editor of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (TDPT) published by Routledge.
He is also on the Advisory Board to the Stanislavsky Research Centre.
Job Titles:
- Builder & Deputy Head Mechanist
Job Titles:
- Program Project Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Designer
- Member of the BOARD of DIRECTORS
Zoë Atkinson has worked as a theatre designer nationally and internationally for over twenty-five years. Her experience spans a diverse range of art forms including opera, puppetry, dance, theatre, community arts, museum exhibition and the visual arts. Over the years she has served as a member and chair on many arts advisory boards, committees and funding panels; and has taught design at a variety of institutions, including WAAPA, where she was Head of Design from 2000 - 2002. Zoë has been the recipient of several awards for her work, including a Helpmann Award, several Green Room Awards, and the Young Australian of the Year Award for the Arts. Her relationship with Black Swan began in 2000; and she has since designed thirteen productions with the company.