A couple of weeks back to kick off the year, Queensland Theatre unveiled the DOOR 3 initiative, which is aimed at nurturing local theatre productions created within Queensland. Set to pilot in 2024, this initiative will open the Diane Cilento Studio to three chosen independent theatre productions, which are selected through an open call for expressions of interest. The program is not merely about providing a performance venue; it extends much further to offer substantial financial backing, including a $5,000 cash contribution, full retention of box office revenues for the successful applicants, six weeks of access to Queensland Theatre’s facilities, and support in a range of areas including technical, marketing, ticketing and production. To read more about the program, the key dates proposed for the three successful applicants [May 2024, August 2024 and August-September 2024], click HERE.
Following the announcement, we had the opportunity to pose some questions to one of the figures spearheading this initiative, Daniel Evans, Queensland Theatre’s Associate Artist with a varied history in the local, international and indie theatre scenes. From talking about the DOOR 3 initiative in detail to his own advice for young ambitious performers/creatives entering the scene, you can read the full Q&A interview below:
First of all, are you able to share a bit about your history in the industry from your origins to present day?
I am a writer, director and producer who has worked here – and internationally – in theatre, festivals, print and television. I currently live in Meanjin and I create work on the lands of the Turrbal and Jagera people as Artistic Associate for Queensland Theatre. Most recently, I co-directed Vietgone – a Vietnamese hip-hop musical-comedy – with one of my best friends Ngoc Phan and later this year I will direct an adaptation of Euripides’ Medea by Anne-Louise Sarks and Kate Mulvany.
Aside from QT Amy Ingram and I run a performance collective called The Good Room which transforms the stories of ordinary people into extraordinary theatre experiences. We have done shows with 50,000 pearls, 5 million rose petals, real dogs and fake pandas sometimes in theatres, sometimes on dance floors and once on the phone.
I’ve been really fortunate that my career has been filled with gigs across all kinds of storytelling. I’ve worked for frankie magazine, Scenstr, SMITH Journal and SPACES and as television producer for Endemol Shine Australia, iTV, Network Nine, Network Ten and SBS.
So, you have Queensland Conservatorium a few streets away from your doorstep and you have universities all around that offer courses or at least the skills to undertake screen-writing, stage-writing etc. What is your lay of the land about young people wanting to go down the route of becoming a theatre creative instead of a performer?
I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. You can do both! I think in 2024 you can chuck the rule-book out and follow your gut, lean in to what makes you curious, and surround yourself with people who are interested in telling the stories you want to tell. And, if the way you tell those stories is as an actor or a director or a writer – so be it!
As an associate artist and someone deeply involved in this initiative, what personal insights or experiences led you to champion a project like DOOR 3?
Amy Ingram and I run a company called The Good Room and we owe our very existence – and subsequent successes – to a suite of advocated and arts programs that supported us (and continue to support us) to create the work we want to make. Places like Metro Arts , Brisbane Festival, Brisbane Powerhouse and, yes, Queensland Theatre were (in hindsight!) so brave in giving us a key and some confidence to let us articulate and, well, ‘art’-iculate our process and work. One of the biggest luxuries is having a space where you can sit, get-up, try-out, throw something at the wall, throw something else at the wall, roll around the floor, go a bit bananas … in the pursuit of a feeling, or an idea, or an emotion, that sorta-scared feeling that tells you that you might just have a tendril of an idea worth sharing with another person.
Can you describe the core vision behind the DOOR 3 Initiative and how it emerged as a strategic priority for Queensland Theatre?
This is about giving indie artists the autonomy to leverage telling their stories on their terms while leveraging the support of a state theatre company. There is a groundswell of amazing independent artists, collectives and companies in Queensland right now that join a lineage of incredible indie companies before them and we thought it was high-time to throw open the doors of the Diane Cilento Studio to celebrate this and spur-on a new generation, support existing indie mainstays and perhaps see some of our senior artists in a new creative light.
What do you see as of the biggest challenges independent theatre creators face in Queensland, and how does DOOR 3 specifically address these challenges?
Being an indie artist myself I think the economy we deal in is ‘time’ and ‘space’ … and, in my experience, neither come cheap! So much of the former is funnelled into finding rehearsal spaces, raising audiences, sourcing props and giving valuable to the ‘how we’ll get in onstage as opposed to ‘what are we putting on stage.’ DOOR 3 aims to lighten the load by providing a level of support across administration, marketing, ticketing, technical and production so that our theatre makers can get back to what they do best – making theatre .
The successful applicants I imagine will have their own unique outcomes. By the end of 2024, what would be your ideal outcome from these companies compared to the beginning of the year.
That they can feel a real – and we deeply mean this – a *real* sense of accomplishment. A huge objective for this program is making sure that artists have the space to create of their own accord, that they push themselves and their craft so that what audiences see is finely-honed, deeply-moving performance. Also – perhaps not-so-secretly – we really want audiences to be looking forward (fingers crossed) to what’s next, what might lay in wait behind the next ‘round of DOOR 3.
Looking beyond 2024, what is the long-term vision for the DOOR 3 Initiative, and how might it evolve to further support the independent theatre scene?
If the local industry and audiences embrace DOOR 3’s pilot year – it would be brilliant to expand the number of productions and (fingers crossed) be able to offer more initial capital to help the companies kickstart their works.
Since initiatives similar to a degree have been offered in the past, are there any particular highlights that come to mind about the support of a venue or company (like Queensland Theatre through DOOR 3) has allowed a company to thrive?
Amy Ingram and I were so fortunate when Queensland Theatre – then, under the directorship of Wesley Enoch and his associate Todd McDonald – came to The Good Room and gave us the key to the Diane Cilento Studio for 2 weeks. We had a bunch of index cards, a bag of rose petals, a pedestal fan and a microphone. Their trust, bravery and risk allowed us to seed a work called I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS. From there, that beautiful development blew-up into a major show that then toured for several years around Australia. These programs carve out spaces to let artists make art. They also bring new collectives together – actors, directors, writers, creatives who haven’t been in each other’s orbit – in ways that can change the sector.
Finally, I would love to hear some advice you have for youth who may be looking at entering the performing arts / creative arts industry in the future.
Be kind. The process is just as important as the product. Allow yourself to be surprised. Ask ‘why does this have to be theatre?’ Don’t take an audience for granted. Don’t take your time for granted either. Tell the stories you’re burning to tell. Always play the music louder.
Thank you to Daniel Evans for his valuable time in responding to my questions around the DOOR 3 initiative, Queensland Theatre and the performing arts industry in general. I would also like to acknowledge the time of the team at IVY for helping facilitate this opportunity.
Did you read this interview and have inspiration strike? May you be considering applying for the DOOR 3 initiative during its pilot year, or perhaps considering it for future potential rounds? Read more about the 2024 pilot program HERE.
