EMPLOYER INTERVIEW THIS WEEK JULIE BROOKS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, WORLD EVENTS PTY LTD
Executive Producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the Opening Celebration of the Women’s ICC T20 World Cup
ABOUT JULIE
Julie Brooks is an International Executive Producer of successful Ceremonies, Major Events and Stage Productions and has delivered a total of thirteen Opening and Closing Ceremonies over twelve years including the 2006 Doha Asian Games, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, the 2011 Pan American Games Ceremonies in Mexico, and the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.
Proudly, her Ceremonies experience commenced with her role as Associate Producer on both the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies.
Previously, Julie’s stage production work spanned over ten years in musical theatre in Australia and Asia, firstly with Cats, Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera for Sir Cameron Mackintosh, followed by Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love and Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.
During this time, she spent two years in Asia firstly on Cats, the first ever Asian Tour of an international standard musical, followed by General Manager of the Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Company supervising the staging of Phantom in Hong Kong, these two shows established the now successful Asian Musical Theatre touring circuit.
In 2014 Julie was Executive Producer on Clusters of Light an Oratorio commissioned by HRH the Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah in the UAE. This multi-media show told the story of the Prophet Mohammed and was staged to great Middle Eastern acclaim in the Al Majaz Island Theatre in 2014 and re-staged for the President of Egypt in 2015.
In 2016/7 Her company, World Events, with Ignatius Jones, staged outdoor multi-media productions for a theme park in the Gold Coast. In 2018 World Events designed a large river based multimedia attraction for the Destination Brisbane Consortium and the Queens Wharf Precinct in Brisbane, due to be launched in 2021.
In 2018/19, for and with the Michael Cassel Group, she was Executive Producer for the Royal Military Edinburgh Tattoo staged at the ANZ Stadium in October 2019 and the Executive Producer of the Opening Celebration of the Women’s ICC T20 World Cup in February 2020.
Julie is proud and feels privileged to have worked for, and with some of the best creative and production talent in the world – and so many of them Australians!
INTERVIEW
SHOWLOOP: When did you start working in Theatre/Events?
JB: In the 80’s……..giving my age away here!
SHOWLOOP: What was your first job?
JB: First job was the Festival of Sydney then onto Cameron Mackintosh and the first season of ‘CATS’.
SHOWLOOP: Did you have any industry specific education or training?
JB: All training was on the job and luckily with some fabulous mentors such as David Healey and Brian Barbers at Sydney Festival, and James Thane!
SHOWLOOP: What have been your career highlights?
JB: Firstly, being appointed General Manager of The Really Useful Company in Hong Kong at the ripe old age .of 33. Then Associate Producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games (the Best Ever!). Executive Producer of ‘Clusters of Light’ for Sharjah in the UAE – the first time the story of the prophet was staged as a live event. Most recently highlights have been working with Michael Cassel on the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the largest tattoo ever staged, and the Opening Celebration of the ICC T20 World Cup, a celebration of Australian talent seen by millions globally.
SHOWLOOP: What production staff or show crew positions do you employ?
JB: As Executive Producer of ceremonies I have employed event personnel across the gamut of Technical, Operational, Production and Administrative and of course Creative.
SHOWLOOP: What do you look for when employing a staff or crew member?
JB: A love of the industry and the ‘can do’ attitude and definitely a sense of humour! Of course, experience is important, but we all start in smaller roles…
SHOWLOOP: What have you been doing during the industry lockdown?
JB: Some overseas consulting and research on opportunities for the future. It has been a quiet time, which after many years has given me a new perspective on life and the future.
SHOWLOOP: What are your thoughts on the recovery of the Theatre/Event industry post-Covid?
JB: Our industry has been through incredibly difficult times keeping companies together and families looked after. We will be back on our feet very soon and producing creative and exciting work. The arts are an important foundation of our society, storytelling, passion, challenging ideas, I am sure there will be many important projects emerging from this time.
SHOWLOOP: What projects are you currently working on?
JB: Consulting and tender preparation for future large-scale events
SHOWLOOP: What can ShowLoop do for you?
JB: Definitely a great and needed resource for engagement of event personnel for future events. My congratulations on the initiative.
