EMPLOYER INTERVIEW THIS WEEK SUE DONNELLY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO CEO OF BELVOIR ST THEATRE

ABOUT SUE

Sue was appointed Executive Director of Belvoir in August of 2017, having first worked at the company as General Manager from 2004 to 2006. She was Executive Director of Queensland Theatre (2012-2017), and Executive Director of the national lobbying and advocacy organisation Australian Major Performing Arts Group (AMPAG). With more than 25 years of experience in arts and cultural development, health and social policy, Sue has held a diverse range of senior executive positions including Director of UNSW Foundation, Director of South East Arts (UK), Public Affairs Manager for Sydney Symphony, and Director of Arts Development, Arts NSW. She has consulted and lectured in business development and management, and served on wide-ranging Government advisory boards, funding committees and tribunals, as well as the boards of numerous arts and not-for-profit companies. Sue holds a Master of Social Work with Merit and a Bachelor of Social Studies from the University of Sydney and is an alumnus of the Asialink Leaders’ program. She is also a member of Live Performance Australia’s Executive Council.

INTERVIEW

SHOWLOOP: When did you start working in Theatre/Events?

SD: 20 years ago

SHOWLOOP: What was your first job?

SD: I initially trained and worked as a social worker and family therapist, it’s a fantastic background for running a theatre company as you don’t tend to get rattled by much. While I was doing that first job I started running lots of arts events and concerts to engage the disaffected young people who were my target audience. My journey to running Australia’s best theatre company flowed from there in a rather circuitous route.

SHOWLOOP: Did you have any industry specific education or training?

SD: Not in arts. My qualifications are a BSoc Stud and a MSW with Merit. I taught in tertiary institutions in arts management for a number of years. I don’t think my role you need industry specific training. Sometimes you’re better off doing short courses.

SHOWLOOP: What have been your career highlights?

SD: There have been many. The producing highlights include Counting and Cracking in 2019 (which went on to win 7 Helpmann awards as well as many others); Fangirls (which is due to return in 2021); Things I Know to Be True; Ladies in Black (another Helpmann winner); Black Diggers; The Wider Earth; My Name is Jimi; The 7 Stages of Grieving. Another highlight is seeing many of my former staff, from various organisations, who I mentored, going on to senior positions in the industry both nationally and internationally.  It’s exciting to see them become leaders. An older highlight was from the first time I ran Belvoir and we upgraded the Theatre in 2005/06 and bought the warehouse for our administration and rehearsal rooms. At the time it was one of the biggest performing arts capital campaigns, but because it was still a tight budget and there has been much wear and tear, we’re now looking at doing more renovations! And more fundraising.

SHOWLOOP: What production staff or show crew positions do you employ?

SD: The permanent positions are Head of Production, Production Manager, Technical Manager, Venue Technician, Head of Construction, Mechanist, Resident Stage Manager, Costume Supervisor, Production Assistant.  We also employ many casuals, in various roles, depending on the show

SHOWLOOP: What do you look for when employing a staff or crew member?

SD: Relevant skills and experience, ability to think laterally/creatively, budgetary knowledge, problem solving ability. At Belvoir we never say “we can’t do it”. Rather how can we do it differently and achieve the same or a similar outcome.

SHOWLOOP: What have you been doing during the industry lockdown?

SD: Working. We never really shut down fully. As all the production staff were still coming into work doing maintenance on the buildings and set building I continued to come in as well. We then launched our Artists at Work program so we had three ensembles developing new work, coming together throughout the week, initially on Zoom, and then gradually back in the rehearsal rooms. In fact it was really hectic the whole time. I haven’t stopped except for taking a week off recently. Getting my head around Job Keeper was also huge (as we don’t have a HR person), plus there were continual updates to the Board, and industry Zoom meetings. I’m exhausted.

SHOWLOOP: What are your thoughts on the recovery of the Theatre/Event industry post-Covid?

SD: We are a resilient industry and we will survive but there are many wonderful people who will be casualties. So many jobs have been lost and I fear we have lost many skillsets as well. It’s been exceedingly difficult for our industry. A good thing from Covid has been the collegiality in the industry and hopefully this will continue at a similar level post Covid. I think we’ve all developed new ways of working which is also positive. Pre Covid I’d noticed that in some areas the industry was becoming bloated, less smart, and now we’ve had to recalibrate and prioritise what we need to do and what we can leave.

SHOWLOOP: What projects are you currently working on?

SD: We just launched part 1 of our 2021 Season so that has been a big project as it was very difficult to lock in shows and artists given the uncertainty we’re all facing. That’s why we’ve only announced shows up until September. We currently have Cursed! playing in the theatre and once that’s finished its My Brilliant Career. Of course I’m spending considerable time going through various iterations of our annual budgets. Our 2021 forecast just doesn’t work when we have reduced capacity.

SHOWLOOP: What can ShowLoop do for you?

SD: Connect Belvoir with like-minded people who are interested in working in an extremely busy theatre company which operates throughout the year doing extraordinary theatre and bringing joy to so many people.