Bubbles and Benevolence with Marisa Vecchio
Marisa Vecchio in conversation with some inspirational people we have met through Hanworth House. We wanted to create a place where we can collect and share their experience, knowledge and advice to you. Talking all things business, family and fundraising.
Bubbles and Benevolence with Marisa Vecchio
Creativity to Collaboration - Discussing navigating success, collaboration and integrity. With Danielle Hughes Brown, Susannah George, Louise Bezzina, Marisa Vecchio and Kate Miller Heidke for Brisbane Festival x WCEI leadership in arts
What does it take to be a successful female leader in the arts? Join us as we explore this captivating topic with our esteemed panel of guests, including Susannah George, Louise Bezzina, Marisa Vecchio, and Kate Miller Heidke. Together, they dive into themes of collaboration, courage, and confidence, uncovering valuable insights on how these incredible women have navigated their respective fields.
Imagine having the courage to put your ideas out into the world, even in the face of potential failure. Our guests share their experiences on relying on mentors, taking risks, and finding success amidst adversity. Gain insight into the creative process and learn how the amazing Street Serenades program brought the Brisbane Festival to the people, even during a pandemic.
How do you strike the perfect balance between artistic integrity and commercial success? Our panel discusses the complexities of this delicate dance, touching on the importance of philanthropy in the arts, the power of giving, and the relationships it can foster. Don't miss this inspiring episode packed with valuable lessons for anyone looking to make their mark in the world of art and beyond.
Learn more about the Brisbane Festival Giving Program
Get your tickets before July 5 with the pre-sale link
Find out more or donate to Labels on the Lawn
Have any questions for us? Send them through to podcast@hanworthhouse.com.au
If you enjoy the podcast please subscribe so you don't miss out on any new episodes, submit a rating and review to tell us how we are going and connect with us on other platforms to see what else is happing at Hanworth House and with Marisa Vecchio.
Intagram: @hanworthhouse
Youtube: @hanworthhouse2947
Website: hanworthhouse.com.au
Pinterest: @hanworthhouse
Welcome to Bubbles and Benevolence, the podcast where we pop the bubbles to success and dive deep into the benevolent hearts of those who have achieved it. In this podcast, we'll sit down with successful business leaders, philanthropists, nonprofit workers and more to discuss their journeys, the lessons they've learned along the way and how they're using their success to make a positive impact on the world. So grab a glass of bubbles and join us as we explore the intersection of business and benevolence and discover what it truly means to be successful. Get ready for a special episode like no other.
Speaker 1:Recently, hanworth House played host to an incredible collaboration between Women Chiefs of Enterprises International, an organization with a proud history of bringing entrepreneurial women together, and the Brisbane Festival, celebrating leadership in the arts. Today, we have the privilege of sharing that extraordinary panel discussion with you. Leading the conversation is the talented Susannah George, with Louise Bazina, renowned for her significant enhancements to the Queensland arts industry, and first female artistic director of Brisbane Festival. Marisa Vecchio, who you should know very well by now and if you don't, i recommend you go back and listen to our other episodes and Kate Miller-Hideke, award-winning singer and songwriter, eurovision contestant and co-creator of the highly anticipated musical comedy Banana Land. But before we dive into this captivating discussion, let me introduce you to our host of the day, the multi-talented Danielle Hughes-Brown, highly accomplished media professional publisher, editor and founder of Queensland magazines, licensed real estate agent and Queensland president of Women Chiefs of Enterprises International. Buckle up for an episode full of inspiration and insights you won't want to miss.
Speaker 2:This afternoon we are in for a treat. We are delighted to welcome Susannah George, who is founder and CEO of Urban List. Susannah will lead the discussion on female leadership in the arts and explore themes around collaboration, courage and confidence. Susannah George, impressive, is an award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Urban List, an indie media house launched from her bedroom in 2011 that has grown to become the leading online portal for culture seekers in Asia Pacific. In 2021, Urban List was awarded Australia Media Brand of the Year, celebrating its influence on the media landscape and positive cultural impact on people and the planet.
Speaker 2:Susannah was named QUT inaugural Outstanding Entrepreneurial Alumnus in 2021, was recognized as a national finalist in the EU Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 2019 and listed among the most influential voices in the media as B&T's media woman of the year in 2015. Alongside her founder journey, Susannah plays a leadership role in the George family group of businesses, including the role of CEO of Plate Impressions, a world-leading plate marketing company. She is passionate about contributing to the wider community through her roles as board director at Queensland Ballet, Entrepreneurship Mentor at QUT, Ambassador for the HUNGA Project's Unleashed Women Initiative and member of the Young President's Organization YPO and Entrepreneurs' Organization, EO. Over to Susannah. Now to introduce our wonderful panelists. Thank you and enjoy.
Speaker 3:Thank you, danielle. So grateful to be here. It is an absolutely magical afternoon in Meandjin, and my favourite thing to talk about is creative connections, and to do that with such inspiring, creative leaders, i think, is a real gift, so thank you. As an icebreaker, i might ask each of you to introduce yourselves today, lou, may we start with you?
Speaker 5:Sure, thank you. Hi, everybody welcome. What a beautiful looking group of people that are sitting in front of us this afternoon. Thank you, i'm Louise Bousina. I'm the artistic director of the Brisbane Festival, which is a great joy and a real privilege to have this job, which I love very much. I'm a mother of two. I have a son and a daughter. I have spent my entire career working in the arts and I was born in Mackay in North Queensland and wanted to be a dancer, but that didn't quite work out. so here I am choreographing an entire festival for the city. Yeah, i'll leave it at that, but thank you very much.
Speaker 4:I think I might know most of you, marie Cervequio, and a very proud owner of Hanworth House, which was bought in honour of my mother who passed away 10 years ago, and it's become quite the gathering spot, i think, for many philanthropic and other events. I'm sorry about the main road, nina Shrina, you might be able to do something about that in the future for me, but we will speak louder and more buoyantly than the traffic can. Like Louise as a failed ballet dancer, i'm a failed musician, and so Kate.
Speaker 5:So glad you made up for all of us and that.
Speaker 4:I was an arts graduate originally who went into world of business and then find myself being creative, i guess in many respects with the beautiful Hanworth House. So thank you for joining us on our beautiful grounds this afternoon.
Speaker 6:Hi everyone. My name is Kate Miller-Hyde-Gie. I'm a singer-songwriter. I was born in Gladstone, so, yeah, central Queensland and I always loved writing songs since I heard the album Blue by Joni Mitchell when I was about 14. I got my first guitar. I ended up studying classical singing at the conservatorium in Brisbane, but never really loved other people telling me what to do, which is what you have to suck up. When you're a classical singer. You're sort of at the bottom of the pecking order and I just wanted to do my own thing and I loved writing my own songs and I've been lucky enough to have a career doing that.
Speaker 3:So, before we begin today's conversation, i'd like to invite you all to close your eyes and block out the traffic noise and still your mind and cast yourself back to your childhood And find a moment where you felt the joy of creating. Might have been drawing or building with clay, dancing in your room like no one was watching. Feel that moment and feel the creative freedom Totally free from judgement, just pure joy. And now, still with your eyes closed, bring your mind to a time when you did feel judged for your creativity. You may have been judged, or maybe you judged yourself. Did that judgement sway you from doing more of embracing the joy and the passion that creativity can bring? Thank you. So, this space of having the courage to pursue creativity, that's where I'd like to open the conversation. And, lou and Kate and Marisa, in all of your ways you have used artistry to create true impact. I love the Joni Mitchell reference. This was the first moment that you knew that you wanted to pursue a career in the arts.
Speaker 6:It was the first moment I thought I could be a songwriter. It sort of exploded my horizons in terms of what was possible with poetry and with chords and with a voice. I always loved music, of course, but it was an earth shattering moment for me. That record.
Speaker 3:Very special, lou. did you have an actual moment when you knew that you wanted to pursue the arts?
Speaker 5:I'm going to tell the honest truth.
Speaker 5:So I was born in 1981, which means that I grew up with young talent time, and so I would watch that on Saturday night with my parents, and that was definitely a moment where I thought that is what I'm going to do, i'm going to create some kind of production or I'm going to be in one myself, and so it was kind of in the dance studio really for me that I felt where I really belonged.
Speaker 5:I started dancing when I was four And I think my mum and dad particularly my mum, because those kind of things weren't really available or my parents, my dads are migrant to Australia and my mum grew up on a cane farming family, so anything that they could give us, that my sister and I, that was something that they didn't get the opportunity to do, but it was absolutely where I felt like I belonged in that dance studio, and so I would then just dance all the time. I was in a studio every afternoon after school, putting on productions at home, charging my parents for the food in the pantry as part of the interval snacks and food and beverage service, choreographing my sister, making her wear all sorts of crazy things, and then that just took me into high school where I was directing and creating, whether it was the Rockersteadford or the Rockpop Mime which we had in Mackay. But yeah, i guess I just couldn't really see myself fitting in anywhere else other than being in some kind of creative pursuit.
Speaker 3:Did you grow up in an artistic household?
Speaker 4:as well, marisa? No, not at all, and I think I was more studious than artistic. It was the right thing to do to practice the piano, right. So I was always very good at doing what I had to do, but I loved it. But I kind of was really taken by your comment about the kind of when the breaks are put on you doing something like that, because I didn't really think I was very good if I didn't win, and so I wasn't very good at winning the Asteadfives and I wasn't very good at winning things And despite that I did quite well at school.
Speaker 4:So everyone assumed I would probably go on to university and do a law and medicine, but I decided to do music, like, for whatever reason It wasn't that I was very good at music, i just thought I'll just show them I'm going to be a musician.
Speaker 4:In fact I came around to thinking I wasn't actually a very good musician. I wasn't good enough to perform. I went to the Conservatorium because I loved Max Olding, and I tend to do things because I like the people I'm going to be doing them with, and so I loved Max Olding. So I was deciding I was going to the Conservatory to study with him, which was the only highlight of my time at the Conservatorium. Then I realised I really wasn't a very good performer and I really wasn't good enough or patient enough to teach. So I kind of became a music graduate without a job. I loved it, but I really wasn't a very successful career. Thank goodness I went into the world of business after that, which is actually quite musical, so I think I found my niche, that I'm a frustrated musician, i think.
Speaker 5:It must be good to have gotten into the con.
Speaker 4:I'm not sure, When I put my mind to doing something I usually get over the hurdle. Then I realised why did I do this? It was a wonderful time, And I did then go on to do arts and music, which was a great study career choice.
Speaker 6:How is business? quite musical.
Speaker 4:There's a lot of maths and music. I was actually astounded by how many medical students dropped out of year three and four in medicine to join our year of music. In terms of the graduate training program, they were actually much better than I was. They were very musical, but there's a lot of maths and music. It's very elemental and it's very kind of systematic in terms of the creative process. Comes from you actually demonstrating and selling the music. But I reckon composers were all probably pretty good mathematicians. So I do have a feeling that there is a lot of symmetry between two very much thought of as antagonistic views, but I think maths and music are pretty much more related than unrelated.
Speaker 3:I'm not sure if I quite understand the maths and music correlation. However, I do think that the only way that businesses are thriving is by being creative. Correct And really embracing a sense of artistry and deep trust in the craft. I think that is why businesses are thriving or dying today. Kate, did you have a mentor or an inspiration that saw you get that shot in the arm and have the courage to really pursue the?
Speaker 6:dream. I wish I had had more. Actually, that's one piece of advice I'd give to my younger self. I don't think you know everything. You should ask for advice more often.
Speaker 6:But I did have a couple of those life-changing teachers who I just absolutely worshipped and to get positive feedback from them. I think that they really did change the course of my life. I don't think I'd be doing this if not for my music teacher in grade nine who heard me sing and said, hey, you've actually got a nice voice. Have you ever thought about having singing lessons? And I was like, yes, that's my dream. She ended up giving them to me and she ended up being an absolutely brilliant teacher and introduced me to all sorts of music. You know, classical music and ancient folk songs and music theater, songs that I'd never, ever heard before. And I felt myself in those lessons, going into that flow state you know where just time disappears and I looked forward to that. You know they were the highlights of my life for years and years and years. So definitely, yeah, antonia Breen was a big one for me.
Speaker 3:Do you have a similar figure, Marisa, somebody who really believed in you and gave you the confidence to do?
Speaker 4:I have a couple of mentors, mostly men actually, which is always I always think that's really and often from fields very different from those that I was in, which I think is something. Also a bit of advice to my former self don't look for people in the field that you think you want to be in. Actually, it's the people that are outside that can look better, kind of more objectively, in. But I think my mother was an incredible role model in terms of you know, she probably thought me doing music was an incredibly ridiculous choice, but she never said that. She always just supported my choices. And when I actually got to the end of it and said, you know, perhaps I probably could have done something else, she said, well, i thought that, but I didn't want to kind of put my view on what you were very passionate about doing at the time. So I think that's very.
Speaker 4:I'm trying to do that with my daughter, who's 29,. You know, not really give the advice, because I think that can be. I think getting the advice on your own is a lot more significant, isn't it? I think we've all had those experiences.
Speaker 3:Following my children to fail at things is my life lesson. My seven year old has supremely low frustration, tolerance, and I'm pretty sure that he learned that from me. Let's talk about failure. I'm really curious about where you find that sense of strength from within to give it a try, even though failure is a very real possibility, and you find the courage to do it anyway. Can you think of any of those moments?
Speaker 5:Yeah, sure, i can think of many. I think that every single day of my working life, i'm on the cusp of success and failure, because that's the greatest joy and the greatest. The thing that keeps me going is not the idea of failure, let me tell you, but being successful and not for me personally, but a role like Brisbane Festival is an unbelievable stage that you could epically fail or epically succeed, because it's actually about the community of this city. It's about the people and so, therefore, finding the right things, collaborating with the right people, having the right productions, connecting with the diverse group of community members Sometimes it'll work, sometimes it won't work, but that's all tools that you put back in your toolkit to improve. Okay, i tried that. Yep, next year I'm going to do a little bit of a tweak here and then I'll fix that bit, never doing that again, but it did these things.
Speaker 5:I needed to do that for these reasons, that is. I mean, it's incredibly exciting, but creating new work, for example, you have the artists, will come with an amazing idea and there's one thing to believe in it, but then it's how you pull that together the people that you put around that production to support those artists, and then having the right partnerships in place. Sometimes they don't work, but that's part of the journey. We know that and that keeps us hungry and wanting more, but when it works, there is nothing better than that feeling. When it actually works, i feel like those that are in the biz. John Cotsys is here. He'll know what that feels like when it really does work and you land at you. It just makes it all worthwhile. Yeah, you have to try and keep trying and trying and trying, and I don't think that'll ever stop. But when the moment comes, when you don't have that energy to keep trying and testing and experimenting, that's probably the time to try something else.
Speaker 3:I have two follow-ups for you on that One is can you tell us specifically that I could see your eyes absolutely shine when you were talking about that thing? that just works.
Speaker 5:I can. I mean there's so many. I'll talk about one Brisbane festival, which is Street Serenades, and our Lady Mares is here today, nina Shrinna, who is the most extraordinary woman and leader in this great city, and I look at you because the Street Serenades program is the gift to the city. That idea was certainly not revolutionary, but I do remember it. At the bottom of the lift, the day that we were all, i was with my wonderful colleague Charlie Cush, the CEO of Brisbane Festival, and there was so many things. Everyone was talking about COVID and shutting down and this and that, and I'm like, oh, i'm never doing that, people, just take the festival to the people.
Speaker 5:Rome was doing concerts. The mayor of Rome called all of the community in Rome to come out because, of course, italy was one of the countries that was hit so badly in the beginning, and so she called all the residents of Rome to come out onto their balconies and sing Community participation. Taking music out into the suburbs is not a new idea, but going to 190 suburbs in a year when everything was closing down and in a year where we really had no idea what our future was going to look like, i could see it and I could do everything I could to convince my board and my wonderful chair, anna Reynolds, who has enormous faith in me. They all were behind me. But what if we made the whole city sick? What if it went really wrong?
Speaker 5:We didn't do that, of course. What we did was actually meet 80,000 new people that had never had a connection to the Brisbane Festival. What we did was employ over a thousand artists in a year where everything was completely shut, and now it's a legacy part of the festival, and so that's those moments where you can see it. And, yes, there's lots of logistics in the entire team of Brisbane Festival working really hard to make it come to life. Kate, you did a street serenade in 21 at UQ.
Speaker 6:I did a few of them You did that year. Music is, ultimately, it is about community, it's about communicating with people and that was so powerful. But also Brisbane Festival, i have to say, was such a beacon of hope to every single artist in the entire country at that point because the way that Lou was just going out there fearlessly and still trying new things and still persevering The show will go on, and she was the only festival director in the country who was doing that, who wasn't completely cowed by COVID, who was finding a way through it, and it was just. I can't tell you how inspiring and hopeful that was for all of the artists.
Speaker 3:That was when I fell for you, lou Fell for you and your genius, you, and your beautiful family with your mum, Cass, and your two children coming to all the concerts.
Speaker 5:Drive around to all of them. It was so wonderful.
Speaker 3:I'm sure we can all empathise with this, being a mother in that pandemic experience and really mourning what my children may miss, particularly as it related to the arts. It was, as you say, a beacon of hope And it really, i think, for me was such a formative experience And they had such a beautiful time being part of this collective creative community and also being able to stand on top of the kangaroo point cliffs and experience this cross-dimensional art form with the laser light show. And well, again back to your choreography, marie-sah. Culture matters to you, too, very deeply. I see through your work that you really believe that if you can positively impact culture, you'll positively impact the future. I think that you are our shining light when it comes to philanthropy in this city And I'd love to know a little bit about what moves you particularly toward the arts at a time when there are a lot of spaces and causes that need support.
Speaker 4:Well, i've always been a firm believer that the only function of any business, whatever it is, where it's a festival or performance arts or, you know, bhp is to make communities better. That's fundamental. I mean, unless you can, as a CEO or an owner of a business or someone who works in the business, say that I go to work every day because the function of my role is to engender a better community, then don't do what you're doing because really you're in the wrong space. And so I think the arts is so deep in terms of giving a different perspective on so much. You know you can have so much in life, financially, economically, but unless you can actually walk with creating a deeper, meaningful relationship with that which actually makes our soul sing, there's no point to it is there, and I think you know this house is kind of an artistic endeavour in many respects. I think my definition of success is failing to fail. And if you really look at what happened to Hanworth, when it was, you know, two weeks from opening and an arsonist set fire to it and destroyed 85% of it, not just the house which was, you know, battered and bruised, but I had an absolute mortgage over this house And people often said to me you know how did you pick yourself up and keep going? Well, the reality is I wasn't actually very much of a heroine. I had no choice. I mean, was the Commonwealth Bank going to come in and say, oh Marisa, you know that multimillion dollar loan you have with us, so let's wipe that out for a while, let's just get on with making sure you're going to be fine and you're going to get some cash flow coming in. That's never going to happen, is it? So the reality is you do what you have to do because there is a bigger goal. My bigger goal was this was my legacy project in memory of my mother. You know my mum didn't ever meet Hanworth, but she always backed my real estate decisions so wholeheartedly And I knew she would have loved this house. It was owned by the Anglican Church.
Speaker 4:This house has sold. I think you feel it today. Everyone feels it, we do. So many wakes here these days because they feel it as well. Such a great business model Wakes so good, short, sharp, sweet. They get in, get out, they don't get drunk like a home. But the reality is it has an enormous heart. This house has been a hospice for women for 150 years. It will continue to give out heart to the community. So for me, coming to work each day is enough of a reason to get up.
Speaker 4:I always jest, i said. Somebody said to me recently there's a red light. Actually I see Fernando. I wonder if. Al, where are you, fernando? I just saw you And now you've disappeared. There he is. Fernando Lived here for many years and lived in the Preston wing at the back, and if you go around the side near the pavilion, you'll see a red light.
Speaker 4:And the builders say what's that for? I said, if we fail to become a really successful accommodation precinct, we're going to be a drive-thru brothel. So just the red light's there, just in case. And we had that as a bit of a jest. But we also said sometimes you have to be flexible, don't you? And I figured thank goodness we're not. So it's all fine, you're here on very auspicious term, it's all fine, but the reality is you have to be prepared for those unexpected consequences, right?
Speaker 4:And I think that we really became a better product because the community came in after the fire, something I never thought would happen. I think if it had an electrical fault it wouldn't have been as big a story. Now I look back, i think the arson attack was actually a good way for the fire to happen, because everyone came in You know, have our furniture, can we help you clean up? Here's some you know goods and services for the firemen who were fighting the fire, and the community was so good to me. So I think it's really easy for me to say my life's dedicated to giving back to that community in return to say thank you, i think you do the same thing. I think you do the same thing as well. Yeah, beautiful.
Speaker 3:I don't think I've ever heard a sense of corporate purpose express with such heart. Thank you, thank you. Speaking of businesses with heart, can we talk about Brisbane Festival? I do not know how this festival gets up. How does it get funded?
Speaker 5:Anna's some Oh goodness, we're in that final stretch. No, look, we are co-owned by Brisbane City Council and the state government. Through Arts Queensland. They're the two shareholders of the Brisbane Festival, and they do provide incredible financial support. So without either of those, we wouldn't even be able to open the doors. On top of that, we generate income through box office, corporate sponsorship and philanthropic support, and every year the ideas get bigger, bolder.
Speaker 5:We want to do more things As the cost of living increases, a commitment to having a free festival program as rich and dynamic as we would like to continue to be able to deliver, in addition to a wonderful river fire by Australian Retirement Trust. It's important that we have a lot of free programming, but that is something that our particularly our donors enable us to continue to do. But look, it's an enormous feat. Every year, we are working really hard to try and find different ways to innovate, to come up with different business models, to look at different relationships and partnerships. We work with every arts organisation, mostly in the city, and it's because of that collaborative approach and people who believe in the festival, like everybody here, and the broader community that enable us to put on the great gift that we can every year, and so that's such an important thing And people like Marisa.
Speaker 5:We've had so many wonderful events at this beautiful house And it does have that great soul And it just creates this wonderful feeling that it's so quintessentially Brisbane sitting here. But, yeah, it's an enormous thing that Charlie and I do with our board and our fabulous team. Fabian Cook, who most of you know, and her gorgeous team are always constantly doing whatever they can to help realise the vision of the festival. So, yeah, we just keep on rolling, but it's a business of risk. Some shows will absolutely be a smash hit at the box office And that's excellent, and sometimes they're not. And that's how we have to be really robust in our thinking and our governance structure in order to ride whatever storm may come. No storms, of course, this September.
Speaker 3:Smooth sailing.
Speaker 1:And, on that note, here's how you can get involved. Last year, thanks to the help of donors, brisbane Festival presented one of the biggest and boldest programs this city has ever seen. There are some incredible plans in store for this year, and the festival needs your help to make it happen. Every donation, great and small, all year round, makes a difference and it's tax deductible. Head to brisbanefestivalcomau to donate today under the support heading. Let's help to make this year's event even more incredible. Brisbane Festival are also delighted to offer supporters of this podcast access to the early release productions before the full program is released on July 5. Head to the show notes for more information about the Giving Program, as well as the pre-sale ticket link. Let's get back to this captivating conversation.
Speaker 3:I want to ask this question of both Kate and Lou. actually, I'm really curious about the balance that needs to be struck between commerciality of projects and the integrity of the project. You must face that in programming every year. Kate, I'm sure you've had so many decisions over your life where you've gone in or decided to steer clear based on the opportunity.
Speaker 6:Do you want to start with? Sure, i do. It's something that I've had to come to terms with several times throughout my career. It's interesting. I actually think that ultimately there's not a huge amount of daylight between preserving my own integrity and also what's in my commercial interests, because as an artist and it's probably similar to where you're at with Urban List if your currency is trust, you immediately undermine that by selling out. I'll give you one example.
Speaker 6:When I was a little bit tempted to sell out, i got offered my song to be used in a VB ad. It's a very sad song. It's a ballad, it's like it's the last day on earth. I was like, oh, i don't really want to advertise alcohol, but okay, what's the treatment for the ad? I don't know these tough sort of footy blokes crying to my song. And then the tagline was like don't be a pussy, drink VB. And they were offering me so much money, more money than I'd ever seen in my career at that point. But I just sort of I had to say no. First of all it went against my personal values, but secondly, i think it would have really been disrespectful to all the people who loved that song and used that song at the funerals of their loved ones. You know, and I don't think it was worth degrading my credibility in that way just for a short-term kind of cash injection. I also declined being on SAS Australia. I also declined being on SAS Australia.
Speaker 6:That was also well past the line.
Speaker 3:Sort of sensing something in this. Wakes Miller Highkey last day on Earth.
Speaker 4:I would have watched SAS Australia had I known you were in it.
Speaker 6:I would have been eliminated straight away.
Speaker 3:How do you balance the commerciality and the integrity of the programming?
Speaker 5:It's really difficult. I mean, the thing about Brisbane Festival that does give an opportunity to be a little bit unique is the fact that because the Brisbane, because Brisbane doesn't have a fringe like Adelaide for example, and then in Sydney you've got Vivid, brisbane Festival has an opportunity to be a little bit of all of those things, and so that's potentially where we can be a little more commercial in our approach. And I've recently discovered that commercial is actually not the right word through some excellent conversations with the chair of our Finance, audit and Risk Management Committee. It's actually about popular choices. Box office sure hits because actually a break-even or a little bit better is not really commercially. That you know. It's not necessarily the big commercial Yes, we're all going to retire and it's going to pay for next year's festival. But the popular choices, those really high entertainment hopefully sell a heap of tickets is an important part of the Brisbane Festival, but it balances out the more niche boutique work that might be more challenging, that require a greater budget. So it's a constant dance of OK, i've got enough there, but if I've got too much there, then I'm going to look like I've completely sold out and don't have enough high art, because in Sydney and Melbourne won't take it seriously and then I won't get any pre we won't get any press in the Australian. Does it have enough of this? Does it have enough of that? Have I got enough? that's going to appeal to the career mail. You know it's all of those things.
Speaker 5:But that's part of the job is to ensure plus grow new audiences, plus make sure, if we're doing productions in partnership with venues like QPAC, that they're the right productions, that we're going to sell the tickets, that you know we can. And sometimes, as I said earlier, they work and sometimes they don't. But I'm learning more and more about this because you know, in my career I've done so much creation of new work, particularly in site-specific locations, and had some big kind of blockbusters over the years, but not a huge amount. But I am learning how to think more commercially in terms of how those better deals can be done in a way that protects the artistry and protects the creatives, because that's ultimately where my heart lives, but also knowing that it's good to have a show that's going to be popular, that's OK, it's a good thing to have people wanting to come and feel happy, and actually it's through the partnership with QPAC that I feel like I'm really learning those skills And John and his incredible experience in doing so much wonderful commercial, big musical theater productions that are enormously risky.
Speaker 5:But it's a really great space for the Brisbane Festival with the right product and making sure that it feels like it's still a festival piece but can do those other things. So, yeah, it's a journey. There's a project that we'll be launching in a couple of weeks time that will be enormously popular And if it goes off in the way that we think it will and it will be this gorgeous kind of takeover of a fabulous part of the city then that will certainly give us an indication that we can confidently continue to program that kind of work into the future. I'll just hint the vivid side of things a little bit and give you just that much.
Speaker 5:But yeah, it's a careful balance And I think it's important to always go what don't I know. I don't know how to do that, so I'm going to find out how to do it. I'm going to learn how to do that. Can I ask some really stupid questions so I can make really good decisions and present that to the board or whatever it may be. So, yeah, that's where we're at at the moment.
Speaker 3:Thanks Lou, thank you, thank you. What are you looking at? Is that time Sorry?
Speaker 1:No, Oh sorry.
Speaker 3:I'm getting distracted by shiny things. Marisa, what are you learning more about at the moment?
Speaker 4:You know it's really interesting. If I had looked back 20 years ago, i mean I wouldn't have even thought I was doing. I wouldn't be sitting here with all you amazing people, with incredibly amazing people being interviewed about philanthropy. I mean, i didn't grow up in a family that was philanthropic And I was a middle class. My dad was a policeman, my mother was a secretary to school And I think life's very surprising, much like Louise was saying about how the surprise comes from those areas that you sometimes least expect it.
Speaker 4:But I'm a firm believer and I think the reason my connection with the Brisbane Festival is so strong is perhaps because of my failed artistic background And I look for any opportunity, i think, to have a connection with the arts in the broader sense. But you don't get if you don't give, and it doesn't matter what it is, just do not get anything in life unless you're prepared to give a bit right. And so I get far more back from being a giver to the Brisbane Festival than I could have ever imagined, because it's less a transaction in the arts And it's more of a building, of a relationship. So I must admit, louise, you and your team make an.
Speaker 4:There's quite a few people here who are givers to the festival. I mean, i'm surprised every single time I go to a work that I perhaps might not board a ticket for, but you invite us because of our relationship. I think, susanna, you've probably seen that as well. Not only the performance and the artists themselves become more known to you, but it's the people themselves that give, who is the most incredible cross-section of society, the most diverse group of people, often those who can least afford to give, which is really surprising to me. So, i think, commendation to people that are featured at the festival, the program you have. I don't necessarily like everything, but I always love the opportunity to go to those things, even those I don't like, and that says more about the connectivity that goes with the giving, the relationship of giving, than it does about anything else, doesn't it, i think?
Speaker 3:Thank you, APPLAUSE, Do you get to see a lot of other acts?
Speaker 6:Kate, i do, i do, i'm obsessed with it And I mean as much as I can. generally, it's something that I missed so desperately during COVID just sitting in an audience. For me, being in the audience is not just about a connection with whoever's on stage, it's also really strongly about the connection with the other people in the audience and just the power of sitting in a room full of people and committing to go on a journey with all of them, being in the moment, with all of them. There's something about it for me. That's a little bit like church, like a secular version of church, and it's, you know, the arts, is humanism, and it's where I find meaning and hope and escape, and it's always uplifting in a way, even if it's terrible. Sometimes. The worst shows I've ever seen have been the ones that have really stayed with me and they make good stories. So I just find it powerful. I always come out of the theatre feeling nourished and satisfied in a way that nothing else does for me.
Speaker 3:I really want to ask you what was this terrible thing that?
Speaker 6:you've seen, but I won't I won't do it.
Speaker 3:I won't do it to you. There has been a beautiful creative collaboration happening in the background that we're not privy to yet, and I'm looking and trying to get a gauge on whether we're able to talk about this. If we can have the Chatham House Rules, can we talk about it?
Speaker 5:We can allude to something quite remarkable that's coming. And there may be an incredibly talented human being. who's, on this stage, at the helm of that? Well, marisa, maybe you are. you're incredible, and we can't do the things that we do without people like Marisa. What can I say? What can I tell you?
Speaker 3:I can, perhaps you could share a little about the premise because I think it does touch on these ideas of integrity and commerciality.
Speaker 5:It does I mean. What I will say is this I mean Kate. Kate Milhaidke and her partner, kea Nuttle are two absolutely extraordinary artists that come from this state. Kate and Kea have performed at all of the Brisbane festivals that I've had the great privilege of directing, And a few years ago, kate and I we met for a drink and I was so excited about having a drink with Kate Milhaidke I was totally fangirling, thinking, my goodness, and we just chatted. Actually, we just talked about being mums and working in the arts. And then, not so long after, you asked me to have coffee with you and Kea at the Three Monkeys in West End and they had presented a treatment and the first draft of an incredible new production that Kea had written the script for and Kate the music. Well, and Kea as well and the music. But and it was mind-blowingly great what was in front of me And that was kind of the beginning of something.
Speaker 5:The thing I love about Kate and Kea are two incredibly dedicated artists who are remarkably talented. They're so down to earth and humble, they're delightful to work with, and so I knew that this project was going to be something pretty special, but too big really for Brisbane Festival to do alone, and that's the great thing about collaboration and partnerships. And so I had a conversation with John Kotzis from QPAC, the CEO and artistic director, and we met with Kate and in a couple in a week's time we will be publicly announcing what that will be, but I can tell you that it will be a big feature of this year's festival at QPAC, something that we are doing together. We're incredibly excited. It's one of the freshest, funniest, most delightful pieces of music theater that I think I've heard in a long time, and it's an honour and privilege to be working so closely with Kate and Kea. And what I love also is that the opportunity for Brisbane Festival and QPAC to become this fabulous producing house.
Speaker 5:We can't do these things on our own there. We need to work together and have these collaborations where we're leveraging off each other's great skills, and it's because of making wonderful things happen that hopefully we'll have a long life into the future. But we're really excited, kate, and you're a dear friend of mine and to the Brisbane Festival. So I know that I'm being a little vague, but there is some very exciting things planned And we will be. I think I've given you just enough to keep you intrigued watching the social media pages of Brisbane Festival and QPAC over the next couple of weeks, but I can tell you we're going to make this city and this state very proud. I had two roles this afternoon. One was to guide the conversation.
Speaker 3:The other was to keep us on time and I didn't wear a watch. How am I going, Kate, Right on time? Perfect. May I ask other than this, which cannot be spoken of as the two more highlights of the festival upcoming, and then we might have a little surprise.
Speaker 5:OK, i can tell you that we will have a full program at pretty much every arts venue in the city. But I can tell you that the Serenades program is coming back, which is really exciting. We will have 20 suburbs that we will visit with classical and fine, gorgeous music, with free concerts. And I'm going to tell you this actually because I did talk about it recently at our great one of our giving program events at Heidi Cooper's fabulous venue, golf Central, i invited everybody to play the kazoo. Even Courtney Talbot played the kazoo. And the reason I asked everybody to play the kazoo is because we are creating the kazoonity at this year's festival.
Speaker 5:We are asking 10,000 people to play 10,000 kazoos, to come together in a spirit of community and collaboration and celebration and fun. It's the kookiest instrument, it's the easiest instrument in the world And I just loved the idea of it. So we'll be doing workshops and schools and community groups all around the city And this all finishes the Brisbane Festival, this year at Victoria Park, which is a fabulous gift to the city from the Lord Mayor to enjoy this kind of central park of Brisbane. So watch this space a very noisy but very fabulous way to end the Brisbane Festival. You'll all be there with your pink biodegradable kazoo. So there you go. You've got enough little insight bits.
Speaker 3:On behalf of parents.
Speaker 5:You said kazoo.
Speaker 6:Kate, yeah, i love kazoo. What song are you going to be playing? Is it Your The Voice?
Speaker 5:Well, interestingly what happens, is the composer and the creator of this project a lovely young man called Kiran. Through the workshop programs, he will actually be inspired to create the tune by the people of the city. And so, but I feel like if Kate Miller Hidekey we did not plan this, by the way was to lead The Voice by John Farnham, right.
Speaker 6:Yeah.
Speaker 5:Yeah, By Kate Miller Hidekey at Victoria Park. that would be pretty amazing.
Speaker 6:Well, we'll see how much you've got in the budget.
Speaker 3:Is this one of those integrity moments? TBC Yeah on behalf of parents everywhere. Please take the kazoo away as people leave the park.
Speaker 5:They will turn into a glorious tree because they're biodegradable.
Speaker 3:Perfect, perfect Lou. Yes, sorry Would you like to introduce something very special for us this afternoon.
Speaker 5:Yes, thank you, suzanna, And before I do, i'd just like to ask you all to join me in thanking Suzanna for being such a wonderful facilitator, and thank Marisa Vecchio for being one of our panelists and also for hosting us today. As I mentioned earlier, brisbane Festival loves being here and it's wonderful to work with the women chiefs. It's such a great opportunity to celebrate women. I'm the first female artistic director of the Brisbane Festival, so it feels like and we have a female chair And it feels like a really great time to have a beautiful relationship with you. So thank you for always coming and supporting the Brisbane Festival.
Speaker 5:Now, kate Miller Hidekey incredibly gorgeous musician and wonderful human, has kindly offered to perform some songs for us this afternoon. Kate will be accompanied by an incredible musician who also lives and works in Brisbane, sam Pankhurst. Sam will be performing in the Brisbane Festival in another collaboration. Again, more to be revealed about you, sam, but, kate, thank you so much for doing this for us today. We really, really appreciate it. This will absolutely set the tone for what's to come into the future, with something very exciting that you and Kia and the wonderful director, simon Phillips has been creating behind the scenes. So please enjoy and thank you once again for coming and have a lovely rest of the afternoon.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining us on Bubbles and Benevolence. We hope you enjoyed our slightly different format today And, as usual, if you have any questions, you can send them through to podcast at handworthhousecomau. That's H-A-N-W-O-R-T-H, remember. As a dedicated podcast listener, you can get tickets to early release productions for Brisbane Festival before July 5th through the link in the episode notes. We also have some incredible things coming up at Handworth House this year, which will include a small event to celebrate the opening of Brisbane Festival with a river fire. To make sure you don't miss out, join out in a circle. Mailing list at handworthhousecomau And don't forget labels on the lawn is only three months away. As we get ready for our biggest event of the year, now is the time for you to get involved. You can donate your clothing, money, time or organise a corporate sponsorship, all of which are incredibly appreciated by our small team. For more information, head to handworthhousecomau. If you enjoyed our podcast today, please rate, review and subscribe so you don't miss any incredible interviews, and we'll be back soon with another special guest Cheers.