Alison Murphy-Oates: Q&A
What are you working on currently?
Here at Performance Space, I am currently working on a residency program called IndigeSpace, which is open for proposals until 13 Feb. It’s an initiative to support the professional development and career pathways of mid-career Indigenous artists. Two NSW-based Indigenous artists will be selected from this open call to lead a team through a three-week interdisciplinary arts residency here at Carriageworks where Performance Space is based— one in late May and the other in early September.
I’m really excited about IndigeSpace! PSpace has an excellent track-record of supporting the development and presentation of Australian Indigenous arts, from engaging the amazing Lily Shearer as Indigenous Cultural Broker in 2006-7 and developing the IndigeLab cross-artform residential workshops which ran in 2007 then 2009-2011. IndigeSpace is building on from these programs, so it’s my hope that the works supported through these residencies will take on a life of their own and find their way into Performance Space’s presentation program or onto other venues around the country.
As well as that I am working with independent choreographer and performance maker Vicki Van Hout to tour her work Briwyant to Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre in July this year and we have Victoria Hunt’s new dance piece Copper Promises: Hinemihi Haka premiering in May for ‘Dimension Crossing’, our next season at Carriageworks. And there may be a few other opportunities to tour shows this year, hopefully!
I’m also trying to do my Masters in Arts Management and finish about five different knitting projects. Please don’t laugh if you see me trying to walk down the street and knit at the same time, because it seems like walking from place to place is the only time I get to do it!
Who, or what, inspires you to create?
I’m probably not a ‘creator’ myself, but maybe an enabler for others who are creative types. I’m really interested in creating opportunities for Indigenous artists to tell their stories or explore issues concerning our culture. I love connecting with artists and working with them through their creative process. It’s an amazing experience to sit in a rehearsal room or studio and be a part of that conversation, but I also find it really rewarding to act as an advocate on behalf of that artist or work, to witness how their work affects others, or create the perfect excel spreadsheet schedule. Yes, I am a big nerd.
What was the most interesting thing you saw recently?
I’m on a Sydney Festival bender! I saw Buried City by Belvoir and Urban Theatre Projects and really enjoyed it - it’s a very unique partnership between the two companies and I was engrossed by the raw and real personal experiences portrayed on stage that came about through co-devising the work and consulting with community groups. Meyne Wyatt is awesome too, his performance embodied so many energetic and bored young fellas I’ve met, it hit close to home. I really hope he just keeps getting bigger and better roles, because he’s an amazing performer. I’ve also seen (and loved) Foley and I’m Your Man, and this week I’m going with a posse of ‘the girls’ to see The Boys!
What is the best piece of advice that you’ve been given?
As a teenager, whenever I used to go out with my friends my Dad used to make me recite ‘the rules’: Look after your mates, don’t drink from anyone else’s drink, don’t take any pills or powders and if you have sex use a condom. He also used to make my friends recite them too - it was pretty embarrassing! But it was a pretty good lesson, and I think it sunk in.
Professionally, best pieces of advice that I’ve received recently have come from my mentor, independent producer Marguerite Pepper, and they’re very simple mantras for producing a new piece of work. She’s taught me to “Always ask” when working on a piece that requires any community consultation, or even just when I’m unsure – there’s no shame in acknowledging that you don’t know something yet! And the other is to “schedule first” - I repeat these to myself a lot.
Who, past or present, would you like to share a meal with and why?
I’d like to sit down with both my grandmothers and my great-grandmother from my father’s side. My Mum’s parents raised a huge family of 11 kids and my grandmother passed away when I was only a few months old. My Dad’s mum was an Aboriginal woman married to a white man, and she lived on the mission outside of their country NSW town. She died when Dad was two years old and Dad and his brother were then sent to Cronulla and raised by their paternal grandparents. My parents and extended family have all told me how amazing each of these women were, and I really wish I had the chance to meet them.
