WE ARE HIRING: Communications & Development Coordinator

Force Majeure is looking for a bright, proactive, people-person with a natural flair for socials to join our tiny but mighty core team. The Communications & Development Coordinator will work closely with our small team to:

• Help elevate the profile of Force Majeure, increase engagement and strengthen our brand and visual identity;

• Deliver the marketing strategy for the organisation, and roll out campaigns for programs and productions;

• Coordinate fundraising activity and support the management of relationships with supporters and presenters;

• Actively seek new avenues for philanthropic income and partnerships and ensure the engagement program is rolled out along its set timeline;

• Support our small organisation with administrative and producing tasks.

We are looking for someone who can think ahead, plan, and then manage various tasks along different timelines in different areas of the organisation – think identifying and planning out applications for philanthropic foundations, creating and scheduling content promoting our upcoming programs, ideating and designing donor engagement events, managing comms with artists, presenters and donors, and assisting with day to day producing and admin tasks.

Ideally you’ll be passionate about performance, curious about process, and have an existing connection to the arts industry. A creative thinker, an ideas person, a positive and friendly collaborator. A strong administrator who shows initiative and is good with deadlines. Maybe you’re an independent producer, self-producing artist, marketing or philanthropy legend, a smart and organised up-and-comer.

Think this might be you? Download the full position description with more information on the role including instructions on how to apply. Submissions are due by midday Friday 28 April 2023.

If you have access requirements around the application and recruitment process, have questions or would like to discuss the position in more detail, please contact Executive Director, Amy Morcom on amy@forcemajeure.com.au or call 02 8571 9086.

FORCE MAJEURE ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF AMY MORCOM AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Force Majeure announced the appointment of Amy Morcom as its new Executive Director. Amy Morcom is an experienced Creative Producer whose recent projects have included General Manager of ‘Eternityland’ for Dancing Giant Productions and Associate Producer at Opera Australia.

“We are delighted to welcome Amy to the role of Executive Director. From a very competitive field of candidates, Amy stood out as a passionate creative producer with deep experience in managing interdisciplinary collaborations. Her leadership with artists from diverse practices and backgrounds is an excellent fit for Force Majeure and she will become a close collaborator with Artistic Director Danielle Micich.” Chair Jo Dyer

Artistic Director Danielle Micich said: “As Force Majeure embarks on its 21st year in 2023, it was very important to me to find a leader who can share our vision and help us achieve the ambitious programming plans which lie ahead. Amy values collaboration, community and cultural vibrancy and I am thrilled she will be joining our team.”

“I am excited to begin working with this legendary organisation at their milestone anniversary and beyond. Force Majeure’s collaborative style and commitment to exploring both form and the human experience resonates deeply with me. I very much look forward to working closely with Danielle to deliver great things moving further down Force Majeure’s path of vital, trailblazing work.” Amy Morcom

Force Majeure currently has four productions under development which will premiere between now and 2024. As well as celebrating its 21st birthday in 2023, it will embark on a significant fundraising campaign to support this level of activity.

Amy Morcom commences in the role on Monday 31 October.

FORCE MAJEURE’S COLM O’CALLAGHAN TO DEPART TO JOIN DUBLIN’S GATE THEATRE AS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

After an incredibly successful six years, Force Majeure’s Executive Director Colm O'Callaghan has announced he will be leaving the company to take up the prestigious position of Executive Director of The Gate Theatre in Dublin.

The Board of Force Majeure and staff are delighted for Colm and this exciting new chapter. Colm helped to steer the company though many successful and at times challenging periods and played a key role in reinstating multi-year funding for the company.

“It is impossible to imagine where the company would be if not for the tenacity, exceptional instincts and sheer hard work of Colm, working alongside Artistic Director Danielle Micich,” said Julieanne Campbell, Force Majeure’s Acting Chair.

“Force Majeure has been so fortunate to have his expertise and experience, and we are beyond thrilled for Colm. Of course, this is not just a loss for Force Majeure but a loss for the Australian arts sector, but most definitely a gain for The Gate.”

Colm has led Force Majeure through ten new productions, including national and international tours and presentations with Carriageworks, Sydney Festival and Sydney Opera House; regained four-year federal and state funding resulting in a significant increase in public funding for the company; increased the financial reserves to the highest in the company’s history, despite the challenges of COVID; expanded the organisation’s philanthropic income; and worked to make space for leading First Nations artists, most notably with Associate Artist Ghenoa Gela.

Danielle further commented: “Colm has been one half of the company backbone and truly shown his love and dedication for the artform and industry. As much as it is difficult to imagine him not with us, The Gate Theatre has definitely made a good investment restructuring and recruiting Colm at the helm.”

“I am thrilled to be appointed as Executive Director of Dublin’s Gate Theatre. But of course it is with a heavy heart that I leave Force Majeure,” said Colm. “I am so proud of the achievements Danielle and I have made, always with a belief in the importance Force Majeure plays in the ecology. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Danielle, the Board of Directors and the many hardworking artists and staff I have worked with in my time with the company. I leave with a trove of unforgettable and happy memories and I have no doubt Force Majeure will go from strength to strength.”

Colm will be finishing in July, with a recruitment for a new Executive Director to begin immediately.

Force Majeure Welcomes New Board Members

We’re thrilled to announce two exciting new additions to our Board! It’s our pleasure to welcome Rachael Maza AM and Lucy Gardoll to Force Majeure’s Board of Directors.

We’re excited to have Rachael and Lucy bring their expertise and insights to the company. Rachael with her wealth of experience as one of Australia’s most inspiring arts leader; and Lucy joins the Board as Treasurer; bringing with her a deep love for the arts.

On their appointments to the Board:

“It is an incredible honour that I join the Board of Force Majeure. With my ILBIJERRI hat on - I have had the privilege of partnering with them working closely with Danielle Micich and their brilliant Associate Artist Ghenoa Gela over these last few years. I have long admired their work before this as one of this country’s leading innovative companies in pushing the form of what is dance theatre.” – Rachel Maza AM

 “I am excited and grateful to have the opportunity to join the Force Majeure Board. I think this will be a fantastic opportunity to bring my strategic and financial knowledge and learnings from KPMG to help Force Majeure reach its goals. I also feel very privileged to be able to learn more about dance and theatre from the talented Danielle, Colm and the Associate Artists with the support of the other exceptional Board members.” – Lucy Gardoll

Rachael Maza Bio:

Rachael Maza is a Yidinji (FNQ), Meriam (TSI), and Dutch, and is the Artistic Director of llbijerri Theatre Company (2008 – present).
Maza is known for her work on stage and screen: she was the presenter on the ABC’s Message Stick, stage play and the film Radiance, Sapphires, Holy Day and Beautiful One Day, and was an acting coach for the film Rabbit Proof Fence.

Her awards include: 2003 Uncle Bob Maza Memorial Award for Outstanding Contribution to Victorian Indigenous Theatre - The VIPA Awards, The Drovers Award for Touring Legend, Australia Council 2019 Theatre Award, 2019 Honorary Doctorate for Performing Arts ECU and the Inaugural Alumni Award ECU 2019. In 2020, she received an AM (Order of Australia) for her work in the Performing Arts, and was the recipient of the Greenroom Lifetime Achievement Award in 2021.

Rachael’s Ilbijerri directing credits include: Stolen, Chopped Liver; Jack Charles V the Crown, Foley, Which Way Home, My Urrwai, Black Ties and Heart is a Wasteland.

Lucy Gardoll Bio:

Lucy is a Chartered Accountant who started her career at KPMG supporting small to medium size enterprises - including not-for-profits - with tax, accounting and audit services. Her notable clients included Diversity Council Australia, Opera Australia and The Funding Network. She also supported for-profit companies during their growth stages such as ASX listed company MoneyMe. Lucy then transitioned to consulting and worked in transformational program management and change. She helped organisations to prioritise strategic programs, design internal processes and structures, and deliver and embed complex change. Lucy now works at Xero as a Strategy and Operations Manager, focused on setting the organisational objectives and key results, and supporting Executive decision making. Outside of work, she has a passion for the arts and hopes to increase engagement and inclusion of young and diverse audiences in Australia's arts space.

FORCE MAJEURE ANNOUNCES NEW ASSOCIATE ARTIST PROGRAM

We are thrilled to lift the lid on some exciting news and to announce independent artists Ghenoa Gela and Liesel Zink as Force Majeure’s inaugural Associate Artists.

This announcement marks the launch of the company’s first ever Associate Artist program, a new paid ongoing initiative for mid-career dance theatre artists made possible by four-year funding from Australia Council for the Arts and Create NSW (2021-24).

The Associate Artist program provides paid professional development, artistic mentorship, creative development funds and producing support in the making of a new work. The program is tailored to the individual’s own artistic and practice goals and is offered for a two-to-three-year cycle. This is our most significant artist support program yet – our unique way of developing and sustaining the highest quality of multidisciplinary dance theatre practice in Australia. 

Both exceptional and award-winning independent artists in their own right, Ghenoa Gela and Liesel Zink are no strangers to Force Majeure, and have been participants in the company’s INCITE Intensive.

Proud Torres Strait Islander Ghenoa Gela has been working closely with Force Majeure over the past six years as a performer on You Animal, You and Masters of Modern Sound; and as a choreographer and director on Mura Buai (co-directed by Danielle Micich) and on Lak Malual Paru (in-development and co-produced by Force Majeure and Ilbijerri Theatre Company). On the announcement as Force Majeure’s inaugural Associate Artist, Ghenoa said:

“Force Majeure is more like family than a company. They have been my greatest support and rock in not only my artistic career but also my life. Coz art is life is art is life. Force asking me to be one of their Associate Artists is more than just a title, it’s a rare role that a blak woman like me in the arts rarely gets offered without an agenda. This is what recognition beyond colour looks like. I know this role is setting me up to propel me into my greater ambition of being an AD of my own company. I’m ready Force, LET’S GOOO!! OOUUUSSSSS!!!” – Ghenoa Gela.

Brisbane-based artist Liesel Zink worked as a lead collaborator with Danielle Micich on our 2018 Commonwealth Games Commission Flock, and as Assistant Director on the recent world premiere of our new work The Last Season. On the announcement of her role as Associate Artist, Liesel said:

“What I love about Force Majeure is the enriching ways it connects with a broad cross-section of artists across many different practices, ages and cultural backgrounds. I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet, work with and learn from the artists and communities Force Majeure connects with and deepen my skills as an artist, collaborator and leader.” – Liesel Zink.

FORCE MAJEURE BOARD MEMBERS: FAREWELLS & WELCOMES

It is with great pleasure that we welcome respected arts leaders Rani Haywood and Julieanne Campbell to Force Majeure’s Board of Directors.

For over fifteen years Rani has held senior marketing roles at an array of performing arts and cultural organisations in Australia and the United States, including her most recent role as Senior Director, Sales and Marketing at The Metropolitan Opera.

Julieanne has considerable leadership experience in the not-for-profit sector with an emphasis on strategy, business performance, marketing, fundraising and stakeholder management, and has just taken up the role of Executive Director at Griffin Theatre Company.

In December 2020, we bade a fond farewell to Board members Steve Riethoff and Este Darin-Cooper. We would like to thank Steve and Este for their remarkable commitment to and steadfast advocacy for the organisation. Force Majeure is all the better for the expertise they brought to the company. We wish them both well in their continued work in supporting the arts sector.