PART III: THE STORY OF MARGARET HARVEY x FORCE MAJEURE

June 17, 2024  /  Force Majeure

Welcome to the exciting and final episode of our three-part story series!

This is another special behind the scenes perspective about one of the artists we work with and the impact supporters such as yourself can have on their journey.

Catch up on previous episodes:

Part I: The Story of Ghenoa Gela x Force Majeure

Part II: The Story of Eliza Scott x Force Majeure

This episode, Part III: The Story of Margaret Harvey x Force Majeure, is set at the beginning of a new story with our next Associate Artist, who we are delighted to announce is, Margaret Harvey!

Enjoy,

-Danielle Micich

Margaret and I first met through our INCITE Intensive program.

But that meeting almost didn't happen.

 

Margaret was recommended by a colleague to engage with us, and it was still three years until she finally walked through those studio doors.

 

Margaret and I engaged in a deep conversation over these years, full of complicated questions about whether it was a right fit for her practice as an artist.

 

"I realised Force Majeure was the company for me when I first encountered their unique blend of storytelling and movement," Margaret shares.

"Their commitment to interdisciplinary, movement-based performance and Danielle’s commitment to facilitating workshops to share the practice resonated deeply with my own creative practice."  

 

It's always about finding the right time for an artist to commit and invest in such a significant program, and then finally, Margaret arrived at our two-week INCITE Intensive at our Carriageworks home. 

Each morning of the Intensive we have a check-in where I ask if there's any thoughts anyone would like to share or contribute as a way of progressing and developing dialogue and dramaturgy.  

 

For the first four days, Margaret was brief but considered in her contributions.

It was on the fifth morning, the moment that began our sharing. Our connection. 

Margaret began sharing her thoughts and had so many questions for me. What I enjoy most about our connection is that I am equally engaged with the exchange of sharing and learning.

It's a beautiful, dynamic space.

Margaret threw herself into the work of the Intensive, was so present, and really up for all the deeper tricky conversations that comes up with sharing a room with such diversity in practice.

 

After those two weeks in the room together we continued talking and progressing on thoughts and ideas.

 

Margaret was in the early stages of developing her work, USULAL, and followed with an invitation for me to come to Naarm and share studio time with her. 

Those two weeks were a remarkable time for me.

I can truly say that I was witnessing Margaret "dancing" with her ancestors in moments.

It was a very special and generous space to be invited into.

 

Margaret talks about being like an infant in this world, and in a way, when you are learning something new it does feel like infancy, but she is embracing that in her journey with embodied movement with such grace.

There’s such beauty in someone just letting go. Finding something. And you can see that courage in her while she is on the floor moving. Margaret is a Powerhouse!

"My time with Force Majeure has significantly changed my approach to creating work. I now prioritise the physical embodiment of stories rather than the English language, using corporeal expression to convey complex narratives and access ancestral knowledge," Margaret says.

"This approach has enriched my practice, allowing me to explore the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit in storytelling."

I knew there was more to explore in this artistic relationship, and I know what it is to have support as an independent artist at this point in your career.  It was another good conversation with Margaret about what it would mean for her to consider being Force Majeure's Associate Artist.

Margaret accepted, and we are thrilled to officially announce Margaret Harvey as Force Majeure's new Associate Artist!

I'm looking forward to getting back in the room together later this year to see where this new platform of support takes the story of Margaret Harvey x Force Majeure.

I have a feeling it's just the beginning...

You can play a part in Margaret's story and the many others that will follow by supporting Force Majeure.

 

Thanks to our supporters we can get more artists like Ghenoa, Eliza, and Margaret in the studio, and ensure the continuation of Force Majeure’s industry-leading artist development programs and visceral movement-based theatre. 


Powerful performance begins with an artist. It continues with you.

Be a force for artists.

Make a tax deductible donation today.

 

Danielle Micich

Artistic Director

Force Majeure

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PART II: THE STORY OF ELIZA SCOTT x FORCE MAJEURE

June 11, 2024  /  Force Majeure

This story is Part II of a three-part story series celebrating the creativity, tenacity and artistic courage of some of the artists we work with.

Eliza came to the company first and foremost to do a Masterclass in 2020, as is often my first point of contact with an artist.

I am drawn to those who have a strong practice of their own and visible artistic rigour.

Eliza is one of those artists. 

"I was drawn to working with Force Majeure as a company that focuses on bringing together multiple art forms and because it's a process based company," Eliza shares.

During the masterclass I was able to witness Eliza's unique performance style, incorporating voice and song as part of their form.  

I was keen to see more.

Later that year, Eliza applied for INCITE Intensive, our longer, more rigorous professional development program. It is where you see people unpack their practice - and then collapse - and then rebuild themselves.

In our sharing at the end of the Intensive, I was so taken with the growth, focus and courageousness Eliza was communicating with their body.

It was captivating. 

I invited Eliza to participate in the intensive again. 

 

"I value companies that put development at the forefront of performance-making, and Force Majeure offers just this," Eliza says. "I wanted to expand my artistic process, collaborate with their array of incredible artists, and create new work."  

 

Looking back at the photos from the Intensives you can already see the shape of Eugene starting to take place, years before the work ever had a name.

The inevitability of the body and its stories...

Eliza began developing Eugene with Griffin Theatre Company as part of the Incubator Fellowship. I had been mentoring Eliza through this process, and then in 2022 an opportunity arose for Force Majeure to produce a work at NIDA with the graduating production students.

 

I knew that with Force Majeure backing and supporting such a focused artist and a presentation opportunity with NIDA, we could bring Eugene to the stage. 

Eliza and I spent the next 12 months developing the work.

We did development after development, incorporating live performance, video installations, and sound. 

"The Force Majeure rehearsal room gives a voice to each artist that is present. There is deep exploration, play and rigour. I value the focus on physical exploration, improvisation and harnessing these to tell the story that needs to be told," Eliza shares about their time in the room. 

Two years later, in November 2022, Eliza premiered Eugene; an unexpected melding of poetic language, drag, embodied movement and meme culture and an exploration of self-discovery through a non-binary lens.
 

You can read more about Eugene here, now available for tour. 

Eliza's story is just one chapter in Force Majeure's commitment to developing and supporting artists to create visceral, thought-provoking theatre.

 

Thank you for being a part of that story by supporting our company and our artists. We can't do it without you.


Powerful performance begins with an artist. It continues with you.

Be a force for artists.

Make a tax deductible donation today.

Today you'll find Eliza at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, continuing their training and earning their Masters degree.

 

We can't wait to work with Eliza again and share Eugene with more audiences.

 

Danielle Micich

Artistic Director

Force Majeure

 Catch up on…Part I: The Story of Ghenoa Gela x Force Majeure

Coming soon... Part III: The Story of Margaret Harvey x Force Majeure

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PART I: THE STORY OF GHENOA GELA X FORCE MAJEURE

May 27, 2024  /  Force Majeure

This story is Part I of a three-part story series celebrating the creativity, tenacity and artistic courage of some of the artists we work with.

Ghenoa Gela's relationship with Force Majeure begins over 11 years ago, but I'd like to pick up this story in 2015 when Ghenoa (or G, as I affectionately call her) and I were thrown into a room to make a work together, basically overnight.

The work was a durational structured-improvisation piece called MURA BUAI. 

When it came time for the performance and one of the performers, Melanie Palomares, was unavailable to perform, G decided to step in and take their place. I'd never seen G perform but when G got up to fill in, I couldn't watch anyone else.

I was compelled to watch this human - this amazing performer - take the space.

I'd never seen anyone holistically take my attention in a performance with no lights, no nothing. Just performing in the foyer of Carriageworks.

I think we've got photos of that actually.

[Editors note: We did, in fact, have photos of that]

Photo Credit: Kate Blackmore

After that fateful day, G and I continued to work together via our INCITE Intensive training program, on my productions of YOU ANIMAL YOU, and a redevelopment of MURA BUAI for the Commonwealth Games which is where we started seeing the shape of a new work...

 

A simple prop change we made to accommodate the outdoor performance space for the redevelopment of MURA BUAI suddenly shifted the work in profound ways. Working in sand and with banana leaves and water, images of migration and loss began to emerge and the idea of sand being consumed and deposited.

Consumed and deposited.

We realised there was a bigger and deeper story we could be telling here. A deeper exchange was happening between the two of us.

 

G engaged me in a deep conversation about what it means to be a First Nations performer at a time when people were really questioning why there wasn't any representation, and if there was, was it tokenistic? I was up for that conversation.

G set out on a massive journey to create a work that would get visibility on her homelands; the Torres Strait Islands and the rising tides of climate change threatening their survival.

 

Over the next few years G began developing the show we now know as GURR ERA OP, expanding the team to include Rachael Maza from ILBIJERRI Theatre company as well as a cast of performers connected by land and lineage, community and culture.

During a 2020 development, things began to take shape. 

 

Many of the moments that made it into the final production were being created in that development room, years before ABC Arts would call GURR ERA OP 'easily the most affecting show I've seen this festival season'.

 

The work continued to deepen and evolve, although some things stayed the same.

Visceral moments found in the rehearsal room would have to be carried like fragile memories from one development to the next, every artist collectively suspending that moment through time until we could revisit it, recreate it, deepen it, explore it, and eventually, share it with an audience.

After successfully securing Major Festivals Initiative funding, G was able to travel to Erub Island for the first time, returning multiple times over the following years. G generously extended an invitation for a small group to join her on some of these trips, something I will treasure forever.

 

Each time G went to the islands she would write, and when she'd return we'd have many yarns about life and family connection and what it means to have not grown up on the island. And then, just like from the very first day, we'd start putting this work on the floor.

Sometimes in an artistic practice you can very quickly make the decision to remove a scene because it's not dramaturgically sound, but this was not the case in the GURR ERA OP room.

 

There are certain dances that have stayed and haven't moved because they hold the work together, and that’s all based around what it is to be Torres Strait Islander.

 

You can justify any of those grounding movement pieces and they will still be true.

After 4-5 developments and visits to the island, G had this extraordinary work to highlight the problems and contribute to the huge voice the Torres Strait 8 fight created about the effects of climate change and the lack of investment to secure basic human rights for these communities.

 

In 2024, it was time to share GURR ERA OP with an audience. Ghenoa premiered her landmark work at Sydney Festival, produced by Force Majeure and ILBIJERRI Theatre Company, to critical acclaim in January 2024.

 

And that was only the beginning. GURR ERA OP will continue its successful festival run at RISING: Melbourne in June 2024, Brisbane Festival in September 2024, and Ten Days on the Island in 2025. Our goal now is for as many people as possible to see G's work. 

Ghenoa has always been associated with the company since 2015 - the longest standing relationship any independent artist has had with the company’s history - but we formally gave her the position as our Associate Artist when we received additional funds.

 

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.

When asked what impact Force Majeure has had on her artistic practice, G shared, "The professional and personal journey I’ve had with Force over the last 11 years has been vital to my sense of self as an artist in the Australian arts landscape.

 

Fortunate to have shared my artistic and family space with both Kate and Danielle, I couldn’t have asked for better mentors and family members as a curious blakfullah artist trying to figure out where I fit in the ever rigid, ever white, the ever linear Australian contemporary arts industry.

 

They gave me a platform and supported me to use it.

 

Will be forever grateful Force Majeure was there for me."

The whole team at Force Majeure are honoured to have been one part of Ghenoa's journey and her incredible contribution to the Australian arts landscape. We'd like to thank all our board, donors and supporters who have made this investment in G and her stories possible.

 

Thank you for supporting our commitment to mentoring artists to create visceral, thought-provoking theatre. 

Powerful performance begins with an artist. It continues with you.

Be a force for artists.

Make a tax deductible donation today.

 

Danielle Micich

Artistic Director

Force Majeure

 

Next up... Part II: The Story of Eliza Scott x Force Majeure

The 2022-2023 development of GURR ERA OP was supported by the NSW Government through Create NSW and assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its Arts Funding and Advisory Body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., commissioned by Sydney Festival, RISING, Brisbane Festival and Ten Days on the Island.

Image credits:

MURA BUAI Image: Kate Blackmore

2024 GURR ERA OP Production Images: Prudence Upton

2020 GURR ERA OP Development Images: Ashley de Prazer
Other images: Danielle Micich, Ghenoa Gela 

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WE ARE HIRING: Communications & Development Coordinator

March 31, 2023  /  Force Majeure

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 respectfully acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, seas, waterways and skies where we work and we pay our respect to Elders both past and present. We recognise that our office is located on Gadigal Land. We are privileged to gather on this Country to share knowledge, culture, art and storytelling now, and with future generations.