Matter of Interest | No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability
10/02/2016
The Hon. K.L. VINCENT: As members would be aware, I have been very proud to be the patron—although I personally prefer the more gender-neutral term ‘ambassador’—of No Strings Attached Theatre of Disability for some years now, from 2011 I think. Members may also know that my association with the company has existed since 2004, when I did my high school work experience there. Although I do not have much time to dedicate to artistic pursuits at the moment, given my more than fulfilling parliamentary role, continuing as ambassador for No Strings has given me a great opportunity to continue to contribute to the future of the arts through a company I am very much indebted to.
And what an exciting time to be the ambassador, as we move into a new chapter, farewelling Dr PJ Rose, our long-serving artistic director. PJ is an incredibly strong woman of many talents. She has a PhD in contemporary political theatre, she has worked as radio producer, a lecturer, director, cab driver, and probably everything else you can think of in between. She has been involved with No Strings as its artistic director on and off since about 1997, managing many successful programs, such as 2connect, a program pairing emerging artists with professionals to create work on a common theme, Preparing the Garden, another development program for emerging artists, and, of course, organising the annual end of year showcase.
We may have had disagreements over the years about procedure and about how things should be done in the company, but I have never once doubted PJ’s commitment and loyalty to No Strings. She has been a wonderful mentor and a fierce friend to me, and I thank her for her work and ongoing friendship.
As I said, it is a very exciting time as on leap year day, 29 February this year, another mentor, kindred spirit and personal hero of mine will leap into the role of new artistic director. Many in this chamber would probably already know actor, writer and director Alirio Zavarce for his work on many award-winning productions, the most relevant to this speech being Sons & Mothers, a No Strings Attached production about seven men with disability and their personal relationships with their mothers. Under Alirio’s leadership Sons & Mothers picked up several awards and toured the country, arguably becoming the company’s most recognised and most successful production to date.
Whether it is telling his own story as a migrant and self-labelled ‘adopted son of Australia’ from his native Caracas in Venezuela, or facilitating the stories of people with disability, or running the True North Youth Theatre Ensemble, giving artistic and social opportunities to young people in our state’s northern suburbs, who are often disenfranchised and isolated, Alirio’s work is always about amplifying the voices of those we do not always hear. For this reason, and for many others, I cannot think of a better person for this exciting new role.
Alirio always demands an extremely high artistic standard, both of himself and of others, but at the same time his work is always genuine, real and human. He is a man of great bravery, humour and wisdom, and I am sure I speak for all involved with No Strings Attached when I say that I am very excited to see what he makes of his new role and to assist him in it where I can. PJ and Alirio, congratulations on everything you have achieved and will continue to achieve. You are extraordinary people and I look forward to continuing to work with you. I am so lucky to consider you part of my family.
