Project: Victoria Circus and Physical Theatre Scan
Organisation: Creative Australia
Place: Victoria
Year: 2023
Project Type: Strategy, Policy & Research
In 2023, Creative Australia and Creative Victoria commissioned City People to conduct a scan of the Victorian circus and physical theatre sector. The scan aimed to develop a clear understanding of the artists, artform and activity in the sector, with a view to its economic, social, and cultural impact. City People recently delivered the report, which identified future directions as well as the sector’s unique challenges, gaps, needs and opportunities. There is a lot of change in the sector and the big questions that the scan aimed to answer included:
What does the circus and physical theatre sector look like in Victoria now?
Where do members of the sector think it should improve?
What do the artists in the sector need to prepare for the future?
The results of the scan will help shape future directions in policy and funding under the Victorian Circus and Physical Theatre Strategy 2022-2024. They will identify the most suitable strategic approaches to supporting a sustainable circus and physical theatre sector in Victoria, and in Australia.
There are plans to share the report and this page will be updated when the document is released by Creative Australia.
Project team
Michael Cohen (Director)
Michael has an extensive practice as an artist and curator for performing and public art programs as well as for events and festivals in the public domain. For eight years Michael was Creative Producer at Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority where he led the organisation’s annual cultural programme including the curation of major festivals such as the Hoopla Circus and Street Theatre festival. Michael was also Programme Director of a year-round events program, Newcastle Live Sites where he initiated a revival of the circus and cabaret community in the region. This included circus and sideshow cabarets, an annual street performers’ festival, a street artist mentorship program and an aerial training facility. After training in physical theatre and circus, Michael worked for many years as a solo artist in the public domain. He was Co-Artistic Director of Theatre Kantanka, Co-Director of Sydney’s fringe festival, Live Bait (2004) and was a long-time artist and events producer for Bundanon Trust.
Kim Spinks (Director)
Kim has over 20 years’ experience developing the performing arts in NSW and leading arts and cultural policy for the NSW Government. Hired to head the theatre, dance and touring programs at the former Arts NSW (now Create NSW) Kim managed a client base of up to seventy organisations, five peer-based committees and $4.2 million in grants funding p.a.. Kim is respected in the professional arts sector for her deep arts knowledge and the two decades she spent in the performing arts prior to going into government. She is a co-founder of award winning Western Sydney company Utp, where she co-devised and produced five shows that toured nationally and delivered more than 600 performances. As a dramaturg she collaborated on more than thirty theatre and dance productions with the likes of Sydney Theatre Company, The Performance Space and State Theatre Company of SA, and was Rex Cramphorn’s principal dramaturg for 15 years. She has published books and articles on Australian theatre and was an associate for many years with the Centre for Performance Studies at Sydney University.
John Baylis (Specialist Advisor)
John has been working in the performing arts sector for over thirty years in many different capacities: consultant, performer, director, dramaturg, publicist, general manager, artistic director and bureaucrat. He conducted Mapping Queensland Theatre for Arts Qld in 2009, a three-month research and consultation project which resulted in a report with recommendations to the Queensland Government to inform its next sector plan. He was Head of Arts Programs at Bundanon Trust, from 2014-19, previous roles also include Executive Producer/CEO of Stalker Theatre and Marrugeku, and Senior Producer with Performing Lines in Sydney, managing the companies’ international and regional touring activities. From 2001 to 2009, he was Director, Theatre at the Australia Council for the Arts, leading the Councils strategies and funding programs for theatre in Australia. He was artistic director of Urban Theatre Projects from 1997 to 2001 and is currently chair of NSW arts company Branch Nebula.
Chelsea McGuffin (Specialist Advisor)
Chelsea has had a continued commitment to the highest standard of contemporary circus in Australia for the past 18 years and has been a pioneering leader of this form. Chelsea worked with Tony’s Imaginary Circus, the Queensland Theatre Company, Rock N Roll Circus. The next nine years were spent working alongside Director Yaron Lifschitz where Chelsea was part of recreating the company re-named as CIRCA Contemporary Circus. In 2008, Chelsea Co-founded Circus Company 2, creating small events and producing work before co-producing Cantina with ‘Strut N Fret’ production house. Cantina toured both nationally and internationally and put Circus Company 2 on the world stage. As Creative Director of Flipside Circus, Queensland’s largest youth circus, Chelsea created programs and artistic pathways for young emerging artists as well establishing national tours for the youth troupe. Chelsea also holds the position of the circus programmer for Woodford Folk Festival. In 2021, Circus Company 2 rebranded under Chelsea’s own name, Chelsea McGuffin & Co and in 2022 she programmed the National Circus Festival in Mullumbimby.
