Donna Jackson
Writer, Director, Theatre Maker, Creative Consultant, Performer
Hubcap Productions is the company of Donna Jackson.
My art is about ideas.
I work in collaboration with people who inspire and challenge me. I am happy working across art forms from physical theatre to landscape installations to producing events and developing concepts for clients.
My work often has an industrial aesthetic. However I have also collaborated on projects with hairdressers and gardeners and even a sheep farmer in
such fertile ground – Blue Sheep.
For community based projects I enter into partnership with groups to help them develop projects or theatre productions where they tell their own stories in their language. These can take months, weeks or years to develop. I often direct them in non theatre venues that have a history that is relevant to the story. An example of this ‘
We Built This City’ where I worked with building workers and used their tools of trade -earth moving equipment and cranes to help them tell stories of their work life and political struggle.
My early training was through working with performance groups in old warehouses around the Western region of Melbourne after studying for teaching with a major in Drama.
'In recent years the Footscary Community Arts Centre has been the home of some truly excellent community theatre led by the indefatigable Donna Jackson.' Geoffrey Milne, Australian Drama Studies April 1992 Vol 20.
As most of my work attempts to communicate interesting and sometimes challenging ideas, I developed skills as a circus performer and director as I found this medium an attractive and aesthetically useful way to converse with audiences.
One project I am known for founding is the Melbourne's Women's Circus. This project set a new bench mark in community and circus theatre. The visually narrative style I initiated there forged new territory in Circus at this time, a new style of performance developed under my direction, which has since been emulated throughout Australia, and internationally.
Site specific theatre led to me working in site specific landscape installations. In these projects I collaborated with sculptors and visual artists. The first of these was
Such Fertile Ground. I directed 12 artists and townships in the building of large visual images in the landscape. Aerial photos taken were made into postcards to promote each township. I was Artistic Director of this project, over a three year period for
Regional Arts Victoria
I have recently completed a Master of Arts at Latrobe University. My exegesis was on processes of making arts projects involving social change. I am now undertaking a PhD by Research in the School of Communication, Arts and Critical Enquiry at La Trobe University. My supervisor is Geoffrey Milne.
My exegesis is entitled, "Illuminating Arts Practice. Making Large-Scale Arts Projects Beyond the Mainstream".
Publications
- Car Maintenance Explosives and Love (CMXL) Script
Spinifex Press
- Taking A Stand, Women In Politics and Society Contributor
Edited by Jocelynne A Scutt, Artemus Press. 1994
- Women's Circus Leaping Off the Edge Contributor
- A Girls Best Friend. The Meaning Of Dogs In Women's Lives Contributor
Edited by Jan Fook and Renate Klein Spinifex Press, 1997
- Horse Dreams. The Meaning Of Horses In Women's Lives Contributor
Edited by Jan Fook, Susan Hawthorne and Renate Klein. Spinifex Press, 2004
Lectures
- Lectures Given at Monash University, Melbourne University, Swinburne University and Tafe, Victorian Collage of the Arts, La Trobe University, Queensland University of Technology, Ballarat Arts Academy
- Site Specific Art
- Community Cultural Development
- Political Theatre
- Art and Industry
- Circus as a tool for contemporary cultural development
- Speaker at conferences on Art, community, political theatre and site specific theatre, circus and landscape art.
Awards
- Tattersalls Award for enterprises and achievement
- Women's Honour Roll for the Centenary of Federation
- Scholarship Cranlana Program 2005
- Fellowship - Theatre Board of the Australia Council
- Green Room Nomination, Car Maintenance Explosives and Love, 1996
- Green Room Nomination, We Built This City, 2006
- Wal Cherry Award Nomination, Circus Of Sin, 2007
