LUMEN Summer 2019 - Flipbook - Page 35
“I never wanted to become
a European artist – I knew
I wanted to nurture what
made me different.”
as the father of both the Adelaide Fringe
and Adelaide Cabaret Festivals] at the
University,” said Joanna.
“They were pushing the boundaries in
what was taught and how to bring different
departments together so students could
collaborate and create new work. I adored
watching these performances,” she said.
Joanna went on to study early and
contemporary music at the Conservatorium.
“Oddly enough, the gesture of early music
still influences everything I do – it is more
about the silences than the loudness,
the push of emotion at a very particular
point rather than drowning people in over
expression,” she said.
After completing her undergraduate degree,
Joanna knew she would need to leave
Australia to pursue her dreams. She spent
a year at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in
Amsterdam, and on scholarships studied
traditional Japanese music in Tokyo and
traditional dance and music in Java.
“I never wanted to become a European
artist – I knew I wanted to nurture what
made me different,” said Joanna.
“My biggest source of inspiration comes
from Asian art forms – whether it be a
performer’s control and subtlety in Noh
Theatre, hand gestures in Beijing Opera,
the J-pop culture in Japan or traditional
dances of Java,” she said.
Joanna’s big break came when she started
working as a guest director and performer
at the Schaubühne theatre in Berlin,
arguably one of Europe’s most important
theatres. It was here she met her husband,
set designer Rufus Didwiszus, who has
become one of her most significant
collaborators and influencers.
A later break was meeting world-renowned
South African artist William Kentridge,
best known for his prints, drawings and
animated films. Joanna and Kentridge
have successfully collaborated many times,
most recently in an immersive exhibition
where Joanna performed The Guided Tour
of the Exhibition: for Soprano and Handbag
at the Art Gallery of South Australia.
Joanna enjoys pushing boundaries in her
art. Creating new identities of femininity
is a theme throughout her work. In the
performance piece The Head and the Load,
a Kentridge collaboration, Joanna played a
mad, funny, horrifying and very feminine
version of Kaiser Wilhelm – the German
emperor who declared war on the world.
In her latest piece We Will Slam You With
Our Wings, an operatic video installation,
she played a madam dictator encouraging
an army chorus of young girls to take
autonomy over their own voices –
powerful stuff.
As a seasoned performer, Joanna also
enjoys sharing her knowledge with
others. She has lectured in performance
at universities, academies and schools
in Switzerland, Berlin, Hong Kong,
Singapore, and in Australia at the
University of Adelaide.
Since Joanna studied at the University,
a Bachelor of Music Theatre has been
established to provide intensive training
and teach the physical and intellectual
skills necessary for a theatre career.
“It’s great there is another area of
performance taught at the University. I
would love to see what the students are up
to,” Joanna said in response to this news.
Will the new course lead to someone
following in her footsteps?
“That’s funny, if that course had been
available I may have done it and my
journey would have been quite a different
one. Who knows?”
To find out more about the
Bachelor of Music Theatre visit:
music.adelaide.edu.au/
future/bmustheat
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