So Near So Far Team — Emma Che Raethke

Acknowledgements

Emma Che Raethke - Concept/writer and director

Daniel Flood- Media Artist and writer

Kieran Law- QLD performer

Kate Lee- Overseas performer

Julie Robson- Dramaturg

Sarah Winter- Set Designer

Mike Wilmett- Sound Designer

Barbara Lowing- voice of the Narrator

Pippa Bailey- Provocateur

Suzon Fuks- Past experience Provocateur

Image by Dan Baebler 2021 @ The Brisbane Powerhouse

Biographies

Julie Robson is an artist, educator and researcher. Following her degree in theatre education at Queensland University of Technology, Julie worked in vocal, jazz and theatre ensembles, including a cappella troupe Sister Moon Ensemble, Tokyo-based jazz trio Honeybeeswing, and performance group sacred COW. She co-founded Magdalena Australia, a women in contemporary performance network linked to the international Magdalena Project. After her award-winning doctoral studies on siren vocality, she coordinated the Contemporary Performance program at Edith Cowan University. Julie was then a postdoctoral fellow at ECU, focusing on innovation and arts learning. She has served as a board member for the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, an Associate Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative industries and Innovation, and an adjunct Senior Lecturer at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Returning to Brisbane, she worked for Flying Arts Alliance, managing the professional development program for visual artists and educators. Julie is a co-director of Ladyfinger, a feminist contemporary performance company that perform, produce and publish.

Sarah Winter is a designer and installation artist. She creates immersive environments and experiences for events, festivals and theatre. Sarah has worked for over a decade, creating rich and detailed worlds for local, national and international audiences. Recent work credits: Curator and producer Brisbane City Council Outdoor Gallery (2023) Resident creative placemaking designer for West Village precinct (2020-2021), production designer A Curious Arcade (2020) for Imaginary Theatre, production designer for One Bottle Later for The Good Room (2020), production designer for TRUTHMACHINE for Counterpilot (2019), Interior design for The Tivoli live music venue (2019) production design Matilda award nomination for Sound of a Finished Kiss (2018), production designer Neon Tiger (2018) for La Boite Theatre Company, Australian design realiser Lost Lending Library for Punchdrunk, Imaginary Theatre and Festival 2018 (2017 - 2018), Theatre Republic site designer for Brisbane Festival (2015 - 2019), production designer Sound of a Finished Kiss (2018).

Image by Dan Baebler in a closed showing @ The Brisbane Powerhouse 2021

Daniel Flood

Over the past twenty plus years Daniel has developed and delivered a diverse number of STEM, arts, media, and technology community cultural development projects across Australia. These projects have been with government (local and state), GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archive and Museums) organisations and in the youth not-for-profit sector. For 12 years Daniel led the development of State Library of Queensland's The Edge public program, delivering projects like the the children-led creative project The Great & Grand Rumpus. Daniel's personal passion is empowering the public to actively engage in art and design practices, providing both space and opportunity to create. Daniel has previously worked with Emma Che Raethke in the development and presentation of technology enabled performance (Journey and So Far Away Yet So Near) and large scale performance works with schools across the Surat Basin for La Boîte Theatre.

Emma Che Raethke is a performer, multidisciplinary artist and creative producer. She has toured her work across Australia and Europe. She has performed in The 2 Strings European tour, School for Wives, Don Juan and Love on a Summers Eve for Noble Rot theatre, My night with Harold and The Pillowman For 23rd Productions and Getting physical for Strut and Fret in schools and at The DreamBig festival. She has regularly run performance workshops for Backbone youth arts, QT, Laboite Theatre Company, The Song Room, PANI and Moreton Bay regional council. In 2011 she was an associate artist at Laboite where she created and directed So Far Away Yet So Near as well a scripted work, Flinch. Her directing credits include: Black Grey White Lights at The Bakery in Perth and in regional WA, Journey ( RAF, RADF, OZCO funded) at The Judith Wright Centre/ The Centre and RPAC, Hometurf for LaBoite Theatre company and many community engaged site specific performances across the Deception Bay community.

Kate Lee

Kate Lee is an independent performing artist, storyteller and applied theatre facilitator working internationally in cross-disciplinary performance, digital media, education and community development. She devises and performs contemporary performance works and digital stories and micro-films, and has trained in pre-expressive performer training (the Suzuki Method of Actor Training and the NSP) since 2007. Originally from Australia, Kate has performed in London and Japan as well as New York City where she has lived for the past nine years. Performance credits include: Ligo Project (NYC), BAX Brooklyn, the Laurie Beechman Theatre (NYC), The Producers Club (NYC), La MaMa (NYC), QPAC, Adelaide Fringe and Journey with Emma Che Martin and Daniel Flood. Kate has collaborated with diverse communities including scientists from NYU Langone, Indigenous youth in Central Australia, underserved youth in New York City, people who’s visa status is refugee and senior populations in Brisbane. Kate’s work is underpinned by the belief that by taking risks with creativity, we break invisible barriers and become more connected to our inner self, those around us and our communities.

Mike Willmett is an Australian sound designer, composer and key creative in independent dance and theatre productions. His practice frequently revolves around the relationship between sound and space, with a particular focus on how sound can be manipulated to invite, distort and transport the perspective of an audience in immersive, lush environments. His sound design and composition has been reviewed as “of the highest order, extremely clever and genuinely exciting...a feast for the ears” (Crunch Time), “amazing” and “unnerving” sounds that “sit in the peripherals of your hearing, building the tension while not distracting” (Squad Goals), “evocative... immersive... inclusive” (The Stance), and as a “beautiful cacophony” (Room #328). Mike is currently a key creative in the award-winning tech-troublemaking collective Counterpilot, and has been commissioned to compose for online content advertising for clients such as GOMA, Clemenger BBDO, and QUT. Mike was also part of independent band My Fiction from 2008 to 2015, co-writing and releasing 2 albums and an EP with tracks synced on internationally recognised TV shows such as Gossip Girl and Extant.

Kieran Law is a performance maker, actor and physical theatre artist. They have been involved in the devising and performance of a diverse range of genres including Shakespeare, contemporary performance, circus and dance. Kieran’s ability to investigate and illuminate our relationships with each other and the world have helped see their performance collaborations win awards including a Green Room Award for Innovation in Circus (Bodies Over Bitumen 2015) and a Melbourne Fringe Award for Best Performance (Blindspot 2016).

Kieran has spent his artistic career looking for diverse experiences; becoming a Chinese pole circus performer for an audio mapped landscape; a month spent in Seoul exchanging practises with incredible choreographers; Gaga movement training in Tel Aviv with Ohad Nahirin and Batsheva Dance Company; and becoming a distiller and making whisky and gin on an historic estate in the Tasmanian countryside.

Performance credits include: Virgins and Cowboys (Theatre Works 2015, Griffin Theatre 2017), Bodies Over Bitumen (Melbourne Fringe 2016, Darwin Festival 2017), Blindspot (Melbourne Fringe 2016), Midsummer Night’s Dream (La Boite Mainstage 2015), Blindscape (Next Wave, La Boite Indie,

Pippa Bailey is an independent producer/director/consultant based on Wangal Land in Sydney. She is committed to connecting artistic practice to plans for fairer future where Climate Justice leads.

Pippa started her career as an actor and reporter/producer with SBSTV. She held leading roles in the UK including The Museum Of on London’s South Bank, oh!art at Oxford House in Bethnal Green, The World Famous - company of pyrotechnicians and Total Theatre Awards at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Since 2013 Pippa has worked as Senior Producer with Performing Lines, Sydney Festival and in the First Nations team at Carriageworks. As Director/Producer for ChangeFest 2019-21, she worked in collaboration with Elders and communities to create events that imagine systems change and rehearse fairer futures.

Pippa is on the Creative Recovery Taskforce, exploring the role of arts and culture in Disaster mitigation, recovery and Emergency response. She co-convenes the Cultural Gardeners – Australian Cultural Alliance for Climate Justice, is a coordinator with Culture Declares Emergency UK, member of Collaborative Futures and a board Director of Theatre Network NSW and IETM – International Network for the Performing Arts.

Suzon Fuks is an “artivist” whose work bridges art, science and the environment using body-based practices, the moving image, photography, bookbinding and interactive technologies. Her focus is on global issues including water, people seeking asylum, and the position of women. – http://suzonfuks.net. Born and raised in Brussels, Suzon trained in dance, theatre and music and completed her Masters in Visual Arts at La Cambre (1984). She has been Co-Artistic Director of the Australian multi-arts organisation Igneous since its inception in 1997 – http://igneous.org.au Multi-award-winner, she also received the prestigious Australia Council for the Arts Fellowship and Copeland Fellowship. She initiated and founded the art-science online platform Waterwheel, dedicated to water issues, which brought together 1500 artists, scientists, activists, teachers and youth from 81 locations in 34 countries (2011-16) – http://water-wheel.net In 2015, she was a facilitator of the 30,000+ visitors to Marina Abramovic’s installation “In Residence” in Sydney. Since 2015, Suzon has explored “book” as a medium, through performance and visual art projects. She collaborated with Jill Greenhalgh, founder of the Magdalena Project (international network of women working in contemporary performing arts), for 3 years (2014-2017) on the installation performance “The Book of Space”.