HotHouse Theatre has announced the appointment of Lyn Wallis as its new Artistic Director and co-CEO of HotHouse Theatre. Commencing in early 2015, Wallis will lead the company with General Manager, Tahni Froudist.
Wallis is highly respected as a cultural leader and brings an extensive national network to the role. Wallis has vast experience working with independent theatre companies, having developed the B Sharp model at Belvoir St Theatre as the Downstairs Theatre Director for nine years, as well as leading Jigsaw Theatre Company as Artistic Director for four years. Currently based in Sydney, Wallis has been the Director of Theatre for the Australia Council for the Arts since 2009.
Paul McGill, Chair of HotHouse, said the Board, after an extensive national search, was delighted to confirm Lyn Wallis’s appointment as the company’s next Artistic Director.
“Lyn follows a long line of gifted artistic leaders who have worked creatively, innovatively and tirelessly to cement HotHouse’s place as Australia’s leading regional theatre company. We look forward to welcoming Lyn to the border and broader region and working to ensure an even brighter future.”
Tahni Froudist, General Manager and joint CEO of HotHouse Theatre said, “Lyn Wallis is a dynamic cultural leader who is well known and respected across Australia. I am thrilled to be working with her to build on the extraordinary platform laid by our outgoing Artistic Director Jon Halpin. HotHouse will continue to give our regional stories a platform for audiences locally, regionally and national.”
As Belvoir’s Downstairs Theatre Director from 1998 – 2007, Wallis programmed and mentored over 80 works by some of Australia’s leading independent artists and teams giving them time and space to develop their craft, and to eventually become the artistic drivers of a new generation of theatre-making.
For the last five years, Wallis has used her position as Director of Theatre at the Australia Council for the Arts to push for further representation of women in creative leadership in Australian theatre, including the commissioning of the 2011 report Women in Theatre and the 2014 exhibition of the same name.
On her appointment, Wallis stated: “I’m delighted to be joining this fantastic company, and to soon be working with the talented Hothouse team and board. I am hugely looking forward to getting to know the Albury Wodonga community better, and making and presenting work which engages strongly with its audiences in the region and nationally.”
For more information, visit: www.hothousetheatre.com.au for details.
Image: Lyn Wallis