Who is Tamara Saulwick?
Tamara Saulwick is the Artistic Director of Chamber Made – a Melbourne based performing arts company working at the nexus of performance, sound and music. Tamara directed the award-winning Permission to Speak – a choral / theatre work created in collaboration with composer Kate Neal.
What would you do differently to what you do now?
I would keep practicing the saxophone/mandolin/guitar/drums/piano which I flirted with briefly but failed miserably on the follow through. My partner is a musician, my son is a musician, and I work with musicians but I can’t play myself. That drives me a bit crazy sometimes!
Who inspires you and why?
I find many, many people inspiring for many different reasons. When it comes to artists, I love the way that what they do can shift our gaze, recalibrate our assumptions, stir up our senses, and challenge our minds.
What would you do to make a difference in the world?
Well, given a magic wand, I would start by making sure every child was safe, housed, loved and educated. Then I would get really outlandish … like ensuring equal pay for women!
Favourite holiday destination and why?
Adventure Bay on Bruny Island – at the southern tip of an island, off the bottom of an island (Tasmania), off the bottom of another Island … It is the quintessential getting-away-from-it-all holiday.
When friends come to town, what attraction would you take them to, and why?
It depends what’s on that particular night. Melbourne always has great music and performance events going on in countless venues.
What are you currently reading?
I have just been on a bit of an Elizabeth Strout marathon – My Name is Lucy Barton, Everything is Possible, Olive Kitteridge, The Burgess Boys … such spare, well observed, devastating and strangely life-affirming prose.
What are you currently listening to?
My son’s new practice regime on the drums.
Happiness is?
A hot shower and a clean towel after a week of camping.
What does the future hold for you?
Family, travel, work and friends. Oh, and I’m going to Uluru in a few weeks for the first time. Really looking forward to seeing that red earth.
Chamber Made’s Permission to Speak will be presented at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 23 & 24 February as part of the 2018 Australian Performing Arts Market. For more information, visit: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org for details.
Image: Tamara Saulwick (supplied)