Chris Kohn announced as JUTE Theatre’s new executive artistic director
From catching the theatre bug as a teenager to directing shows across the east coast, meet JUTE Theatre Company’s new executive artistic director, Chris Kohn.
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From catching the drama bug as a teen in Perth to directing shows across the east coast, Chris Kohn is ready to take on one of his biggest roles yet — filling the position of JUTE Theatre Company’s executive artistic director.
“I had a really great drama teacher in Perth who made available these $6 theatre tickets for incredible companies from around Australia and the world for dance and music,” Mr Kohn said.
“So I really got an appetite for just how transformative theatre can be and getting to see all the different kinds of expressions that theatre takes from different parts of the world.”
Mr Kohn, whose credits range from directing stage plays and operas to workshopping new scripts with First Nations and disabled youth in Brisbane and Melbourne, will take over the role from Cairns theatre stalwart Suellen Maunder.
“There’s going to be a period of really just getting under the skin of the company and understanding it, seeing what JUTE can be, what it can bring into the future and obviously building on Suellen’s incredible legacy,” Mr Kohn said.
Mr Kohn, who moved to Cairns with his family in 2021, said he hoped to continue JUTE’s legacy of nurturing young talent across the Far North, both in Cairns and outer communities.
“Over the years I’ve worked in theatre with young performers, emerging playwrights, emerging actors and designers, and I’ve also had a strong interest in disability in the arts, both in terms of research but also in making work with people with disabilities,” he said.
“And in more recent years, I’ve worked quite a bit with First Nations communities and community arts projects.”
Ultimately, Mr Kohn said he hoped to foster a sense of community through the arts.
“There’s a quote about theatre, which I always have held on to from opera director, Peter Sellars, that theatre is a gesture against solitude, it’s creating a community,” he said.
“Every time a show happens and is performed, you’re creating a little community around that moment, and I think in the world today and … there’s so much in the world that divides people so anything that can bring people together … it’s just a very powerful medium.”
Ms Maunder will formally handover the executive artistic director role to Mr Kohn at the end of June.
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Originally published as Chris Kohn announced as JUTE Theatre’s new executive artistic director
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