Rosemary Myers Wins Prestigious Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre

Windmill Theatre Co Artistic Director, RoseMary Myers, has been awarded the Australia Council Theatre Award for 2017. This prestigious award is given to one artist as recognition of the outstanding achievements and considerable contributions they have made to theatre.

Rose has been Artistic Director of Windmill Theatre Co since 2008. During her time with the company, she has directed; Wizard of Oz, Pinocchio (which won a Helpmann Award for Best New Australian work), the trilogy for teenagers Fugitive, School Dance and Girl Asleep as well as Big Bad Wolf, Rumpelstiltskin and many more. Rose's productions regularly win awards and tour nationally and internationally, visiting leading stages and festivals around Australia and the world.

Under her direction, Windmill Theatre Co won the Sidney Myer Award for Excellence and during her tenure at Arena Theatre Co, the company was awarded the ASSITEJ International Award for creating inspiring and provocative work that spoke directly to a young contemporary audience.

In 2015, Rose directed her first feature film, Girl Asleep that was nominated for seven AACTA Awards including Best Director and Best Film. The film also won The Age Critics' Award, the prestigious Seattle Film Festival Jury Award and Australia's richest film prize, the CinefestOz Award.

Speaking about the award today, Rose Myers said, "I feel enormously proud and humbled, especially when I think about the breadth of amazing theatre artists across the country. Because the award recognises sustained contribution, it prompts so many memories so I am experiencing some happy nostalgia.

"Also, with International Women's Day tomorrow and considering the continuing male domination of our theatre and film landscape, I feel particularly proud to win this award."

Prior to Windmill, Rose was the Artistic Director of Arena Theatre Company, Queensland Performing Arts Centre's Out of the Box Festival in 2010 and Melbourne University Union Theatre department. She was also a Creative Director for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Ceremony.

Speaking about the Australia Council Awards, Federal Minister for the Arts Senator The Hon. Mitch Fifield congratulated the 2017 award recipients and said these impressive artists are at the forefront of their chosen practice and are well-deserving of these prestigious awards.

"Honing their craft over many years, these diverse artists are committed to their practice, playing an important and innovative role, pushing boundaries to challenge audiences here and abroad," Minister Fifield said.

Australia Council Chair Rupert Myer AO said these leading artists have been honoured for representing the finest artistic traditions and cultural expressions in their area of practice.

"These awards are an important way of acknowledging the role of artists in the life of our communities, and many of the past recipients have said how meaningful it was to be nominated by their peers," Mr Myer said.

"Widely respected both here and abroad in their art forms, the 2017 Australia Council Award recipients join a distinguished group of artists who are wonderful ambassadors for Australian art," Mr Myer said.

The award was first introduced in 2015 and has previously been awarded to Bruce Gladwin and Yaron Lifschitz.

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