Learning a diverse artistic skill set at Flinders University provided the essential foundation for Catherine Fitzgerald – a dynamic director, writer, actor and leader in South Australia’s dramatic arts industry for the past 35 years.
Catherine (BA ’81, BA(Hons) ’82) has enjoyed a vast array of varied roles, from 14 years as an actor to Artistic Director of Vitalstatistix National Women’s Theatre, Associate Director of State Theatre Company of South Australia and 2013 Artistic Director of Feast Adelaide Queer Cultural Festival.
“Transferrable skills allow diversity, and as a student you probably don’t realise that,” says Catherine, “but once you are working in the profession, you quickly learn that having knowledge and confidence across a range of areas puts you in a strong position to do more.”
Doing more has long been a staple of Catherine’s artistic life. More than a dozen directorial credits for State Theatre Company of South Australia have been augmented by work for Vitalstatistix, Adelaide Festival Centre Trust, Feast Festival, OzAsia Festival and Flinders University Drama Centre.
She is currently coordinator of the Acting Program at Tutti Arts, for which she coordinates, devises and delivers performances for artists with disabilities. “It’s very fulfilling – and it reminds me that I’ve been able to work with a very diverse array of communities and people: in prisons, in rural areas, with First Nations people, across Asia. All this has had an influence on me and my life. Through all these people, I am constantly learning.”
Reflecting on the training that led to this vast canon of work, Catherine says she is grateful to have enjoyed free university education, which she commenced at the age of 16. “It opened my mind to a new universe, to be exposed to such different points of view. I went into an English literature tutorial group where I was by far the youngest student – most were aged about 30, the oldest was 78 – and they introduced me to different opinions and stories and lives, and from that, I grew and learned so much more than just what the course provided.”
By the end of her studies, Catherine was the only acting student doing Honours, so she doubled up and sat in on the directing course run by Professor Julie Holledge – providing a diversification of her skill set that proved essential in her long and successful career in the Arts.
She has since witnessed great change and great pain in the Arts sector. “When I started working, there were 14 second-tier theatre companies in South Australia – in the city and throughout the State – and it provided such richness and diversity in a great Arts scene that presented multiple pathways. That has eroded away now, so it’s even more important that diverse skills are being taught. The need for strong arts graduates has never been stronger.”
Catherine believes the performing arts can provide a significant way forward in an era when honest, robust discussion between people has broken down. “People must speak up without being combative, and artists can lead those important discussions. We need philosophers, we need people who can analyse society and create visions worth striving for.”
So how do we make a difference now? “We have to keep asking questions and begin discussions about all these hidden and taboo subjects that we are no longer prepared to talk about. We have to keep finding common ground, and identifying things that need to change. I’m concerned this is now not happening, and we need to fight for it.”
Catherine Fitzgerald has been awarded a 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award for her distinguished contribution to South Australian theatre and performance, including the promoting of diverse communities.