About Us
JUTE Theatre Company is a passionate, dynamic, savvy company which will not be satisfied until all new Australian stories have been told, all regional artists are provided with the support they deserve and our audience and community’s appetite for challenging new Australian stories is met.About Us
The Facts
JUTE Theatre Company (previously Just Us Theatre Ensemble) is a Company Limited by Guarantee – Not For Profit. JUTE is on the Register of Cultural Organisations and has DGR and TCC status, making donations to JUTE tax deductable.
The Company has a Board of
Directors drawn from the business community who are responsible for the
governance of the company. The
Board engage the Artistic Director/CEO who in turn employs the JUTE permanent staff
and the creative teams. Details at the JUTE Board & Staff page.
Our Passion
JUTE is a house of ideas and action that exists to fan the fire in the bellies of regional theatre artists. JUTE inspires and supports these artists to create new stories that contribute to our regional identity, our social history and our future possibilities.
Our Heart
At JUTE’s heart is text based diverse Australian stories drawn from many regional writers through our development programs. We infuse each of these very individual works with a theatrically compelling integration of text, performance, visual and sound design. We engage highly regarded artists from outside and within the region to populate this work.
Our Audience
All of these elements create fresh, surprising and captivating theatre for our audience, with whom we actively engage to deepen the connection to theatre. These are our public delights.
Our Engine Room
Behind the scenes, JUTE is an engine room of craft and ideas development for the new, emerging and mid career artists who fuel JUTE work.
JUTE stretches out to support and ignite independent practice, adding to the artistic richness and diversity of work created in this region.
JUTE is an avid collaborator and connector, and this drives us into the regional theatre sector nationally to strategically unite, share knowledge and resources, creatively engage and tour collaborative work to new audiences.
Our Drive
A big brief, but JUTE is a passionate, dynamic, savvy company and we will not rest until all of our stories have been told, until there is no regional artist needing support and our audience and community need for stories is fully sated. Now that’s a big brief!
We are set for a year of celebration and we want you to come and join us, raise a few glasses, make a few toasts to acknowledge the past, and then turn our attention to the future...the next 20 years.
For any small business in a regional centre to be flourishing after 20 years of operation is a great achievement, for a contemporary theatre company in a regional centre, thousands of kilometers from the major centres of theatre making, it is nothing short of a miracle.
What makes the company extraordinary is the people who have contributed to its success. It is to all of those people who have been champions of JUTE over its 20 year journey that we will be honouring throughout 2012.
The Story of JUTE
JUTE came into being in 1992 when three passionate theatre makers living in Cairns met and the creative sparks began to fly. The three founding members of JUTE are Kathryn Ash, Suellen Maunder and Susan Prince. JUTE’s first production launched International Womens’ Day in March 1993 at the height of summer in the unairconditioned arts centre (shed!). The work was fiery, raw and unique in the region…..it was an instant success!Since then, the company has dedicated itself to carving out a niche for its work. Within the first two years JUTE began to focus on new work, both text based and devised, that told stories from our region. Designed in collaboration with regional writers, the Enter Stage Write script development program has been the creative heart of the company from which JUTE draws almost all of its productions.
Over two decades our theatre artists and audience have been part of an extraordinary outpouring of new Australian stories. JUTE is a unique company in the Australian theatre landscape through its high quality productions, depth and reach of development programs, artistic collaborations, and touring and networking of the regional theatre sector.
- JUTE’s greatest success story is the sheer volume of high quality productions of new works from regional theatre makers - 58 new works produced (7 published by Playlab Press).
- JUTE and KickArts Contemporary Arts successfully lobbied for and developed the Centre of Contemporary Arts. Few regional centres have performance spaces that focus on contemporary artistic pursuit. This community is enriched by the diversity of arts practice the venue provides.
- JUTE has built an audience in this region for contemporary new work from the ground up.
- JUTE has activated artistic vibrancy from within this community, delivered access to contemporary performance-making and pushed the boundaries of theatre experience for contemporary audiences.
- JUTE has been instrumental in developing an independent theatre sector in this region.
- JUTE is recognised as a key driver of programs that connect and strengthen the regional theatre sector.
- JUTE’s engagement with audiences goes far beyond selling tickets. Since 2007 the company has had many processes in place to measure audience engagement, has invested in annual, year-long programs to learn from and convert non-theatre attenders to attenders and has supported audiences to deepen their understanding of the artform.
Annual Report 2010 (PDF)
Annual Report 2009 (PDF)
Annual Report 2008 (PDF)
Annual Report 2007 (PDF)
Board of Directors
Stewart Trainor, Keith Whenmouth, Gary Aylward, Jeremy Blockey, Gill Townsend, Victoria McLaran and Suellen Maunder.Staff
| Artistic Director/CEO | Suellen Maunder |
| Event, Sales and Marketing Coordinator | Jodie Savina |
| Finance Manager | Veronica Cullen (part time) |
| Marketing/Administration Assistant | Karen Engel |
| Junior Administrator | Kirsten Oliver |
Location
The JUTE Theatre Company Offices, located upstairs in the Centre of Contemporary Arts building, are open on weekdays from 8:30am to 5pm. Access to the offices is via the car park at the rear of the building. Head up the external stairs and press the buzzer marked JUTE.Parking
Off street parking is available at the rear of the Centre of Contemporary Arts building; access is via the driveway. Free on street parking is available on Abbott Street in front of the building.Bar
The Centre of Contemporary Arts Bar is open one hour prior to each performance. The bar stays open afterwards for you to enjoy a light beverage and a chat with the actors. The bar offers wine/beer/softdrinks, chocolate and chips. Interval drinks can be pre-ordered.96 Abbott Street
Cairns QLD 4870
Tel: 07 4050 9444
Fax: 07 4050 9440
Email: general inquiries
Postal address:
JUTE Theatre Company
PO Box 6090
Cairns QLD 4870
Get connected with JUTE
| Artistic Director/CEO | Suellen Maunder |
| Event, Sales and Marketing Coordinator | Jodie Savina |
| Finance Manager | Veronica Cullen (part time) |
| Marketing/Administration Assistant | Karen Engel |
| Junior Administrator |