'Be bold and dangerous': A look behind the doors of IO Performance

Behind the grand, iconic green doors on Cimitiere Street lies IO Performance, headed by artistic directors Grace Roberts and Chris Jackson.

The pair have worked tirelessly to push the boundaries of contemporary theatre, while fostering an environment of growth for Launceston's prospective actors and directors.

The Examiner sat down with the brains behind IO to discuss what goes on behind the scenes.

Grace: We didn't meet on the stage, but we did meet in a theatrical environment. It was at UTAS, we were both studying different areas of theatre performance - I was doing the design side of it and Chris was doing acting. We kind of joined forces when we produced our first IO work.

Chris: We're all about experimenting and the collision of ideas. A lot of the early works we were playing with were what people would kind of frame as experimental performance. We've moved a little bit away from that, or at least put some more traditional theatre in to the mix, but still holding on to those experimental ideas.

My initial input into all of this was coming from a background of theatre and performance where I kind of wear a lot of hats within making theatre, and my interest was in training other people to do that as well. My interest was in what happens if the actor becomes all of those things, so it was about the multitasking performer and training people how to be aware that they're on camera whilst they're performing live or operating the lights and sound.

Grace: The first launch of IO was in 2017 which was right on the cusp of the end of our Masters [degree] journey. That decision to make IO as a company or as its own identity was because we decided that we wanted to keep making these really cool experimental works, but we knew it was risky.

We had no idea how the community was going to respond ... but the feedback was positive across the board and so we were like, maybe this is something that there is a market for and a gap in the landscape. When we got the venue in 2019, we were looking more at a season of works, because we then had the stability of having a venue that we could program.

Grace: I think the biggest one is juggling time management. We do a lot of different things here and do everything in house like our marketing and graphic design. The gigs that we work to bring in the money that funds it is also time. We've got producing a show down to a structure because we've been doing it for so long, but there is a lot of variables at play.

Chris: From like an artistic directing point of view, as well as just generally running the company, it's about knowing what hat you're wearing as well. Because we also direct things; it's knowing that I'm looking after actors at this point in time, which takes a very different mindset to looking after a production crew and what their needs are at that point in time.

The other thing is at the moment IO is completely an independent company, so we are self-funded. So yes, we can do whatever we want, really, but all of that risk kind of sits with us. We decided we were going to do that, to be bold and be dangerous and take risks and make work that challenges and continues to challenge.

Chris: There are a lot of different types of theatre and performance, and they all have their place. We need dance companies. We need theatre companies that are making Tasmanian works. We need theatre companies that are doing the classics, but we also need companies that are doing modern scripts, that are doing works that are challenging and I think that's what we found where we wanted to fit in.

We like to draw scripts in that aren't necessarily done locally a lot. So it's kind of in a way, keeping an eye on the world view and what theatre is outside of Tasmania.

Grace: We actually often get asked why we're still here, which I think is meant as a compliment. The answer is always the same for us, which is if everyone left then there'd be nothing. The thing of, you have to move somewhere to make it, or you have to go to a big city because there's more opportunities; it's like yes, but if we make the opportunities here, for the people who want to stay here, then it's generating this economy down here as well. The sky is the limit and we're very stubborn and ambitious, so we're going to keep working here until we no longer can.

Chris: For both of us, there have been many opportunities to leave and pursue other avenues on the mainland, but I love Tasmania and I want to produce and work here. I don't see why I can't produce the work that I want to produce here, rather than Sydney.