Isn’t TNN luck to have Penny Watts on our board! Here is her latest news fresh from Monkey Baa where they keep chalking up the hits!
After more than five years with Monkey Baa Theatre Company, Penny Watts will step away as general manager at the end of the year.
Monkey Baa Chair Penny Cook said Penny has embodied the spirit of the company and been integral in consolidating Monkey Baa in its Darling Quarter home in Sydney, while growing its national and international influence.
“Penny has worked with rare devotion, alongside the Creative Directors, to embed Monkey Baa as Australia’s widest touring theatre company, motivated by an imperative to see young people affirmed and recognised,” Ms Cook said.
“We are immensely grateful for Penny’s commitment, contribution and care during a critical period for the company.”
Under Penny’s stewardship, Monkey Baa has:
- Mounted 15 new Australian works, including eight national and four international tours
- Been selected as the only full showcase Australian presenter at IPAY (International
Performing Arts for Youth) in Philadelphia, USA, for 2018- Achieved its largest national tour to 59 venues with Jackie French’s ‘Diary of a Wombat’
- Reached its one-millionth audience member of a Monkey Baa production
- Established a nationally revered teaching artist program for educators and students
- Introduced sell-out annual school seasons
- Materially increased year on year audience numbers
- Launched ‘Monkey Play’, an interactive drama experience for early childhood
- Engaged and managed hundreds of artists, crew and administrators as a key employer of the young people’s theatre sector
“Reflecting on five years of service and with much affection, I’ve decided it’s the right time to enable fresh leadership for the company’s next phase,” Ms Watts said.
“It’s been a privilege to share with young people – around Australia and overseas – the experience of Monkey Baa, with storytelling that enables them to question and imagine, and honours them as an audience in their own right …
“My time at Monkey Baa has been invaluable and I can’t wait to now share the pleasure of being part of that audience with my own daughter.”
Penny will finish on December 22.
