Q&A with Board Director Tim Kurylowicz
We sat down with Tim Kurylowicz, Monkey Baa Board Director, to talk about the importance of access to the arts, the power of theatre in young people’s lives, and what makes Monkey Baa’s work so distinctive across Australia.
A passionate advocate for regional communities and lifelong engagement with the arts, Tim reflects on the formative theatre experiences that shaped him, and shares why he believes live performance can help young people connect, empathise and imagine a brighter future.
Much of your work has focused on breaking down barriers to participation. Why is access to the arts so important, especially for young people?
Experiencing a theatre show as a young person is more than a treat - it is an invitation to lifelong engagement with the magic and power of live performance.
Like so many great experiences in life, it often takes a direct invitation for a person to feel a sense of welcome, shared ownership and belonging. I have seen firsthand the way Monkey Baa’s Theatre Unlimited program removes barriers and helps rural kids have formative experiences in the theatre.
In a world that is increasingly disconnected, access to arts and culture can help young people connect, empathise and imagine a brighter future.
From your perspective, what makes Monkey Baa’s work distinctive on the Australian landscape?
I have long admired Monkey Baa’s commitment to touring all over Australia - not just in the cities, but in the regions too. As a person who lives regionally, in Wagga Wagga, I am very aware of how important it is to have companies that engage deeply and repeatedly with communities big and small. That’s Monkey Baa.
As a new Board Director, what aspects of your role are the most compelling?
Despite receiving relatively small amounts of government funding, Monkey Baa occupies a unique place in Australia’s theatre ecosystem. I’m very interested in the leadership role that Monkey Baa can play in a sector that has never faced stronger pressures.
Whether it be through experimenting with new touring and partnership models, forging collaborations across state borders, or developing exciting Australian works for the stage, Monkey Baa continues to blaze trails.
As a Board member, I will be keen to support Monkey Baa’s amazing team to keep on dreaming big and contributing to our national cultural story.
Could you share a memorable theatre experience from your own childhood as an audience member?
My mum was big into musicals, so growing up in the 90s I saw some big shows like The Phantom of the Opera and Cats. My tastes have evolved a bit since then, but I will never forget the electricity of seeing stories unfold on stage before my eyes.
In my youth, an extraordinary SA government scheme offered dirt-cheap tickets to theatre shows for people under the age of 26, and I just went nuts on it, seeing plays, contemporary dance, classical music - whatever! That’s what turned this working-class kid from the outer ’burbs into a lifelong theatre devotee.
