Setting the stage

Theatre manager Michael Cornford doesn’t recall exactly how old he was, but there is absolutely no doubting the impact of his first live performance.

“I guess I was about seven and it was a production of One Thousand and One Nights, the Arabian Nights story,” he remembers, speaking from one of two theatres he now manages for Central Coast Council. “That experience of going to see a real show in a real theatre transformed me – and that magic happened in this very auditorium (the 396-seat Laycock Street Community Theatre in Gosford).”

During a career that has taken him into venues across NSW – from UNE spaces to Sydney’s Wharf Theatre, The Armidale School’s (TAS’s) Hoskins Centre and Gunnedah Cultural Precinct – Michael is now back where he grew up and the “magic” began, and accepting a UNE Alumni Rising Star award. And, despite lingering fallout from the COVID pandemic and cost-of-living threats to the performing arts scene, he’s as passionate as ever.

“I have the privilege of managing the theatre in which I saw my first play and that is such an honour”

“I have the privilege of managing the theatre in which I saw my first play and that is such an honour,” he said. “The release, the expression and the escapism of theatre is so important, especially to sometimes isolated regional audiences. People walk into a space as strangers and become an audience, experiencing the same emotions at the same time. You rarely get that anywhere else.”

As a published playwright, actor, director, designer, stage manager, production and technical director, Michael has seen it all – back stage and front of house – since completing a Bachelor of Media and Communications/Theatre degree at UNE.

“My UNE studies provided the impetus for later studying technical theatre and stage management at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and learning as many theatrical skills as I could,” he said. “The BA gave me the shorthand I needed as a practising artist and leader; how to communicate with others and deliver creative and technical solutions. Those skills have served me again and again and again.”

His studies also inspired what would become Michael’s personal philosophy. “To be driven by kindness and positivity, which I learnt in second year when a UNE theatre lecturer pulled a group of us aside for not treating some first years with the respect anyone should first receive. It taught me that to engage with others you can’t sit back and expect them to come to you. You have to reach out. It’s that South African philosophy Ubuntu – ‘I am because we are’.”

Early mentor and collaborator Dr Julie Shearer, a UNE theatre and performance lecturer, said Michael is today known for his creative insight, design innovation, and commitment to access and inclusion. “Michael’s professionalism at the Hoskins Centre ensured that a travel-cade of successful touring shows came to Armidale,” she said. “Despite his relative youth, his diverse skillset and impressive industry credentials ensured he was immediately co-opted as a mentor for TAS performing arts students, particularly in technical and production skills. His mentorship and example have inspired numerous young people to pursue professional careers in the creative arts.”

It has also seen Michael support community theatre groups, and run mentoring and creative development programs for venues and theatre companies. Beyond specialist technical production skills, this has demanded leadership, teamwork and empathy.

“The more skills and knowledge you possess, the better the collaborator you will be,” Michael said. “If I don’t understand what somebody does, I actively try to learn, so we can work together better. There is always room for improvement and I try to keep seeking new experiences and knowledge. The more paths you’ve walked, the further down the road you can travel.

“Working in local government, I have to get the best results for the community I’m here to serve (including patrons of the Woy Woy Peninsula Theatre). We are not just here to bring in artists and acts from Sydney and Melbourne but to also show off what this place [locally] can produce.”

Making art is a deeply human necessity. “I consider the performing arts my calling,” Michael said, “being that intermediary between our artists and professionals, our community, and the audiences. I like being the invisible hands, the mechanism that makes theatre happen. It’s not about being seen or known but giving the audience the experience I enjoyed as a child – of being transformed by magic and having no idea how it all happened. The more people who have access to that, the happier I am.”