HELP US CREATE NEW STORIES THAT SOAR

THIS YEAR WE’RE TAKING OUR WORK TO EXCITING NEW HEIGHTS

Since 2019, Encounter has firmly established its position in the West Australian theatre landscape as a leader in community collaboration, theatre-making, astute business practice and equity advocacy. Our recent projects include Children of the Sea [2021], and Nightwalks With Teenagers [2024] alongside Perth Festival, and Canadian theatre company Mammalian Diving Reflex. This year our artistic director, Jay Emmanuel, was honoured with a WA Multicultural Award in the Arts for his work, in not just delivering creative outcomes, but championing and nurturing diverse voices every step of the way from script writing to opening night.

In 2024-25, we are continuing to develop a program of new projects that escalate the scale, ambition and artistry of our work to exciting new heights; and we need your help in this endeavour. Our upcoming project, When the Stars Begin to Fall, will take place in the West-Kimberley region, in partnership with Indonesian-based puppet theatre Papermoon, allowing for both remote community and Asia-Pacific engagement. This work is being developed in response to the devastating impacts of Cyclone Ellie on the Fitzroy Crossing community, and will present a pop-up installation of performances and interactive arts programming, aiming to foster healing and resilience through a shared theatre experience. In presenting this work we aim not only to offer an engaging arts experience to the people of Fitzroy Crossing, but also have a sustainable economic impact on the community by providing employment and career development opportunities to local artists. We have another production in development that we can not wait to share with you; we can reveal that this work will be just as, if not ever greater in scale and ambition than When the Stars Begin to Fall.

As well as our theatre work, we collaborate with international partners to design professional development and mentoring initiatives that address systemic barriers to create more pathways for diverse artists to bring their work to the stage. Next year, we will engage 120 WA artists in a professional learning program, with a focus on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse and First Nations creatives, including emerging producers and directors. We have touched over 8000 audience members in the last 2 years, and will continue to expand our reach to regional and remote communities.

Our work is impossible without the generous support of partners like you and to support Encounter means to be a member of our community and make the arts a more inclusive and interesting space to work and enjoy. Your donation, big or small, will allow us to continue our work with a diverse range of artists to create rich, culturally significant stories that speak to the lived experience of contemporary Australia. We invite you to join our community by making a tax-deductible donation through our ACF Campaign using the link below. 

For any questions, feel free to get in touch at encounter@encountertheatre.com