Arts Radar is Sydney’s helping hand for independent performing artists. Initiated by independent producers, the company was set up to address the urgent need for support that was being requested by performing arts practitioners within the community. Arts Radar was created as a non-curatorial company to provide services to assist artists to realise their work.
Formed in 2009 we work with independent performing artists and small to medium performing arts companies. We aim to support artists and their repertoire working with theatre and dance collectives to expand their portfolio of work and helping them to increase their ability to produce quality work on a regular basis.
View our services that any artist can use: we offer producing assistance that includes business development, marketing, production management and book-keeping including auspicing of grants and general administration. Arts Radar is not a touring body, but works with companies to investigate and access touring opportunities.
Arts Radar is based in Sydney and managed by Sam Hawker and Kate Armstrong-Smith, both of whom have many years of experience as producers and arts administrators and are committed to developing a sustainable environment of support for performing artists to create their work.
THE TEAM
Arts Radar engages and works with independent producers and production managers to realise the work of Directors and Choreographers.
SAM HAWKER
Sam started her theatre career as a Stage Manager after studying at WAAPA. She worked on some amazing shows that really taught her the importance of learning the full process of behind creating great theatre. Some memorable moments include Michael Kantor’s The Ham Funeral, every performance bringing something new to the stage and jobs such as watering the grass (literally) after every show for Neil Armfield’s A Midsummer Nights Dream.
Sam then moved into production management predominantly for the independent theatre and dance scene and soon found that there was a great shortage of producers for this sector and so she made the only logical move to produce!
Over the years Sam has worked on a wide variety of productions from Cabaret to Shakespeare, Contemporary Dance to Comedy, Outdoor Spectaculars to Intimate Theatre and everything in-between. Working with hundreds of artists, all of which can’t all be named here, but some directors / choreographers include: Wayne Blair, Joseph Couch, Eamon Flack, Tess de Quincey, Tanya Denny, Sarah Giles, Christopher Hurrell, Dave Letch, Janice Muller, Annalouise Paul, Michael Pigott, Anthony Skuse, Iain Sinclair, Sam Strong, Sally Sussman and Joseph Uchitel.
Sam has also worked for Company B as Associate Producer for B Sharp and Casula Powerhouse in the role of Theatre Producer. Sam Is a committee member for Parnassus’ Den.
KATE ARMSTRONG-SMITH
Kate started her career in the performing arts when living in Paris and received the opportunity to work for the 300 year old Opera of France as an “Apprentice of Communications” (as they phrase it in French). It was early on that she noticed frustratingly that directors and choreographers and their creative teams would create wonderful works but wouldn’t get the attention or audiences they deserved.
She then went on to work for the music industry and festivals discovering that these large-scale events never seemed to have problems with getting people to turn up and started to apply some of what she learnt to helping performing artists engage audiences for their work.
For the last seven years she has worked for Festivals predominately as a Manager of Marketing and Business Development including Good Vibrations Festival, The Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Arts Festival, Indigenous Festivals of Australia and currently works as Business Development Manager for Sydney Festival. Kate worked to create the award-winning audience development scheme Fringe Benefits for the Adelaide Fringe and this year was awarded A Churchill Fellowship to investigate strategies to further engage new generations in the Performing Arts.
Bringing her experience to the performing arts sector Kate has worked as an independent producer of for the last 7 years supporting and realising independent choreographers and directors’ works.
LAURA PIKE
Laura looks after the brand management and graphic design for Arts Radar, where she generates creative strategies, marketing material and branding for Arts Radar and the creatives that use our services.
After graduating from COFA Laura focused on becoming a multi-disciplinary creative specialising in graphic design, art direction and creative consulting for fashion, performing arts, public art projects and corporate clients.
Laura has a background in publishing and design working for TIME OUT Sydney, as well as styling for many magazines including Aesthetica, & Oyster!”
KAI RAISBECK
Kai Raisbeck has been on, off and around the stage since the age of 6. A recent graduate from the Directing course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Kai also holds a Masters of Film and Video from Deakin University and a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts in Theatre from The University of Tasmania.
Kai is currently an Affiliate Director at Griffin Theatre Company. His past theatre directing credits include Vampire Lesbians of Sodom by Charles Busch, Celebrity Healing by Jessica Bellamy for Griffringe 2011, From a Great Height by Mark Konik as part of ‘Bare Boards Brave Heart’ for Subtlenuance Theatre and Electric Eddies World Famous Electricity Show for Legs on the Wall’s ‘Tiny Top’. Kai was also assistant director on Silent Disco at Griffin Theatre Company and Flight at NIDA.
In June 2009 he produced and directed a short documentary Parriwanti in the remote community of Yakanarra in Western Australia. Parriwanti went on to win numerous regional film festivals and the youth section of Canberra Short Film Festival and was a part of Little Big Shots Festival for Kids. His most recent film is Kaleidoscope by Natalia Savvides and is currently working as a freelance play trailer maker for marketing theatrical productions, including And No More Shall We Part, Heartbreak Hotel and Silent Disco: Shut. Up. Dance for Griffin Theatre Company and Bare boards Brave Heart for Subtlenuance Theatre.
This is Kai’s first year working with Arts Radar and he recently became the new Campaign Manager.
