International Guild of Disabled Artists and Performers
IGODAP Up Close with Sarah Houbolt
IGODAP Up Close
with Sarah Houbolt
Sarah Houbolt is an artist and a leader dedicated to creativity, physicality and social change. She has been a Paralympics swimmer, holds a degree in politics and sociology and has worked at the Queenslanders with Disability Network, Child Poverty Action Group and in the Auckland Council Community Arts team.
She is also a freelance circus performer and has trained in aerials, acrobats and hula-hoops at Vulcana Women's Circus, and performed at the Dust Palace, in Cirque Du Soleil's upcoming 3D movie and in the upcoming film, 'Romeo and Juliet: A Love Song.'
Sarah believes that fortune favours the bold and talks to IGODAP HQ about creating work that challenges perceptions and offers alternative perspectives.
How do society and your personal experience of disability impact on your life/work, and how do you express this in your work?
I live in Auckland and I don’t drive. Auckland is very much a car city without the population or resources to invest in a world class public transport system. So on a practical level, I organise my days carefully and I may not fit as much in my day as I would like. But I do my best.
I also found that when I was working full time there was an underlying difficulty - a lack of understanding or a lack of will to understand – what an accessible workplace actually means. Because of this I became a freelancer, to escape the headache I would have got from banging my head a against a brick wall.
On a personal experience level, I still struggle with feeling alone and judged, but I channel my energies into improving my skills and creating my own work. I figure if I prove myself and produce my own projects, then the respect and recognition will come. I’ve also had quite a big journey of healing from my disability-related experiences, so I incorporate regular kinesiology and acupuncture sessions into my lifestyle.
There are definitely challenges being partially sighted and looking the way I do in terms of getting corporate aerials work and acting jobs. But I’ve worked in disability advocacy and lobbying, I had a bioethics systems advocate as my final year social work prac supervisor, and my mother works in the disability sector, so my world view is pretty well–informed. Enhancing my personal resilience was a priority, as was developing a strategic way of thinking.
I do use my thoughts around uniqueness, disability and humanity to inform my artistic work. But more frequently I use my unique way of relating to my unique body to inform my physical movement style. And I definitely want to acknowledge the amazing love and assistance from my creative partner. We make a good team, and that has really made a difference in terms of how I interact with the more challenging experiences surrounding disability.
I live in Auckland and I don’t drive. Auckland is very much a car city without the population or resources to invest in a world class public transport system. So on a practical level, I organise my days carefully and I may not fit as much in my day as I would like. But I do my best.
I also found that when I was working full time there was an underlying difficulty - a lack of understanding or a lack of will to understand – what an accessible workplace actually means. Because of this I became a freelancer, to escape the headache I would have got from banging my head a against a brick wall.
On a personal experience level, I still struggle with feeling alone and judged, but I channel my energies into improving my skills and creating my own work. I figure if I prove myself and produce my own projects, then the respect and recognition will come. I’ve also had quite a big journey of healing from my disability-related experiences, so I incorporate regular kinesiology and acupuncture sessions into my lifestyle.
There are definitely challenges being partially sighted and looking the way I do in terms of getting corporate aerials work and acting jobs. But I’ve worked in disability advocacy and lobbying, I had a bioethics systems advocate as my final year social work prac supervisor, and my mother works in the disability sector, so my world view is pretty well–informed. Enhancing my personal resilience was a priority, as was developing a strategic way of thinking.
I do use my thoughts around uniqueness, disability and humanity to inform my artistic work. But more frequently I use my unique way of relating to my unique body to inform my physical movement style. And I definitely want to acknowledge the amazing love and assistance from my creative partner. We make a good team, and that has really made a difference in terms of how I interact with the more challenging experiences surrounding disability.
Sarah and her creative partner, Edward Clendon, perform adagio at the 2011 opening of 'How Diversity Works', at Artstation Gallery, Auckland.
Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw inspiration from the people around me, interactions I have, art that I have witnessed, mythology and the natural environment. I’m particularly interested in concepts of empowerment to inform my physical comedy, abstract imagery to inform my performance art, and creature work to inform my aerial dance/theatre work. With our burlesque productions in the last couple of years, we (The Dust Palace) were particularly interested in drawing inspiration from the original intent of political satire and daring beauty to create work that pushes boundaries, challenges perceptions and takes an old genre into a new realm.
I draw inspiration from the people around me, interactions I have, art that I have witnessed, mythology and the natural environment. I’m particularly interested in concepts of empowerment to inform my physical comedy, abstract imagery to inform my performance art, and creature work to inform my aerial dance/theatre work. With our burlesque productions in the last couple of years, we (The Dust Palace) were particularly interested in drawing inspiration from the original intent of political satire and daring beauty to create work that pushes boundaries, challenges perceptions and takes an old genre into a new realm.
Sarah posing for promo photos
You are a multi-talented artist with performance, teaching, community development and research credits to your name. How do you balance such a wide range of commitments and do you find that there are some projects you enjoy more than others?
I am a Paralympic swimmer, I hold a social work degree, I belonged to a women’s circus for many years and I have worked for local government and community development organisations. These experiences have given me a grounded sense of goal setting, time management and personal responsibility. I have always taken the training and work opportunities that interest me and I guess I’m interested in many things! But two things remain the same – I want to be using my body in a creative and physical way, and I want to be involved in positive attitudinal/social change. So for me, finding the balance between my diverse projects is both fun and crucial for a successful freelance career.
In many ways, I feel like as I become a more balanced person generally, my work practice also just falls into place. In previous years I’ve split my time equally between community work and professional art and some years I’ve a far greater proportion of one or the other. This year I am focused 80% on art making, 10% on circus teaching, and 10% on freelance community research projects. Next year I have funding for a small community arts project, which I’m passionate about, but my main priority at the moment is professional art. I particularly love collaborative projects where I can share the excitement of creating and the discipline of working hard.
What is the best thing about being involved in creative theatre? What's the worst?
Creative theatre as a world in itself gives me the pleasure of telling stories and creating magic for other people to see. I get a real buzz out of showing my physicality on stage and seeing seeds of ideas blossom into successful productions. I also love the sense of family that develops around a creative project and the sense of achievement when an audience applauds. I’m not sure what the worst thing about creative theatre is….perhaps the worst part is meeting other artists with negative assumptions of me – it just gets in the way of us doing our jobs. I’m not fond of instances of disrespect or prejudice in any profession.
I am a Paralympic swimmer, I hold a social work degree, I belonged to a women’s circus for many years and I have worked for local government and community development organisations. These experiences have given me a grounded sense of goal setting, time management and personal responsibility. I have always taken the training and work opportunities that interest me and I guess I’m interested in many things! But two things remain the same – I want to be using my body in a creative and physical way, and I want to be involved in positive attitudinal/social change. So for me, finding the balance between my diverse projects is both fun and crucial for a successful freelance career.
In many ways, I feel like as I become a more balanced person generally, my work practice also just falls into place. In previous years I’ve split my time equally between community work and professional art and some years I’ve a far greater proportion of one or the other. This year I am focused 80% on art making, 10% on circus teaching, and 10% on freelance community research projects. Next year I have funding for a small community arts project, which I’m passionate about, but my main priority at the moment is professional art. I particularly love collaborative projects where I can share the excitement of creating and the discipline of working hard.
What is the best thing about being involved in creative theatre? What's the worst?
Creative theatre as a world in itself gives me the pleasure of telling stories and creating magic for other people to see. I get a real buzz out of showing my physicality on stage and seeing seeds of ideas blossom into successful productions. I also love the sense of family that develops around a creative project and the sense of achievement when an audience applauds. I’m not sure what the worst thing about creative theatre is….perhaps the worst part is meeting other artists with negative assumptions of me – it just gets in the way of us doing our jobs. I’m not fond of instances of disrespect or prejudice in any profession.
Sarah preparing for Splore festival Currently you are playing the lead role of Hair Maclary, on at The Pumphouse Theatre in Auckland. Would you like to tell us a bit about this project, and any other recent projects you have been involved in?
Hairy Maclary is a children’s theatre production based on the iconic kiwi children’s book character. I play the lead role of Hairy Maclary, from Donaldson’s Dairy. He’s a charismatic dog, loved by children around the world. Our director, Tim Bray, decided to stage the production with the actors on all fours, in furry dog costumes. So I run around on all fours on stage for just under an hour, as we work our way through a collection of the Hairy Maclary stories. It is a privilege to work on this project, and I feel like it is a role that capitalises on my innate physicality and stamina from my circus background.
This year I’ve also had a principle role in a feature film directed by Tim Van Dammen, with expected release in late 2012. I play Friar Lawrence in a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. There’s a lot of support around this project and through being a part of it, I realised just how versatile my image is for cinema.
I am also rehearsing with my adagio and double silks creative partner, Edward Clendon, for Splore festival next year. We’ve just done a performance at the NZ Disability Arts Festival, so we’ll build on our choreography and incorporate more creature persona components for Splore. I also have a corporate silks gig in December that I am working towards.
Hairy Maclary is a children’s theatre production based on the iconic kiwi children’s book character. I play the lead role of Hairy Maclary, from Donaldson’s Dairy. He’s a charismatic dog, loved by children around the world. Our director, Tim Bray, decided to stage the production with the actors on all fours, in furry dog costumes. So I run around on all fours on stage for just under an hour, as we work our way through a collection of the Hairy Maclary stories. It is a privilege to work on this project, and I feel like it is a role that capitalises on my innate physicality and stamina from my circus background.
This year I’ve also had a principle role in a feature film directed by Tim Van Dammen, with expected release in late 2012. I play Friar Lawrence in a musical adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. There’s a lot of support around this project and through being a part of it, I realised just how versatile my image is for cinema.
I am also rehearsing with my adagio and double silks creative partner, Edward Clendon, for Splore festival next year. We’ve just done a performance at the NZ Disability Arts Festival, so we’ll build on our choreography and incorporate more creature persona components for Splore. I also have a corporate silks gig in December that I am working towards.
Sarah and Edward perform adagio and double silks
You are also currently taking part in the Be. Leadership programme, a one-year programme designed to strengthen and promote a cohesive and significant disability leadership community in New Zealand. How has your experience on the programme been? How has it contributed to your personal and professional development?
The Be Leadership programme is amazing, innovative and ground-breaking. I feel quite honoured to be involved. Through the programme I’ve become more resilient, I’ve learnt how to communicate with more grace,and I’ve met great people who are now my supportive friends.
’m graduating with a solid sense of security and a balanced outlook, which stands me in good steed for a sustainable creative career. Professionally, I’m inspired to promote my uniqueness as an asset in order to create and contribute to exciting and exceptional art making. And as a result of the connections made with some of the other women in Be. Leadership, we are talking about doing a professional writing project together. I knew that this year in particular for my freelance career would be tough, so I’m incredibly thankful that I’ve had Be. Leadership for support and development.
How could IGODAP assist you to achieve your artistic goals?
For me, being connected on both a local and a global level is invaluable. IGODAP is quite an exciting platform I think, especially to forge international artistic collaborations and to find out about opportunities for work overseas. I like the idea of promoting my work on IGODAP, and being able to send a link to my profile photos to prospective employers.
The Be Leadership programme is amazing, innovative and ground-breaking. I feel quite honoured to be involved. Through the programme I’ve become more resilient, I’ve learnt how to communicate with more grace,and I’ve met great people who are now my supportive friends.
’m graduating with a solid sense of security and a balanced outlook, which stands me in good steed for a sustainable creative career. Professionally, I’m inspired to promote my uniqueness as an asset in order to create and contribute to exciting and exceptional art making. And as a result of the connections made with some of the other women in Be. Leadership, we are talking about doing a professional writing project together. I knew that this year in particular for my freelance career would be tough, so I’m incredibly thankful that I’ve had Be. Leadership for support and development.
How could IGODAP assist you to achieve your artistic goals?
For me, being connected on both a local and a global level is invaluable. IGODAP is quite an exciting platform I think, especially to forge international artistic collaborations and to find out about opportunities for work overseas. I like the idea of promoting my work on IGODAP, and being able to send a link to my profile photos to prospective employers.
Sarah taking part in a fire performance
If one thing were to change to make the work and role of artists who experience disability more significant, what would it be?
The idea of fairness is not really an integral part of the arts and I have constant conversations with peers about whether it actually could ever be a tenet of the profession. Many of us work hard and have professional skills yet there is often still a glass wall in terms of getting an audition or training opportunity. We are constantly asked to use the disability language and label as central to our marketing and promotion strategies. So to positively enhance the work and roles we play in the arts, a focus on decreasing discrimination, supporting equal employment and training opportunities and encouraging risk taking may well have a significant impact.
For me, this all boils down to a re-examination of fairness - and by that I mean fair recognition for appropriate skills. This is quite a bold thing to say in the face of an industry based on image/status, however I really believe that with true openness and conversation, we would see hordes of influential people who support the use of unique talent for the most cutting edge, international artistic products and productions.
The idea of fairness is not really an integral part of the arts and I have constant conversations with peers about whether it actually could ever be a tenet of the profession. Many of us work hard and have professional skills yet there is often still a glass wall in terms of getting an audition or training opportunity. We are constantly asked to use the disability language and label as central to our marketing and promotion strategies. So to positively enhance the work and roles we play in the arts, a focus on decreasing discrimination, supporting equal employment and training opportunities and encouraging risk taking may well have a significant impact.
For me, this all boils down to a re-examination of fairness - and by that I mean fair recognition for appropriate skills. This is quite a bold thing to say in the face of an industry based on image/status, however I really believe that with true openness and conversation, we would see hordes of influential people who support the use of unique talent for the most cutting edge, international artistic products and productions.
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