Following International Women’s Day, we sat down with NIDA Producer, Diane Misirdjieff, to discuss what the day means to her and how she is helping our students find their artistic voice.
Following International Women’s Day, we sat down with NIDA Producer, Diane Misirdjieff, to discuss what the day means to her and how she is helping our students find their artistic voice.
Hometown:
I was born, bred, went to uni and started my arts career in Adelaide.
Hobbies:
In addition to going to shows and movies reading, walking, Pilates, playing the piano, listening to mystery audio tapes and, although I never get time now, knitting
Favourite play or movie:
On the stage, I do love a Shakespeare possiblyTwelfth Night although Iago and Richard are greatvillains! With movies, I have a wideenjoyment,but favourites includeOnce Were WarriorsandBlade Runner.
What does International Women’s Day mean to you?
To me, it means getting together with a particular group of women we meet up regularly and share lots of interesting events. In fact, all of our outings are a reminder of how interesting and diverse women are, as we come from all types of backgrounds.
It’s a time to contemplate and be grateful for where I am for education, a career, family, friends, freedom and relative safety, things I can take for granted but for which many women cannot.
As anan accomplished producer, what advice do you have for the next generation of girls/women trying to get into a similar field? And what were some of the challenges you faced while breaking into the industry?
To take every opportunity that presents itself and make the most of it sometimes there is serendipity in unlikely things and one thing or person leads to another. Also, being prepared to work hard and get involved, don’t sit on the sidelines, and show that you are excited and interested. And I think there is strength in finding out who you are and beingtrueto it personally I am aquiet person and it took me time to find how to be confident and still show strength and capability.
When I started out, the challenges were aboutnot getting closed in to one pathway… youwererecognised as a such and such in this part of theindustry and there was discouragement when you would try somethingelse. It took a lot of convincing to be given chance to jump from say theatre to film or to opera. It ismore accepted that people are more flexible and adaptable now and I think it is seen as a healthy thing to have broader experience.
Who’s your most inspiring woman in the arts and why?
I am not sure I have a most inspiring I love working alongside other women, especially on a collaborative project. One woman Igreatlyenjoyed working with recently was Sandra Willis who was the Executive Producer onThe Rabbits her commitment and drive to make a new work happen wasinspiring,impressive and infectious.
What do you think has been the biggest step forward for women in the arts, over the past 10 years?
There are more of us in more varied fields. When I began working, women in someareas like directing for example, were rare and usually not prominent in the mainstream. Whilst I still findchallenges, as a production manager especially, I do think there are lessassumptions made about your abilities based on gender.
NIDA’s main goal is to help our students find their artistic voice. How do you think you help NIDA achieve this, in your role as Producer?
I hope by being me and bringing my experience from all of the sectors of the arts I have been lucky enough to work in. In my work as Producer, I aim to be able to give the students the space to learn whilst providing them with a safety net in terms of putting in place all of the organisation support for the productions. And, as projects become more mixed in form, I still think there’s lots for me to learn too, in so many evolving areas like copyright and contracts to learn and to feed back.
