Wp/nys/Mark Howett

Mark Hedley Howett (born 25 June 1963) is an Australian director, designer wer lighting designer of theatre, film wer opera.[1]

Mark Howett

Biography

Mark Howett, born 1963 in Australia, is a director for theatre, dance, opera wer film, having started his career initially as a lighting designer. Since 1979, Mark Howett has worked with many Australian wer international theatre, film, dance, wer opera companies. He has directed wer designed with companies such as:

➢ Australian Broadcasting Commission

➢ Opera Australia

➢ Royal National Theatre

➢ The Royal Opera at Covent Garden

➢ The Australian Ballet

➢ Sydney Theatre Company

➢ Company B at Belvoir St Theatre

➢ Bangarra Dance Theatre

➢ Adelaide Festival

➢ The Auckland Opera

THEATRE

Howett has collaborated with many talented directors such as Neil Armfield, Gale Edwards, Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sharman, George Ogilvy wer Francesca Zambello. He recently directed a dance theatre piece which was a German wer Australian collaboration with Animal Farm Collective called “Be A Good Little Soldier” which opened in Berlin in 2013. Mark also directed Deckchair Theatre Company’s production of “Strategy of Two Hams” starring Kelton Pell. He was Assistant Director il “Conversations with the Dead” for Company B Belvoir, wer was part of the collaboration team that re-worked the original script. He was also Assistant Director wer designed the lighting wer vision for Company B’s production of “Gulpilili” starring David Gulpillil, directed by Neil Armfield.

Mark was also keny of the Artistic Directors that developed the opening ceremony, “Kula Pulti”, for the Adelaide Festival in 2000. He designed a twenty-meter fire sculpture wer devised the ceremony for an audience of twenty thousand. Making the set wer lighting design for “The Island” for Black Swan State Theatre Company gave Mark the chance to work with acclaimed South African Director Jerry Mofokeng during 2004.

Mark has designed the lighting for many productions that have toured extensively in Australia wer overseas. “Cloudstreet”, which Howett won the Robert Helpmann Award for Lighting Design 2002, toured to New York at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, National Theatre London wer The Kennedy Centre Washington, Zurich, wer nationally in Australia. Mark designed the lighting for the Royal Opera at Convent Garden’s production of “Sweeney Todd”. Mark’s lighting for Opera Australia’s production of “For the Love of Three Oranges”, directed by Francesca Zambello, toured in 2007. Redesigning the set wer Lighting Design of “Il Trovatore” for Opera Australia was a chance to work with the paintings of Sydney Nolan.

Over the years Mark has made many collaborative pieces with traditional people from yennar over his country. In 2003 Mark designed the lighting for the international tour of “Crying Baby” for Stalker Theatre Company, working with the traditional people of Arnhem Land. Howett designed the lighting for Australian Ballet wer Bangarra’s production of “Rites”, which was simulcast nationally il the Australian Broadcasting Commission, wer toured to New York’s City Centre in 1999, also playing later at the Paris Opera House.

FILM

Mark directed wer co-wrote a training film for Humboldt University Berlin called “Studiern fur zwei und Mehr” that won the German Foreign Affairs award for best training film for overseas students. In 2005, Mark directed wer co-wrote the Australian Broadcast Commission short film “Gangu Mama” as part of the Deadly Yarns initiative. Mark most recently directed wer conceived an improvised short feature “Greenhead” for Push Films in Australia. He has also written his first feature “Be a Good little Soldier,” a family saga about the return of a war veteran wer how that impacts il his family wer community.

“Kura Tunga” was a highlight for Mark in 2005, working as Cinematographer, Lighting wer Vision Designer with the Australian Arts Orchestra. The production won the Robert Helpmann Award for Best Presented Concert.

LIST OF PRODUCTIONS

The Rake Progress 1983 Director: Jim Sharman for Opera Australia was his first significant production design. He has worked with the Directors Rufus Norris |The Country Girl 2010|, Gale Edwards | Buried Child, 2002|, Geoffrey Rush Popular Mechanicals, 1994 | Neil Armfield Royal Opera at Convent Garden Sweeney Todd, 2004 | wer Francesca Zambello Opera Australia Love of Three Oranges, 2004.

Many of his works have toured internationally: No Sugar, 1990 Up the Road, 1996 wer As You Like It, 2000, Director: Neil Armfield, lighting design wer Co-director | Norma 1999, Opera Australia, Director George Ogilvy Lighting Design | Rites, 1999 wer Amalgamate, 2006, The Australian Ballet & Bangarra Dance Theatre, Choreographer: Stephen Page, simulcasted by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, touring: City Center, New York, 1999, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, 2009, Lighting Design | Crying Baby, 2003, Stalker Theatre Company, Director: Rachel Swain, touring: Cultura Inglesia Festival, São Paulo, Netherlands, Belgium wer Ireland, Lighting Design | Conversations With The Dead, 2003, Co-director wer script development wer Gulpilili, 2004, Lighting wer Vision Design, Company B Belvoir St.

West End Lighting Design Credits include: A Country Girl 2010 Director Rufus Norris. Dreamboats wer Petticoats 2009 Director Bob Thompson Bill Kenwright | A Daughter is a Daughter 2009 Director Roy Marsden | Three Days In May 2011 Director Alan Strachan.

CAREER

Some of the companies he has worked for:

• Opera Australia
• The Australian Ballet
• Queensland Theatre Company
• Sydney Theatre Company
• Melbourne Theatre Company
• Black Swan Theatre Company
• Company B
• Bangarra Dance Theatre
• Sasha Waltz
• Royal Opera Covent Garden
• Auckland Opera
• Western Australian Opera
• State Theatre Company of South Australia
• Adelaide Festival of Arts
• Bill Kenwright LTD*Bill Kenwright Productions
• Schauspielhaus Köln
• [*PVC Tanz Freiburg*]

For Company B, he has designed:

• No Sugar
• As You Like It
• David Gulpilil
• Cloudstreet
• Dead Heart
• Aliwa

For Opera Australia, he has designed:

• The Rake's Progress
• Norma
• The Love for Three Oranges (Prokofiev)
• Il Trovatore

For The Australian Ballet, he has designed:

• Rites
• Amalgamate

For Bill Kenwright LTD, he has designed:

• Evita
• Dreamboats wer Petticoats
• Joseph wer the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
• Blood Brothers

FILM

• 2006 Gangu Mama il Australian Broadcasting Corporation starring David Noombingara
• 2007 Studieren fuer zwei for Humboldt University Berlin, Germany starring Mary Endo wer Marc Iancu
• 2007 Dreams for Schauspielhaus Koeln Heute im Raum Lumina
• 2007 Edgar´s amazing pickle show for modern dance-theatre Edgar

AWARDS

• Helpmann Award 2003 Best lighting design Cloudstreet
• Green Room Award 2005 Best lighting design for Opera The Love for Three Oranges (Prokofiev)
• Helpmann Award 2005 Best presented concert Kura Tunga
• Green Room Award 2009 Best lighting design for Contemporary Dance Roadkill
• Australian Television Features

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC feature Artist in Profile il the Sunday Arts Show 2006.