Canberra Theatre Centre’s Alex Budd reflects proudly on his time in the director’s role as CTC prepares for the new Lyric Theatre. Photo: Liv Cameron.
The Canberra Theatre Centre is looking for a new leader after announcing current director Alex Budd is leaving the national capital to become chief executive officer at Opera Australia later this year.
His departure comes after nearly six years with CTC and at a pivotal time for the organisation ahead of breaking ground on the new 2000-seat Lyric Theatre.
Mr Budd said he was genuinely sad to be leaving at this point but if COVID hadn’t happened the new theatre would be open by now and the timing would be perfect for him.
“I’m really delighted on how close the theatre is and the huge amount of work we’ve been able to do in the past few years, but especially the last 18 months,” he said.
“All going to plan, which it is at the moment, there’ll be a shovel in the ground as I exit stage left.”
But it won’t be the end of Mr Budd’s connection to Canberra because he plans to bring Opera Australia productions to the new theatre.
“It’s a theatre we have designed absolutely with a purpose to not only host fabulous musicals from around the world in the national capital, but also one that can have national performing arts companies such as Opera Australia,” he said.
“So I look forward to a long association with Opera Australia and the Canberra Theatre Centre in the years to come.”
Mr Budd said he was leaving a team that with further support would be ready to operate the new theatre, a “theatre of scale in Canberra that the city has never seen before”.
He said CTC had made huge strides since COVID with a much more resilient and mature workforce and the best box office numbers ever reported.
His other highlights include the new works program to bring in artists at early and mid stages of their career to develop and workshop pieces and work with mentors, and forging deep connections with the national performing arts landscape, such as the co-production with the Sydney Theatre Company of Julia, in its third national tour since premiering in Canberra.
Canberra Theatre Centre is in a strong position. Photo: James Coleman.
Mr Budd said Canberrans were hungry for the arts and the highest per capital consumers of art and culture in the country.
He said the ACT Government’s aspiration for Canberra to be the arts capital was well founded and the new theatre and bigger productions would support that goal.
“It is well set up to fire on all cylinders when it opens with a very well fertilised population that’s ready to increase their arts and cultural consumption even further,” he said.
Mr Budd won’t be a stranger to Opera Australia, having spent nearly two decades there before coming to Canberra.
Cultural Facilities Corporation (CFC) CEO Gordon Ramsay said Mr Budd’s new role was an enormous opportunity and he would be leaving CTC in a strong position, especially in planning for the new theatre.
“Alex has been really instrumental,” Mr Ramsay said. “He’s assisted us to get to the level of design, so that by the time he leaves, we’ll be in a good position to be able to keep that going.”
A CFC statement said Mr Budd built increased resilience in the CTC, strengthened its financial position and deepened relationships with some of the most influential producers and artists in the country.
It said the last five years had produced consistent audience growth and CTC was now positioned as a leader in presenting major national and international productions alongside ACT-based artists and First Nations work.
Mr Ramsay said since CTC opened 60 years ago it had attracted 10 million visitors, breaking records with 22,000 this year already.
He said visitors in the past 12 months gave CTC a 95 per cent audience satisfaction rating.
“There’s been 570 performances over that 12 months, 30,000 people who have come from out of Canberra to visit and we’ve returned $18.5 million into the economy.”
He said there would be a national and international search to replace Mr Budd who would leave in mid-October.
“We don’t need to rush to appoint anybody.”
Mr Ramsay said CTC’s strong position and the promise of the new Lyric Theatre would ensure the role would attract strong interest from far afield.
He said CTC would draw on Mr Budd’s expertise as much as possible in the next eight weeks so the leadership team could keep the momentum going during the recruitment process.
A decision on appointing an acting director was yet to be made.
“Alex’s contribution to the Canberra Theatre Centre and to the leadership team of the Cultural Facilities Corporation has been profound,” Mr Ramsay said. “The CFC greatly values Alex’s work and leadership over the past five years and we wish him every success in his new role.”
