2025 Robyn Archer Oration

In this year’s Robyn Archer Oration, Petra Kalive — Artistic Director and Co-CEO of State Theatre Company South Australia — reflects on the values that guide her practice as both artist and leader.

For Petra, leadership is less about authority than it is about holding open a space: a threshold where creativity, care and risk coexist. She will explore how wellbeing is not a pause from the work, but the ground on which brave, uncompromising art can be built.

Drawing on her experience, Petra will consider leadership as an artform in itself — a choreography of listening and daring, resilience and imagination. This oration offers an insight into how theatre can model more humane ways of being together, and how care, when placed at the centre, can shape both the stories we tell and the futures we create.

Petra will be introduced by Robyn Archer AO, and the questions and discussion after the oration will be led by artist and activist Violette Ayad.

About Petra

Petra is the Artistic Director of State Theatre Company South Australia. She is a theatre director driven by the belief that stories define, connect, and transform us. She is renowned for her work across independent, community, education, and main stages. As Associate Director at Melbourne Theatre Company, Petra focused on works highlighting marginalised perspectives. As Artistic Director of Union House Theatre, she supported students in launching their performing arts careers. She also served as co-Artistic Director of Melbourne Playback Theatre Company, enhancing community connection through personal stories.

Petra's extensive directing credits include projects for Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir St Theatre, Canberra Theatre Centre, Arts Centre Melbourne, and many others. Her acclaimed independent works include Taxithi (Green Room-nominated Best Director), Oil Babies (shortlisted for the NSW Premier Literary Awards 2019), Emilia, and the musical Carousel.

A Churchill Fellowship recipient, Petra researched community-engaged theatre in the US, UK, and Chile in 2024, aiming to bring that knowledge back to Australia to strengthen meaningful connections in professional and community theatre in Australia.
This event is presented by Assemblage Centre for Creative Practice Research in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Flinders University in partnership with the Helpmann Academy.

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Host or Publisher College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences