Virag Dombay discusses how QUT helped her explore her voice as a theatre maker to empower the next generation of young artists.
Day in the life of a multidisciplinary artist
A day in the life of Virag Dombay… It would depend on which day of the week it is. In the afternoons, I teach drama classes at my acting studio Room to Play Kids. During the day (and depending on which day), I work as a drama specialist teacher at three different inner city primary schools and teach the acting and playwrighting units for the professional musical theatre diploma program at LVBA. You will also find me at Visible Ink where I’m a resident artist, doing creative developments for my next work or at home doing lesson planning, writing invoices and all of the essential arts admin things that need to be done.
Depending on the month, I might be rehearsing for a show and/or might be in the middle of show season. A day in the life of Virag Dombay is always busy but such is the way if you want to sustain a career in the arts. So what are my future goals? I would love to continue doing what I’m doing, working with youth and writing youth-centred plays for mainhouse audiences as long as I can. Down the track, I would also love to publish collections of my plays for other youth educators to use and do a doctorate in my area of work.
Real world application
I studied a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Drama) with a minor in creative writing. This combination helped me from a training and networking perspective. It gave me the opportunity to develop my skills in each facet of performance and explore my voice as a theatre maker. The production units were also beneficial as we got to collaborate with our peers in an environment similar to that of a working artist.
Throughout my degree, I was working in the indie arts sector on as many festivals and works that I could get involved in, which played a big part in building my brand once I graduated university. While studying at QUT I became a part of a community of artists; many artists that I still collaborate with today on projects. I am still very grateful for my university tutors; most whom I’m still in contact with today. Just recently, Kath Kelly wrote the foreword for my play ‘Dear Adults…’ which will be published by Playlab this month. Consequently, I would say the Bachelor of Fine Arts also gave me the tools manage creative relationships and partnerships effectively.
The creative process
From a young age, I’ve always loved storytelling. Creating worlds on the stage and on the page, bringing characters to life was always a place of solace. A place where I felt the most comfortable. It’s still a very special space. I knew from a young age that I wanted to continue exploring this space and the feeling it provided me. I was very fortunate to have had that realisation at a young age and to have had that deter both my primary, high school and tertiary studies.
Having a job in the arts is not easy. It’s a lot of hard work. Lots of back and forth with emails. Lots of late nights trying to sell tickets or getting someone to sponsor your work. Or even just a venue to say ‘yes, you can stage your work here’. But also a lot of joy. The joy makes everything else worth it. I wear many different hats in the arts industry, but my favourite part of my work is sharing my passion for theatre and telling stories with the younger generation to create works in which they have the agency to tell their own truths. There is nothing more fulfilling than watching a student or a cast member blossom into their own person and entity in the rehearsal room and underneath the stage lights.
