Star of unbridled talent, Robert Jarman, has become the most recipient of the Theatre Council of Tasmania's Lifetime Achievement Award.
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The actor, director, writer and designer has been leading the Tasmanian performing arts sector for over 30 years.
Championing Australian work, Mr Jarman has has directed more than 45 Australian premiere productions, including musical theatre, dance, physical theatre, and festival comedy works. He has also directed more than 80 productions and performed in 85 in Australia and overseas, and written 25 stage works.
Mr Jarman said it was an honour to be recognised by his peers and the industry, and the award had made him look back on his career, his biggest accomplishment being able to move people.
"The real achievement of any work is the effect that it has on an audience, and the effect that it has in the wider world," he said.
"What you discover is theatre can't change the world at all, but it can actually change individuals. And that is its power, that's the power of all art."
Mr Jarman said it was wonderful to see the profound shift from local works being few and far between to becoming centre stage.
"One of the most wonderful things over the 40-plus years that I've worked in theatre has been the tremendous growth in Australian voices, Australian stories, and Tasmanian stories and more recently, Indigenous Tasmanian stories."
Reflecting on his work, there were four or five shows that stuck out as "magical".
All shared three common denominators - they launched from strong material, they were timely, and had a "fantastically cohesive" group working on them.
"Those magic shows, I think they come along very rarely, so those highlights are a few and far between, but they're incredibly special."
One was West Side Story, which he directed in the months following 9/11.
"A musical, [which is] as much as anything about racism, and about the power of love in the face of hate, became a musical about 9/11, became a response to that moment."
His highlights stretch beyond his creative achievements, with much of this career dedicated to supporting others - developing numerous programs and theatre-making workshops for local artists, and working as the musical director at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music.
He also co-established Blue Cow Theatre in 2010, where he served as artistic director for nine years, a company supporting Tasmanian playwrights, sharing local stories, and nurturing upcoming generations.
"One feels joy in watching the careers of young people and the work that they're creating, and hopes that one has at least played some part in making that possible in facilitating that."
Theatre Council president Petr Divi said he was thrilled to present Mr Jarman the award.
"Robert has had a profound impact on the careers of numerous directors, actors and other theatre creatives and is admired by so many in our community," he said.
Although the award recognises his life's work, his career is far from over. With four to five projects in the pipeline, we can expect him to continue inspiring through theatre.
The 2022 Tasmanian Theatre Awards will be held on Saturday March 5 at Wrest Point in Hobart.
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