The magic of design

After reading Emma Kingsbury's extensive CV, it was something of a surprise to see how young the face was smiling back at me on Zoom. At 36 years of age, Kingsbury is a theatre designer with a CV as long as Gandalf's beard. She has created sets and costumes for the whole gamut of the performing arts: film, TV, opera, ballet. She now spends most of her time living and working in the US but she recently visited Australia to witness the premiere of one of her latest commissions: for the Australian Ballet School's new ballet: Possum Magic, based on the children's book by Mem Fox. 

Possum Magic is an Australian classic, beloved since it was published in 1983, adored for its uniquely Australian characters and Julie Vevis's delightful watercolour illustrations. Creating a ballet from the tale was the idea of Australian/New Zealand choreographer Loughlin Prior, with whom Kingsbury had previously worked on his version of Cinderella for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. 

Conjuring up a whole new ballet from scratch must be an awe-inspiring but daunting task at any time; moreover, in this case too the design had to be faithful to the original book and meet the authors' approval – imagine if Kingsbury did not do justice to the lovable Hush and Grandma Poss! The designs had to be recreated but not copied. They had to be set in the correct time and locations, and the animal characters had to be turned into costumes (with requisite feathers and tails) while still allowing their wearers to dance. There were also pavlovas, giant vegemite sandwiches and various other props to create.

Kingsbury relished the challenge. “I read Possum Magic as a kid and adored it." Kingsbury says. "I'll do anything with Loughlin of course but I thought it was a great idea for the Australian Ballet School and for young people to see it and lovely for the story to be carried on in this way in a different format to another generation.

“Our aim was to be true to the book.”

Possum Magic was Kingsbury's first major commission for ballet or dance in Australia. (She did work with MADE – Mature Artists Dance Ensemble – early in her career and treasures that experience.) Her main dance commissions have arisen since she moved to California. She has designed for many ballet companies, especially in the US, while her designs for Helen Pickett’s The Crucible, for the Scottish Ballet, won the 2019 UK Theatre Award for Dance and toured North America in 2023.

"Full lengths are my favourite," she says. "I love doing the whole set from start to finish and telling a great story. I'm not hung up on story ballets at all but I think it helps when there's a really strong script and dramaturgy."

She enjoys a good collaborative relationship with choreographer and former Australian Ballet principal Danielle Rowe, who, like Kingsbury, is living in San Francisco. Their most recent ballet together was Wooden Dimes, for a triple bill program for the San Francisco Ballet.

It’s a long way from her childhood home. Kingsbury was born in the UK but grew up in the Adelaide Hills. She went to Loreto Toorak school in Melbourne, then Melbourne University, lapping up every theatre experience she could, then undertook a second degree at NIDA in Sydney. From there she was assistant to Dan Potra for his stage adaptation of How to Tame Your Dragon, the Arena Spectacular, produced by Global Creatures/Dreamworks US, (2012).

“Dan Potra is an unbelievably beautiful illustrator and his drawings are bursting with character,” she enthuses. “What I learned from Dan was to really explain as much as you possibly can in a costume design/drawing. From the pose to the facial expression to the fabric, it’s the best way to communicate the essence of the character and this creates cohesion in the piece.”

Kingsbury has designed for film, as well: The Wolverine (2013), Black Light (starring Liam Neeson and Adain Quinn) Top of the Lake: China Girl (2017) and Legendary Entertainment’s Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018). 

A couple of her theatre designs have been created in collaboration with her husband, the renown theatre designer David Finn. They live on a rural property about an "hour north" of San Francisco. " I live on a mountain, on 10 acres, where I don't really see anyone" and where she enjoys the peace and quiet and solitude – a lot different from the full-on collaborative nature of her work. It was from this remote outpost that much of the creation of  Possum Magic occurred, with the long distance discussions with the Australian team aided by modern technology. Digital files crossed the Pacific; ideas were posed and streamlined and refined on high resolution, digital images.

The fabric patterns and costumes were created in collaboration with Peggy Jackson of Melbourne-based Keto Dancewear.

Kingsbury loves creating for ballet “because it has its own language”. “A language of grace, musicality and daring. Ballet is steeped in tradition but it also embraces and encourages new ways of seeing. It’s everything from the romanticism of Degas to the avant garde and cutting edge of today’s fusion of styles and ideas. 

“As a designer, I am working closely with athletes who are also artists; young people who have dedicated the majority of their youth to perfecting their craft. To me, this is such a noble pursuit and I admire them completely.”

Kingsbury says the one frustration of being a designer is the speed with which things have to be put together. She has learnt that preparation is key – and respecting other people's abilities. "There's always a team of incredibly talented people, that know their art, know their cutting, know their stitching, dying, that's part of it, being a good leader that way. You can't do it all yourself so you have to have great communication skills and tap into everybody else's talents. And there's a great pool of talent in Australia, that's for sure."

As ever, Kingsbury has a number of projects coming up. At the moment she is working on Wagner's massive Ring cycle, which premieres on October 28, 2024, at Teatro alla Scala in Milan. 

The Australian Ballet School is presenting Possum Magic at the Playhouse Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne, from Friday 1 November 1 to 3 as part of its 60th Anniversary Gala program.

This article was published in the July/Aug/Sep print issue of Dance Australia.