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IN WILD COMPANY
In Wild Company is an independent multidisciplinary theatre company making bold, music-driven performance that is wildly playful, deeply collaborative, and unapologetically original.
Our work lives at the intersection of theatre, music, cabaret, clown, film, and devised performance. We are driven by female-centred narratives and grounded in questions of culture, identity, and place. Every project begins in the room with artists, communities, and stories that demand to be told.
We believe that compelling art is made when diverse voices are at the centre, not the margins. Our practice embraces difference as a creative force, and we use humour, heart, and craft to reimagine the stories we think we know.
We value kindness, integrity, cultural diversity, and creative courage. Our process is experimental, our form is fluid, and our work is always alive to the moment.
In Wild Company is made up of two connected streams:
Our home for bold, music-driven performance. We create original, cross-artform works led by artists with lived experience and powered by community. From genre-defying musicals to cross-artform storytelling, our productions reimagine whose stories take centre stage and how they are told.
A space for mentorship, workshops, and cultural leadership. We support creatives through strategic, values-led practice, and contribute to national conversations through speaking and advocacy.
Together, these streams reflect our belief that art-making and leadership go hand in hand, both are acts of care, imagination, and cultural change.
Meet the Team
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Founder, Artistic Director & Lead Artist
Josipa Draisma
Josipa Draisma is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, writer, producer, and cultural leader working at the intersection of contemporary theatre, music, cabaret, clown, visual art, and film. Her practice is grounded in bold storytelling and a commitment to equity, collaboration, and innovation.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Cultural Leadership from NIDA and was awarded the 2023 Lynne Williams AM Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Leadership. Also a trained mezzo-soprano, Josipa holds an MCA in Theatre & Performance and has undertaken performance training in New York, London, Sydney, and Melbourne.
As founder and artistic lead of In Wild Company, Josipa creates and curates original multidisciplinary works that champion female-driven narratives and culturally diverse perspectives. Her recent creative credits include co-creating and performing in the critically acclaimed The Hen House (dir. Anthea Williams), the award-winning cabaret Ljubičica – Wild Violet (dir. Melita Rowston), and original works Menagerie, Shapeshifter, C’est La Vie, and Josipa Draisma Is Jean Claude Van Damme.
Josipa was recently a Griffin Theatre Studio Artist, where she developed her play In Echoes, and has been commissioned by Campbelltown Arts Centre to create a new musical exploring women, ageing and pop culture, set to premiere in 2026. Her work has been presented in major venues and festivals across Australia, including the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Adelaide Fringe, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, and Sydney Comedy Festival.
She is a proud alum of IETM Campus and Playwriting Australia’s Directors Studio, and a co-founder of both The Colour Blind Project and the clown collective Choo Choo Troupe. With over 15 years of cross-sector experience, Josipa has led major performing arts and screen initiatives with organisations including the ABC, Disney Channel, Beyond Productions, Screen NSW and Create NSW.
Josipa’s leadership spans artistic direction, cultural strategy, and policy-informed advocacy. Her academic research and ongoing practice focus on dismantling systemic barriers for culturally diverse women in leadership, and creating space for bold, relevant, and inclusive storytelling on our stages and screens.
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Music Director & Associate Artist
Mara Knezevic
Mara is a music theatre composer, theatre-maker, performer, and singer-songwriter whose multidisciplinary practice bridges contemporary music, performance, and cultural storytelling. She is especially passionate about creating works that celebrate female voices, lived experience, and the power of community-led collaboration.
Her theatre credits include the critically acclaimed The Hen House (dir. Anthea Williams), which she co-created and co-composed, the Helpmann Award–nominated PLAYLIST (dir. Karen Therese, PYT Fairfield), Ljubičica: Wild Violet (dir. Melita Rowston), and Myths and Legends (development and reading, Riverside Theatre). Mara’s performance work has been presented at major venues and festivals including Festival Unwrapped at the Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Sydney Fringe Festival, Red Earth Arts Precinct (Karratha, WA), Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Seymour Centre and Flame Festival Fairfield.
Mara is a classically trained vocalist and accomplished contemporary singer-songwriter, having studied under soprano Margaret Andrews Russell for over 15 years. Since 2016, she has released original music independently as pop artist Mara Duke, earning wide community radio play nationally and internationally. Her songwriting has received international recognition, including two semi-finalist placements in the International Songwriting Competition (Interstellar, 2016; Who Is This Girl, 2017). In 2022, Interstellar was selected in the Top 20 for Eurovision: Australia Decides.
Her compositional work also extends into the screen and visual arts, having collaborated on vocal sound design with acclaimed composer James Brown for The Beehive (dir. Zanny Begg, 2018), presented at Sydney Festival and ACMI, and Magic Mountains (dir. Zanny Begg, 2020), commissioned by ACCA Melbourne.
Mara holds a BA in Performance Studies and Music from the University of Sydney and a Master of Teaching (Secondary), specialising in Drama and Music. Based in Western Sydney, her work is informed by place, politics, and a desire to create inclusive spaces for artistic expression. As a next-generation cultural leader, Mara is committed to expanding the role of music and theatre in driving social connection and creative resilience.