Blue Gum Farm TV wins award
SITTING on a bus in the streets of Surry Hills, Cilla Pershouse looked out through the grimy film and stink of traffic exhaust fumes, at an urban population disconnected from the idea of growing food and the notion of the open space of the bush.
In that moment, the girl from somewhere east of Gayndah, a formally trained musician who had performed in the lead role of Gold Coast show Outback Spectacular, knew she no longer wanted to be in Sydney, that hothouse of performing arts.
However, she took a business idea back home: to create a TV series filmed on location at her family’s farm, drawing on a collection of irrepressibly cheerful songs and visuals that would teach urban children where their food came from, how they might connect with that, and gave rural children the chance to celebrate their daily life.
“When I came home, Blue Gum Farm TV became my passion,” Cilla said.
“The idea of producing a television series was that I could do it in my own time, on my own terms; seasonally, because all of the episodes are based on seasonality.”
Yet to be taken up on broadcast networks, Cilla has developed a successful online business streaming original music videos, and DVD sales of her TV series. Demand for her live show is also strong, with performances booked across Queensland.
In a world where making a living as a performing artist is a tough whip to crack, Cilla’s rurally based model is succeeding. She was awarded an Australian Small Business Champion Award – Children’s Services last month.