In 1999, Kris produced and directed a number of outdoor events – it was during the renovation of the Myer Music Bowl, and a series of major Melbourne events needed to be re-housed. It was quite an interesting challenge to find a way to produce these enormous events for one-night-only in a stylish but practical way.
The Ballet in the Park was a free annual event sponsored by Telstra, and included two dozen member of the Australian Ballet’s ballet corp, plus (as you can see above), inflatable light sculptures created for the night, a string ensemble that played live and a fireworks event. More than 15,000 audience members attended this event.
The Festival of Voices is Tasmania’s leading winter cultural event and Australia’s premier festival celebrating the vocalist and the power of song.
Kris’ friend Geoff Cohen was on the board of the National Music Theater Network while Kris was working as their executive director. In addition to being the NMTN treasurer, Geoff had been Executive Producer for Radio City Entertainment for a number of years.
Before he left Melbourne, Kris spent 2000 and 2001 as the Producer of the Lygon Street Festa, which is Australia’s largest street event.
“The three-week culture orgy.” – Katie Charles, New York Magazine
Kris has commissioned the creation of a number of new musicals, including 
The Festival has featured premieres by Pulitzer finalists and Tony Award winners alongside the work of new unknown voices, and has featured numerous international co-productions with Australian, Canadian and English companies, and collaborations with the UCBT, ASCAP, EST, the Drama Dept., Ars Nova, BMI, 92nd St Y, Museum of TV and Radio and others.
Kris has built a loyal and young audience base (>50% aged under 40) through an innovative programming and marketing strategy, and though still a young institution, Kris has grown the organization’s income by more than 35% each year, creating a committed donor and sponsor base (including partners such as Cadillac, Virgin, Microsoft, the Village Voice, Time Out NY, Playbill and many, many others) that has guaranteed the future viability of his organization. Kris has delivered a budget surplus for the five years of his management, and has grown the budget from <$250,000, to a core operating budget of $950,000, with additional $650,000 of inkind sponsorships and $600,000 in co-production commitments.
In 2010, Kris began as the inaugural Artistic Director of 
Australia has a vibrant outdoor culture; the greatest meeting place of Australia’s love for the arts and our love for enjoying some of the greatest weather in the world can be seen in our outdoor festivals.
