Ah… writers… some of my favourite people. And playwrights – my favourite – whom I refer to as “sociable hermits.” Playwrighting is one of the most difficult writerly forms because it is so collaborative.

One playwright recently wrote on my Facebook Wall: “Why do plays take such a long time to write?”

And I responded with two thoughts:

“Because the voices in your head keep squabbling?”

“Because there are 26 letters in the alphabet and you’ve only got 8 fingers (and 2 thumbs?) – if you had 26 fingers I think it would be 3 times faster.”

Being a writer is quite a solitary act. Being alone alot can result in paranoia and self-interrogation and over-thinking and insomnia. Combine that with a rehearsal room full of attractive, ambitious, talented, intelligent actors and director – and it can be extremely challenging.

Being a playwright takes great audacity, great vision and sturdy self-awareness. It also takes time and people skills.

So I’m a fan of writers – I direct them, I produce them, I review them. And I am honoured to be talking on a couple of panels at the NSW Writer’s Centre’s Playwriting Festival… It’s on the 3rd March, I hope to see you there!

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The blurb of the Writer’s centre goes like this:

“The NSW Writers’ Centre is a government funded not for profit organisation that exists to promote writing-based culture and the rights and interests of writers in NSW. The Centre provides a dynamic program of activities each year including writing workshops, course for writers, publishing seminars, festivals for writers and writing competitions, as well as providing mentorship opportunities, manuscript assessments and providing support for writers and writing organisations in Sydney and across New South Wales.”

The blurb of the Playwrighting Festival goes like this:
The first in our festival program for 2012 is the Playwriting Festival curated by award winning writer Kate Mulvany.

The Playwriting Festival will bring together some of Australia’s best and brightest playwrights, dramaturgs, artistic directors and reviewers including Van Badham, Vanessa Bates, Wayne Blair, Jane Bodie, Fraser Corfield, Duncan Graham, Kevin Jackson, Andrea James, Leland Kean, Mark Kilmurry, John McCallum, Tony McNamara, Tommy Murphy, Debra Oswald, Lachlan Philpott, Polly Rowe, Diana Simmonds, Sam Strong, Augusta Supple, Alana Valentine and more to be announced.

The program will cover the craft and business of playwriting with panels on the changing face of Australian playwriting; the pros and cons of working with directors and dramaturgs; what mainstage theatre companies are looking for; working in the fringe theatre scene; the reviewed versus the reviewer; and the playwright’s role in the production process. A full program will be released very soon.

There will be script sales, gourmet food and coffee, plenty of free parking and you are welcome to join us on the veranda at the end of the day for a complimentary post-festival drink. NSW Writers’ Centre members also receive a generous discount on festival bookings.

Bookings can be made from 30 January. NSW Writers’ Centre Members $55 / Concession Members $45 / Non-members $80.

Kate Mulvany

Kate’s play The Danger Age was shortlisted for the Sydney Theatre Company 2004 Patrick White Playwright’s Award and she was the winner of the 2004 Philip Parsons Young Playwright’s Award, for which she was commissioned by Belvoir to write The Seed. The Seed went on to win the Best Independent Production and was nominated for Best New Australian Work at the 2007 Sydney Theatre Critics’ Awards. It was also nominated in 2008 for an AWGIE Award, the Queensland Premier’s Literary Award and received a honourable mention in the Asher Awards. After two sell-out seasons at Belvoir The Seed went on to tour Australia and in 2012 it makes its Melbourne premiere for Melbourne Theatre Company. In 2009, Kate’s play The Web was co-produced by Black Swan Theatre Company and Hothouse Theatre Company. In 2010, her play The Wreath was developed for Bell Shakespeare’s Minds Eye initiative, and she completed a new adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, which toured Australia in 2011 for Bell Shakespeare.

CHECK OUT THE WEBSITE: http://www.nswwc.org.au/?page_id=1613