Beyond Fringe and short play festivals, there are precious little opportunities for directors to practice their craft on a regular basis. Actors can learn new audition pieces, writers can set themselves exercises, but a director’s work only comes into effect when in a room with actors… and sometimes without an end point, without the pressure of an audience to view the work, director’s can be stuck in endless cycles of workshopping… there is something about the promise of an audience that sharpens a directors focus.

It is this reason which I applaud short seasons of full length plays… Read more

Less than 200 years ago, the Bronte sisters were published under names that were not their own. Charlotte was known as Currer, Emily as Ellis and Ann was known as Acton. For women writers, to be published under a male pseudonym, was fairly common- in fact a letter sent to Charlotte from Robert Southey suggested that “… the daydreams in which you indulge are likely to produce a distempered state of mind … Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life and ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her proper duties the less time she will have for it, even as a recreation.” In the face of this- the three sisters continued to write. Read more

Sick of winter? Looking for something to do? Want to make some new friends? Want to get involved… want to see an awesome show? Here’s some suggestions for you… Read more

History. I love it. I love the sense of nostalgia, the 20/20 vision hindsight brings… I love how histories are told- filtered through time and delivered to a listener who may live the effects of a great event- but may not know the tiny steps that have lead us here. I’m a nerd. I must admit that I have, on occasion, found solace in Thucydides- a dogeared copy of the History of the Peloponnesian War sits on my bedside table. I think about the civilisations that have been built- the cultures that have evolved and I stand in awe at the how little people change. How time passes. I find it comforting. Read more

Never underestimate facebook to keep you up to date with everyone’s personal details (your ex-boyfriend’s imminent parenthood) to the professional (B-Sharp ending at the end of 2010)…

And now… the standing down of John McCallum from the University of New South Wales was announced to me by Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123594317685540&ref=ts Read more

Theatre is the occupation of romantic nerds.

We believe in ideas. We believe that ideas can change people- and people can change the world. We are, as Alana Valentine suggested in her key note speech last year, conservatives- http://sydney.edu.au/sydney_ideas/lectures/2009/captivated_reality.shtml we love to conserve what we have. We are loyal. We feel the injustice when loyalty is betrayed or abused. We believe that there is nothing more powerful than the potential of space. We are compelled to express ourselves in an ancient art form which we participate in with other people, for other people. Read more

I’d just come home from seeing Bell Shakespeare’s Actors At Work’s Hamlet Intensive (written by Ned Manning and William Shakespeare and directed by Matt Edgerton), I had put my laundry on, taken off my boots- and out of casual obligation I open my email to find this image in my inbox. Sent by multiple sources. Read more

There are millions of reasons why NOT to do something… but there are only a handful of reasons of why people do things… Why bother to make anything? Why invest your time and focus in theatre? Why put yourself forward for speculation or interrogation? Why? Because you are compelled by whatever inspiration or demon (Carrot or stick, if you will..) that drives you… Ultimately it’s about offering- offering an audience a new point of view, a reassurance, a story to soothe, or stir… and short work seasons an do this beautifully-offering a variety of perspectives or worlds to dip into from the safety of you seat.
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If anyone knows how hard it is to get a project up and running- it’s me.

And it’s not easy in a city like Sydney, which has limited venues to hire, (as many are curated spaces) and in an industry that so easily chews people up and spits them out, to inspire people into action. Read more

Playwrights are an interesting species in the kingdom of “Artists”… Like many artists they are solitary- but they have a collaborative spirit- because their artform relies on a congenial coming together of minds, hearts and bodies to create something for an audience… they are generous. They give voice to actors, narratives to directors, they give an audiences ideas. They are artistically powerful people who inform and dictate- and yet they are generous and patient and philosophical… How many times has a playwright had their work fumbled by the mouth of a nervous actor, or misdirected by an ambitious yet green director? and yet- generally they remain focused on the art.

There is no celebrity in play writing. Heck, there is barely any money… but there is a community of them springing up…

An online touchstone for me is the 7-On Blog: http://sevenon.blogspot.com/
which is a wonderful hydra-voiced point of reference and perspective from some of Australia’s key established playwrights.

Another group- WRITE CLUB…. (which you can guess the first rule is…) meets to talk about anything BUT their own work…

Then there is the tentatively named TEWS- The Emerging Writers Studio- which meets at Belvoir.

And there is surely a lot more- people in lounge rooms, in kitchens, in rehearsal rooms talking about writing, about their work, each others work etc… just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist… Read more