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Writing
I look at my writing practice as a convergence of theatre and poetry. I'm interested in the blurring of the two forms; in rhythm and rhyme creeping their way into otherwise naturalistic dialogue. I'm inspired by writers such as Angus Cerini, Margret Atwood, Andrew Bovell, and Annie Baker.
In July of 2020, I graduated from the University of Melbourne as a Creative Writing major. Throughout this degree I enjoyed exploring contemporary and radical theatre, poetry, and tried my hand at screen-writing. Towards the end of my degree I had a collection of short poems published in Turnitin, a magazine produced by the writers of my cohort with support from the School of Culture and Communication.
While at the university, in 2018, I was selected to be involved in UHT's (Union House Theatre) Writer-in-Residence Program. This was an opportunity to develop a script under mentorship from playwright, Mari Lourey, in both one-on-one and group settings. Across the year our group of 12 emerging playwrights met for workshops and to support each other in the writing and editing process. This program cumulated with UHT's Play-reading Mini Fest. in which I first presented a 20 minute version of my play Her Hour Upon The Stage in a rehearsed reading with five actors in the Guild Theatre.
Her Hour is a queer, feminist exploration of Shakespeare's Macbeth which I first started developing in the Writer-in-Residence program because I'd seen about 10 versions of Macbeth, studied it twice and read it who knows how many times. It was my favourite Shakespeare (and probably still is) yet it always left me so unsatisfied. The Witches to me seem so clearly written as non-binary / gender non-conforming characters, yet I'd always seen them staged as women. Lady Macduff only has one scene in the entire play then dies off stage (sorry, spoilers). And of course, there's Lady Macbeth. She leaves me still with three unresolved questions: Did she have children? Did she really "go mad"? How did she die?
I directed and co-produced a full 60 minute version of Her Hour Upon The Stage through Shakespearean Jeans at The Butterfly Club in November of 2019. You can read more about the play and even listen to an interview under the Directing section of this website. Or click here to
Photography by Yufan Jo Chen
Prior to writing a full-length play, I learnt a lot from participating in smaller writing projects, such as UHT's 24 Hour Play Project in 2019, as well as the UHT season at La Mama Explorations that same year. The 24 Hour Play Project was a wild collaborative adventure for which I co-wrote a short comedy script with a friend, AJ McFadden. La Mama Explorations saw me present a different genre of work: a dark non-naturalistic play, combining satire, chorus, poetry, and verbatim news stories. Ugly Something is about women walking home alone at night, the ways in which we react when we hear another tragic but all too familiar story of a woman attacked, and the language used in our society in relation to women's safety.
'Ugly Something' at La Mama Explorations - 2019
'Ugly Something' at La Mama Explorations - 2019
'Ugly Something' at La Mama Explorations - 2019
'Ugly Something' at La Mama Explorations - 2019
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As a writer I enjoy working on both solo projects and in collaborative groups or partnerships (which you can read more about under Circus and Comedy).
Having honed my comedic writing skills across 2018 - 19 with a group called Mudcrabs (Melbourne University
Comedy Revue Board), I survived Melbourne's 2020 lockdowns and kept my sketch writing skills fresh by attending workshops with the Mudcrabs' Rowdy Laughter team. These sketches were part of an exciting virtual project: Laughs From Afar.
Also In 2020 I was listed, along with 12 other female writers, as a finalist for Madwoman Monologues. The Madwomen Monologues are a
Photography by Nam Nguyen
collaborative effort between
Baggage Productions and the female writing community and the Melbourne acting and directing fraternity. My monologue, Toaster, was produced for performance by the company, first through an online format in November 2020 (which can be viewed still on Youtube), then live at The Butterfly Club in March, 2021. *CW: This work contains light swearing and sexual themes.
In November of 2021 I again had a monologue featured in the Madwomen Monologues season at The Butterfly Club. Am I Next?' is a monologue I wrote while continuing to develop Ugly Something. This is a project I hope to stage as a full-length play in the future. A filmed version of the staged monologue is available to watch online. *CW: Swearing, sexual references, themes of assault and murder.
Image by Baggage Productions
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