Not In Print: Playwrights Off Script - On Inspiration, Process And Theatre Itself

We talk to Australian actor Francis Greenslade about his life, career, and what led him to write his book 'How I Learnt to Act: On the way to NOT going to drama school'.   Listen out for some entertaining anecdotes about working with some big names in TV and theatre, some unconventional acting tips, and the path he has forged for himself in a difficult industry.   ***   How I Learnt to Act is available on the Currency Press website

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   CONTENT WARNING/CANCEL CULTURE: We're living in an age when a media storm can shut down a show or even a festival. When the purpose of theatre is often to disrupt and to challenge societal norms, how do writers and producers walk the ever-evolving line to avoid cancellation?   Featuring Suzie Miller, Van Badham, and Suzy Wrong   Chair: Lee Lewis

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   Playwrights Melanie Tait and Sarah Carroll have a conversation about their careers and writing journeys.   ***   https://www.currency.com.au/authors/sarah-carroll/ https://www.currency.com.au/authors/melanie-tait/

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   GO YOUR OWN WAY: Being selected for a mainstage season is often viewed as the end goal for a playwright. But some of the most exciting theatre is created when a playwright teams up with a director to stage their own work.   Featuring Kenneth Moraleda, Jordan Shea, and Noëlle Janaczewska   Chair: Kate Gaul

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   STORY AS COMMODITY: Theatre is not just about entertainment, it is also a powerful vehicle for breaking down taboos and secrecy by bringing real-life stories to an audience who might otherwise be at a distance from some issues.   Featuring James Elazzi, Declan Furber Gillick, and Tiffany Wong   Chair: Wesley Enoch

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   WHEN OPINIONS DIFFER: Whose play is it? Where does it leave the playwright when the director or designer or dramaturg has a different vision?   Featuring Jane Harrison, Lee Lewis, and Chris Mead   Chair: Wesley Enoch

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   Finegan Kruckemeyer talks with Eva Di Cesare about his life, work, and influences. This episodes features readings from his plays.   ***   https://www.currency.com.au/authors/finegan-kruckemeyer/ https://www.currency.com.au/authors/eva-di-cesare/

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   MIND THE POTHOLES: How does writing for, and working with, regional theatre companies compare with their city cousins? What role does geography play?   Featuring Karla Conway, Leland Kean, and Emily Steel   Chair: Marion Potts

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   Playwrights Alana Valentine and JoJo Zhou have a conversation about their careers and writing practice.   ***   https://www.currency.com.au/authors/jojo-zhou/ https://www.currency.com.au/authors/alana-valentine/

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   GROUP CHATS/HOME TRUTHS: A conversation about the power of theatre to heal, to connect and to give voice to those whose voices are not always heard. Featuring Mahdi Mohammadi, Margot Politis, Liza-Mare Syron. Chair: Donna Abela    

Recorded at the Currency Press Festival of Playwrights 2023   Keynote Address by Andrea James - Are You Brave Enough?   ***   https://www.currency.com.au/authors/andrea-james/

This pre-show interview was recorded at Canberra Theatre Centre during the 2024 tour of Drizzle Boy, winner of the 2023 Queensland Premier's Drama Award.   Currency playwright Ryan Enniss sat down with Tess Yvanovich to discuss his writing process for Drizzle Boy, and how he worked with Queensland Theatre Company to bring this special story to life. It is the first Australian published play written by an autistic playwright about an autistic protagonist.   Also available to watch on Youtube   ‘Bugger. Maybe you aren’t Rain Man. Maybe you’re more of a Drizzle Boy.’  

In this episode of Not in Print Caitlin speaks with Julian Meyrick.  Julian Meyrick is Professor of Creative Industries at Griffith University and an Honorary Fellow at Deakin University. He has directed award-winning productions at Melbourne Theatre Company, Griffin, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Workers Theatre and Kick House Theatre and was Associate Director and Literary Advisor at Melbourne Theatre Company until 2007. In this podcast Julian discusses his most recent book, 'Australia in 50 Plays', published by Currency Press and launched at the inaugural Australian Playwrights’ Festival in March this year. Grab a copy of the book here: currency.com.au/books/history-and-criticism/australia-in-50-plays/ ~~ Music by Grace Turner   

In this episode, Caitlin spoke with playwright, director and dramaturg, Andrea James.   Andrea is a Yorta Yorta/Gunaikurnai woman who is dedicated to the telling of First Nations stories on stage. She was Artistic Director of Melbourne Workers Theatre 2001-2008, was a playwright in residence at Melbourne Theatre Company and is currently an Associate Artist at Griffin Theatre Company.  Andrea’s plays have appeared on stages across Australia and around the world.  Here, we speak about her theatre practice, and her two most recent plays, Sunshine Super Girl, about Wiradjuri tennis champion Evonne Goolagong, and, Dogged, written in collaboration with Catherine Ryan.   *** Grab copies of Andrea's scripts here: https://tinyurl.com/axncm7a6 *** Music by Grace Turner.  

"Five years at law school, eleven years of practice, I have always believed. Now I need to know that I was not mistaken." --- In this episode we spoke with playwright Suzie Miller about her award winning play, Prima Facie. Winner of the 2018 Griffin Award, Prima Facie is an indictment of the Australian legal system’s failure to provide reliable pathways to justice for women in rape, sexual assault or harassment cases. It’s a work of fiction, but one that could have been ripped from the headlines of any paper, any day of the week, so common you could cry. Tessa is a criminal lawyer at the top of her game who knows the law permits no room for emotion. To win, you just need to believe in the rules. And Tessa loves to win, even when defending clients accused of sexual assault. Her court-ordained duty trumps her feminism. But when she finds herself on the other side of the bar, Tessa is forced into the shadows of doubt she’s so ruthlessly cast over other women. Turning Sydney’s courts of law into a different

"Tease us and hate us / but don't underestimate us..."   This month we spoke with Yve Blake, playwright, screenwriter and composer, and the creator of the hit musical FANGIRLS. FANGIRLS is showing again at Sydney Festival 2021 before touring Australia, and you can now get the script through Currency Press. The song in this episode is a track from FANGIRLS performed by some of the original 2019 cast, including Yve Blake, who played the role of Edna.  Learn more about Yve and her work over at yveblake.co  

‘In Tamil we don’t say goodbye. Only, I will go and come back.’ ‘நாங்கள் விடைபெறேக்க, ‘போயிட்டு வாறன்’ எண்டு மட்டும் தான் தமிழில சொல்லுறனாங்கள்.’ In this episode we speak with S. Shakthidharan, a writer, director, musician and producer of film and theatre who grew up in Western Sydney and has Sri Lankan heritage and Tamil ancestry.  We discussed Shakthi's multi-award-winning, multilingual play, Counting and Cracking, which traverses countries and decades to bring us an epic tale of family, love and politics.  See more of Shakthi's work at kurinji.com.au 

To re-launch Not in Print, we spoke with Finegan Kruckemeyer about magical worlds where monsters are friends and lighthouses are boats, and on the richness and dynamism of theatre for children and young people. *** Finegan has had 94 commissioned plays performed on six continents and translated into eight languages. His work has enjoyed seasons in more than 200 international festivals and in 2018, he was the most-produced playwright of original children’s theatre in the US.  He and his work have received 36 awards, including the Mickey Miners Lifetime Achievement Award for international Theatre for Young Audiences, David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Australian Playwrighting, seven Australian Writers' Guild Awards and an inaugural Sidney Myer Fellowship. Finegan has spoken at conferences in ten countries, with papers published and works studied at international universities. Finegan was born in Ireland and moved halfway around the world to Adelaide, Australia, aged eight. After 15 years, he and his w