Good news! 7-ON is well represented in this year’s AWGIE nominations.
In the Television Mini Series Original category Vanessa is one of the nominated writers for East West 101—Season 2.
In the Radio (Original) category Verity has 2 dramas Moon Door and Davy, and Noëlle has a drama and the non-fiction piece There’s Something about Eels …
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Long Shadows and Short Pieces
Inspired initially by the extraordinary forensic photographs in the City of Shadows exhibition (and book) 7ON has been busy of late (she laughed quietly and slightly insanely into her sleeve) wrestling theatrically with ideas of crime and punishment, inclusion and absence, social icon and social outcast, photography and immortality. There are probably fifty other things that we explored in the past fortnight with Director Lee Lewis, composer Phillip Johnston and the incredible actors that make up the STC Residents. Or maybe fifty thousand.
Teacups figured.
As did Sunlight Soap.
And the mysterious disappearance of Kingsford Smith.
It has been huge and fantastic and exhausting. There has been much talk and exploration and just trying things out, perched above the harbour at the Sydney Theatre Company. At times the sight of the sun sparkling off the water filled us with joy. At other times it gave us a migraine. At the end of all this work there was a three and a half hour presentation of...all this work.
Crikey Moses.
So what's next?
Next we go into a small dark room minus actors, director and sun on harbour. And we do that thing that writers do. We write. More. Or maybe less. Actually, much less, I reckon. Focus, edit, define, create.
We are seven different styles and experiences, we are seven different heads and hearts. It has been a fantastic fortnight.
More to come...
Watch this space.
Vanessaxx
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Radio-play airing this weekend on Radio National
Left Breathless A Question
Written by Catherine Zimdahl
ABC Radio Airplay
Sunday 5th July 3pm
Thursday 9th July 7pm (repeat)
Sometimes you are married to a stranger. Sometimes marriage is stranger than anything.
A barrister and his wife explore the complexities of a marriage from very different points of view. 'He' is dealing on a daily basis with relationships on the verge of collapse, seemingly unaware that his own marriage may also be vulnerable. 'She' hopes to find the answers to her endless questions by shopping.
Left Breathless A Question premiered at the Griffin Theatre in 2007. It was initiated as part of the 7-ON writers' collective project responding to Maslow's seven needs.
Written by Catherine Zimdahl
Featuring Peter Kowitz and Penne Hackforth Jones
Sound Engineer: Judy Rapley
Production: Michael Bates and Anna Messariti
Written by Catherine Zimdahl
ABC Radio Airplay
Sunday 5th July 3pm
Thursday 9th July 7pm (repeat)
Sometimes you are married to a stranger. Sometimes marriage is stranger than anything.
A barrister and his wife explore the complexities of a marriage from very different points of view. 'He' is dealing on a daily basis with relationships on the verge of collapse, seemingly unaware that his own marriage may also be vulnerable. 'She' hopes to find the answers to her endless questions by shopping.
Left Breathless A Question premiered at the Griffin Theatre in 2007. It was initiated as part of the 7-ON writers' collective project responding to Maslow's seven needs.
Written by Catherine Zimdahl
Featuring Peter Kowitz and Penne Hackforth Jones
Sound Engineer: Judy Rapley
Production: Michael Bates and Anna Messariti
Friday, June 19, 2009
And check this out ...
Following on from the last post, check out this article from The Guardian: Leading Ladies Kept out of the Limelight: Conference hears of battle against ageism and sexism.
Only 9% of top films last year directed by women.
On the up side however, another article from The Guardian: Female Playwrights Set to Take West End by Storm. The writers are all young, so let's hope they've got long careers ahead of them.
Only 9% of top films last year directed by women.
On the up side however, another article from The Guardian: Female Playwrights Set to Take West End by Storm. The writers are all young, so let's hope they've got long careers ahead of them.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
What is going on here?
If like me, you’ve been following the fabulous Mad Men on SBS, which is set in the early 1960s, you can probably understand why feminism became such a force in the decade that followed. Yes, the men evaluate the female characters in terms of their appearance and sexual availability, but far more insidious is their assumption that women are no-go zones when it comes to the life of the mind.
That’s Mad Men, that’s the 1960s, This is Sydney in 2009, and I’m a tad troubled by something I and a few colleagues, including fellow 7-ONers, are observing. Today we did a bit of a gender audit on Belvoir B Sharp’s 2009 season, and found: Women writers = 0; women directors = 2. Then there was that recent article about Neil Armfield’s decision to leave his position as Artistic Director of Belvoir Street Theatre after some 15 years, in which the talent waiting in the wings just happened to be all male. Speaking for myself, I’ll believe we’ve achieved equality when I read about a twenty-something female wunderkind!
But it’s not only Belvoir. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece about the current popularity of Russian plays and adaptations. The journalist discussed this trend with a number of directors, all male, and although the production Ladybird was referred to, its (female) director Lee Lewis was not named.
Most of us in 7-ON have taught performance writing in various contexts, and in nearly every instance female students greatly outnumber men. So what happens to them? At what point in the process are they being passed over? Do they give up when the going gets tough? Are they perhaps less committed than their male counterparts? Or do they side-step more readily into admin and support roles? Should we be asking those who commission and program to explain their criteria and decision-making processes?
Look, this is a vexed issue. As writers we want to get gigs on the strength and qualities of our work, not because of our gender, cultural background, place of residence or whatever. And I’m personally not in favour of affirmative action initiatives, which despite the best intentions, often end up marginalising rather than opening doors. But isn’t it time we asked: what the hell is going on here?
That’s Mad Men, that’s the 1960s, This is Sydney in 2009, and I’m a tad troubled by something I and a few colleagues, including fellow 7-ONers, are observing. Today we did a bit of a gender audit on Belvoir B Sharp’s 2009 season, and found: Women writers = 0; women directors = 2. Then there was that recent article about Neil Armfield’s decision to leave his position as Artistic Director of Belvoir Street Theatre after some 15 years, in which the talent waiting in the wings just happened to be all male. Speaking for myself, I’ll believe we’ve achieved equality when I read about a twenty-something female wunderkind!
But it’s not only Belvoir. The Sydney Morning Herald ran a piece about the current popularity of Russian plays and adaptations. The journalist discussed this trend with a number of directors, all male, and although the production Ladybird was referred to, its (female) director Lee Lewis was not named.
Most of us in 7-ON have taught performance writing in various contexts, and in nearly every instance female students greatly outnumber men. So what happens to them? At what point in the process are they being passed over? Do they give up when the going gets tough? Are they perhaps less committed than their male counterparts? Or do they side-step more readily into admin and support roles? Should we be asking those who commission and program to explain their criteria and decision-making processes?
Look, this is a vexed issue. As writers we want to get gigs on the strength and qualities of our work, not because of our gender, cultural background, place of residence or whatever. And I’m personally not in favour of affirmative action initiatives, which despite the best intentions, often end up marginalising rather than opening doors. But isn’t it time we asked: what the hell is going on here?
Friday, June 12, 2009
Mrs Macquarie's Cello goes to air
ABC Airplay will broadcast my latest radio piece on Sunday 14th June at 3pm. It can be listened to online for the month after. But don't read the introductory information on their webpage. I've complained, spoken to the EP, and even written them a blurb, but there it is still, misinforming listeners and mis-crediting me. God damn. Read the bit below instead.
Elizabeth Macquarie, and her husband Governor Lachlan Macquarie, are remembered by history for having changed the direction of a penal colony into a settlement based more or less on merit and the rule of law, rather than rum and racketeering. Not everyone was happy with this new direction, and sidelined military and aristocratic factions worked hard to turn London opinion against the Governor. Lachlan was ultimately denounced in a Royal Commission of 1819, however, after his death in 1824, Elizabeth successfully campaigned to clear her husband's name. The play is set on the day Elizabeth receives this news, and is inspired by a range of sources including diaries, reports, letters, manuals for conserving musical instruments, a Robert Burns poem and a recipe for roast swan.
Mrs Macquarie's Cello was a co-production between Airplay, the Song Company and ABC Classic FM. It was written by Donna Abela with music composed by Raffaelo Marcellino. It re-imagines an earlier concert version along similar themes
written by Lisa Morrisset and composed by Raffaelo Marcellino.
Donna
Elizabeth Macquarie, and her husband Governor Lachlan Macquarie, are remembered by history for having changed the direction of a penal colony into a settlement based more or less on merit and the rule of law, rather than rum and racketeering. Not everyone was happy with this new direction, and sidelined military and aristocratic factions worked hard to turn London opinion against the Governor. Lachlan was ultimately denounced in a Royal Commission of 1819, however, after his death in 1824, Elizabeth successfully campaigned to clear her husband's name. The play is set on the day Elizabeth receives this news, and is inspired by a range of sources including diaries, reports, letters, manuals for conserving musical instruments, a Robert Burns poem and a recipe for roast swan.
Mrs Macquarie's Cello was a co-production between Airplay, the Song Company and ABC Classic FM. It was written by Donna Abela with music composed by Raffaelo Marcellino. It re-imagines an earlier concert version along similar themes
written by Lisa Morrisset and composed by Raffaelo Marcellino.
Donna
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Hitchers of Oz
Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. When I wrote it.
Then it arrived on the doorstep and I was excited. I flicked through the collection of short stories in The Hitchers of Oz and there it was. My first published short story. My heart swelled with pride. I went to the fridge, got myself a cold beer and sat down to read it. Apart from a few glaring grammatical errors, which I put down to "my wacky inarticulate style", it seemed ok.
Then.
A week ago.
But.. it's not a play. I can't point the finger at anyone else. I can't blame the actors or the director or the audience. I can't pretend it's not personal...'cause it is.
As the days go by and as I write this I'm not so sure what to think.
But it's there. It's in print.
So...if you wanna check it out...it's called The Hitchers of Oz and it's a whole lot of stories about hitchhiking in...Oz.
There you go.
Wasn't that hard.
Was it?
Ned Manning
Then it arrived on the doorstep and I was excited. I flicked through the collection of short stories in The Hitchers of Oz and there it was. My first published short story. My heart swelled with pride. I went to the fridge, got myself a cold beer and sat down to read it. Apart from a few glaring grammatical errors, which I put down to "my wacky inarticulate style", it seemed ok.
Then.
A week ago.
But.. it's not a play. I can't point the finger at anyone else. I can't blame the actors or the director or the audience. I can't pretend it's not personal...'cause it is.
As the days go by and as I write this I'm not so sure what to think.
But it's there. It's in print.
So...if you wanna check it out...it's called The Hitchers of Oz and it's a whole lot of stories about hitchhiking in...Oz.
There you go.
Wasn't that hard.
Was it?
Ned Manning
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