We are now eight years old. Each
of us agrees that being part of this company has had so many benefits, both
hoped for and unforeseen. It’s astonishing what you can accomplish as a group:
however diverse you may be as individuals, if there is a core integrity to what
you all believe in, then you can make it happen.
So, what have we made happen?
Apart from the various pieces of theatre we’ve created together (The Seven Needs; Long Shadows; 13.11.35; Zed;
Platonic), and the books we’ve co-created (Short Circuits; No Nudity, Weapons or Naked Flames), we’ve fought
passionately for causes that, as a united voice, have made an impression: the
equal representation of women playwrights on our main stages; restoring ABC radio drama; the importance of supporting writers past their first play.
And we continue to scheme and rub
our hands about how to take over the world …
Every year we agree on a focus
for 7-ON, something around which to build these schemes and plans. For
instance, 2012 was The Year of Publishing, which resulted in No Nudity, Weapons or Naked Flames.* 2013 is our Year of Connections. As
individuals, as playwrights who have been slogging away in the business for a
collective 200 years (!), we have worked with a lot of extraordinary artists,
and seen a lot of
stuff created by people with whom we’d give our eye-teeth to collaborate. We plan
to revivify connections with artists around Australia and beyond it, and we
will be inviting people to connect with us as a creative force.
So ‘connecting’ is 7-ON’s New
Year’s Resolution. But we thought it would be interesting (and we hope,
inspiring) to other writers out there for us to list our personal
writing-related resos. So here they are:
VANESSA: “I
resolve to dive more bravely into the ocean of story, myth and imagination and
to stop stressing about authenticity (except in a theatrical sense). I am also
going to cut down on the wine. After careful sustained research over the last
12 months I have come to the conclusion that it actually doesn’t help. Much.”
VERITY: “My resolution - I resolve to pursue an
Outrageous Writing Adventure each month of 2013. Re alcohol. I've tried with.
I've tried without. Without is better. On the other hand, a G and T at sunset
on the deck at Boston Island is a Very Good Thing. Situation unresolved.”
NOËLLE: “To complete at least some
of the plays, poems and essays sitting there unfinished in the cloud. And curb
my digital appetite—I don’t need an iPad mini. Not really. And let's hope that commissioning and producing lots more new performance writing is on the
resolutions list of others.”
NED: “To
keep pushing the rock up the hill and defy Sisyphus.”
DONNA: “To write more in less time, work smarter not
harder, from a wilder place. To sit down a lot less, and avoid developing a
Buddha belly. And to get my office out of my bedroom.“
CATH: “My resolution is to continue with my
major philanthropic activity.”
HILARY: “To turn off the Internet AT THE WALL during
my writing hours. And to focus more on character (at least, for the two current
projects): do more groundwork and then get out of their way. And to change my
email address.”
Happy new year, everyone, and if
you want to share your writing resolutions – spiritual, practical, or whatever –
we’d love to hear them.
* For those
who missed the blog-post about it, No
Nudity is a collection of 21 monologues written specifically for drama
students, taking into account the Department of Education’s parameters (thus
the title) and providing guiding notes for each piece. The project was our
response to what we saw as a need for new, quality, appropriate and challenging
performance pieces for young actors. For sale from this site! See the picture of the cover on the right.
