The Third National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander 

PLAYWRIGHTS CONFERENCE 

"Let no-one say the past is dead, the past is all about us and within"

Oodgeroo of the Noonuccal of Minjerriba

Indigenous playwrights are the modern storytellers of an ancient tradition where oral storytelling reflects the depth and expression of Indigenous culture, values, beliefs, aspirations, and conflicts. It is an ancient journey of the heart and spirit from one of the earth's oldest continuous cultures. The interweaving of voice and image creates powerful scenarios that take us beyond our immediate world into a sensory experience that we can communally share. Theatre echoes our past, reflects our present and imagines our future and by doing so, affirms our unique identity as one of the ancient classical cultures of this earth. The 3rd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Playwrights Conference will give testimony to the collective storytelling of many Indigenous nations throughout Australia who remain strong in culture.

 

The 3rd National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Playwrights Conference (NATSIPC) is a continuation of the dynamic development of Indigenous playwriting witnessed at the First National Black Playwrights Conference and Workshop held in Canberra, 1989 under the Artistic Directorship of Brian Syron and the Second National Black Playwrights Conference held in Sydney, 1989 under the Artistic Directorship of Vivian Walker. Both Conferences saw a renaissance of Indigenous writing from such writers as Richard Walley, Eva Johnson, Archie Weller, Jimmy Chi, Jimmy Everett, Roger Bennett, Eric Wilmott and Ray Kelly with the emergence of companies such as the Aboriginal National Theatre Trust, Kooemba Jdarra and Narna Tarkendi.

 

Although theatre created in the 1970's saw the emergence of playwrights such as Jack Davis, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, Bob Maza, Lester Bostock, Gerry Bostock, Gary Foley, Hyllus Maris, Kevin Gilbert and Robert Merritt as well as the establishment of companies such as Black Theatre Redfern, Nindethana and Middar; it was not until the 1990's that theatre became a stronger cultural action. This is reflected through the wealth of material created from artists and companies such as Wesley Enoch, Deborah Mailman, John Harding, Sally Morgan, Cathy Craigie, Leah Purcell, Deborah Cheetham, Jared Thomas, Ilbidjerri, Dinawan, Ngalaikuru Ngukumarnta, Yirra Yaakin and Ngoroe-kah.

 

The 3rd National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Playwrights Conference will extend over ten days and involve playreadings, workshops and forums with playwrights, directors, dramaturgs, actors, designers and students. Indigenous artists will come together to explore, develop, exchange, laugh and challenge each other and their audiences with the strength, beauty and integrity of their heart and spirit.

 

The 3^rd National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Conference will take place over ten days from the 2-12 March 2000 at the Tandanya Cultural Institute in Adelaide, South Australia. It is a unique opportunity considering that the last Playwrights Conference occurred ten years ago in 1989. As such, the structure of the 3^rd NASTIPC is to enable effective outcomes that will satisfy the immediate goal of producing the Conference and the longer term goals of instituting a national body responsible for future Conferences. The challenge for the proposed 3^rd NATSIPC is to

meet the expectations of Indigenous theatre-makers,

provide development opportunities with industry professionals

facilitate networks for effective communication

propose a national body to the Indigenous theatre industry

 

The Conference will encompass the following elements:

Playreadings and presentations of new plays by Indigenous Playwrights in collaboration with directors, dramaturgs, actors, designers, choreographers and students. While there is a limited number of plays that can be selected, it is envisaged that a variety of treatments can be employed so that emerging and established playwrights are given opportunities to engage in different methodologies. Considering the range of styles, genres and mediums available to theatre-makers from realism, symbolism, naturalism, agit-prop, radio, television, film and so on; it is advantageous to enable these treatments to excite and inspire playwrights and performers rather than being prescriptive about form. The emphasis being on content.

Workshops will encompass industry, cultural and commercial issues. These will be ‘how to’ sessions in which attendees are engaged in a dynamic process of information exchange. Whether issues are copyright and intellectual property, advocacy through MEAA, affiliate bodies such as ANPC, agents, producers or theatre companies, script development, publishing etc, the emphasis is on increasing the skills base of those attendees and engaging with industry.

Forums will encompass academic and conceptual debates about issues and materials. This is a comprehensive approach to ensure that theatre-makers understand where they have come from, what environment they are creating in and why the potential exists for exploring new forms, genres and styles within socio-cultural context. It is necessary to have Indigenous playwrights and theatre-makers present overviews of the historical development of Indigenous theatre as well as provide an opportunity for intellectual engagement of those attendees through forum participants. There is a wide ranging debate that encompasses cultural development models in communities to collaborative industry strategies where work may result from a variety of processes. It is intended to be provocative and stimulating in respect to challenging mythologies that define Indigenous theatre-makers as an homogenous identity.

[ Home | Information | Registration | Contact ]