10 Writers

Nathan Curnow Nathan Curnow is a poet and playwright who trained at the now defunct School of Creative Arts, University of Melbourne. His short play Carp are Smart Fish appeared in both Melbourne and Sydney seasons of the Short and Sweet Play Festival, and Cable Car of Death was a recent winner at Crash Test Drama. His full-length play Dizney on dry Ice featured in the 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Nathan has recently toured Australia and New Zealand with his first book of poetry No Other Life But This (Five Islands Press). Funded by the Australia Council he is currently sleeping at ten haunted sites across the country, writing a new collection of poems based upon his experiences. www.nathancurnow.bigblog.com.au

 
Bridgette Burton Bridgette Burton began acting in 1987 beginning with youth and amateur companies moving to University theatre and the semi professional and professional theatre. She formed her own company, Baggage Productions, with Christina Costigan in 1999. Bridgette has co-written three successful comedy shows, each enjoying multiple seasons (Femme 2000, Breeding Contempt 2001 and Undomesticated 2003), she has written two one act plays (Not Forgotten and Juice)and one full length play (Killing Jeremy).  In 2005 Bridgette won the RE Ross Trust Playwrights Script Development Award for her Killing Jeremy and in 2006 was shortlisted for the Griffin Award for the same play. Killing Jeremy completed a highly successful season at the Carlton Courthouse in Dec 2006. Bridgette lives in Kew, is married and has a son.

 
Cerise de Gelder Cerise de Gelder is (slowly) completing a diploma in professional writing while working part time as an audiologist. She has had plays performed by the Boroondara Theatre Company, Williamstown Little Theatre, Mt Cotton Drama Group, Shoestring Theatre, Walking Into Bars at Theatreworks and Dante’s, and in the StageWrite season at Dancehouse. Her short play Just Douglas was selected for both Melbourne and Sydney Short and Sweet 2005/6 seasons and performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival in the UK. Hi It’s Me, I’m On The Train was a finalist in 2006 Melbourne Short and Sweet. Man Of Snow won Best Script and People’s Choice in the 2006 Noosa Arts Theatre One-Act Play Festival and Best One-Act Play at the Sunshine Coast Theatre Alliance Awards. Dead and Buried was runner-up at Noosa in 2007. This is the fourth time she has contributed to the Melbourne Writers’ Theatre short play season. In her spare time Cerise sings in a female vocal quintet, plays badminton, gyms, swims and drinks champagne.

 
Therese Cloonan Therese Cloonan has loved theatre since she saw ‘Annie’ live on stage when she was wee. Her play ‘Skin Deep’ won the 2003 Australian Playwright Award and appeared in Red Stitch Actors Theatre's ‘Red Shorts’ season. Therese’s short pieces have been staged at La Mama, Theatreworks, the Carlton Courthouse and Kaleide Theatre. Her plays ‘Lucid Dreaming’ and ‘Flick’ appeared as part of Melbourne’s Fringe festivals 2005/6. 
She is thrilled to bits to be back for Fringe ’07 as part of MelBorn.

 
Michelle Wallace - Waiting For Derek Michelle Wallace is currently studying for her Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing and Editing at the CAE. When she doesn’t have a needle and thread in her hands and when her family lets her, she is writing a children’s novel, a full length play as well as other short plays and short stories.
‘Waiting for Derek’ will be her first produced play.

 
Born from an egg on a mountain top, Scott McAteer grew up in Hobart and now lives in Melbourne with his girlfriend and his dog. He tries to be funny in various forms including stand-up comedy, theatre, and facial expressions. He is also an active blogger. Scott studied Performing Arts at the University of Tasmania; and continued his writing studies at Swinburne and VUT (where he studied under Australian comedy legend Brad Oakes). His plays have been performed in Launceston, Brighton (England), Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart; and touch upon such issues as depression, schizophrenia, family, gender roles, social isolation, masculine identity, terrorism and turtles.  His stand-up comedy achievements include competing in the state final of Raw Comedy in 2005 and performing in the 2007 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Scott finds the scope and dimension of theatre writing very rewarding, as is the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated people

 
Mark Andrew Mark Andrew Mark started writing for the stage in 2005, and has since had plays performed at The Arts Centre, Melbourne (Truth FM), The Seymour Centre, Sydney (Pornopoly), La Mama’s Carlton Courthouse Theatre (Red Shift, and a monologue, Infected), The Secret Rose Theatre, Hollywood (Protocol and Tipping Point), The Little Theatre, Williamstown (See), The Newtown Theatre, Sydney (Make up sex), Manchester’s Leigh Centurion (Waiting), and Dante’s in Fitzroy (Seven of Hearts). When not writing or admiring Melbourne’s performing and directorial talent, Mark helps organisations take risks (www.scenario.net.au

 

Born in Sydney Alex Broun has enjoyed considerable success in theatre, TV and film as a writer, actor and director. As a writer he has had many plays performed in the USA, South Africa, England, Europe and Australia. His play Pick Ups was nominated for the Vita Award for Best New Play in South Africa in 1998. In 2006 his play “The Jacaranda Tree” was performed at La Mama. A specialist in short plays, in recent years he has had 30 ten minute plays produced in over 60 productions across the globe. Alex is the Artistic Co-ordinator of Melbourne Short & Sweet, the largest ten minute play festival in the world, a position he has held since 2005. From 2003 to 2005 he was the Artistic Co-ordinator of Short & Sweet in Sydney. In 2006 he was the Artistic Director of the inaugural Short & Sweet in Singapore. He lived and worked in South Africa from 1995 to 2000 acting as the Springbok Media Liaison from 1996 to 2000. In 2001 he was the Media Liaison for the British and Irish Lions on their tour of Australia and is currently the Media Manager for the AAMI Melbourne Rebels. Alex is a committed refugee activist and has been a member of the Refugee Action Coalition since 2000.

 
Bruce Shearer completed three degrees, a Bachelor of Laws, Bachelor of Arts (English Literature and Philosophy and a Bachelor of Letters (History and Drama). It was while studying at the University of Melbourne that he began working as an extra in films and writing plays. A number his plays have been performed at Melbourne theatres including La Mama and Carlton Courthouse. He has written radio drama for ABC Audio Arts as well as a number of plays aimed at youth audiences. In 1994 and 1996 Bruce visited Poland and the Czech Republic where the Australia Council for the Arts sent Bruce to see his plays performed. Since 2000 Bruce has been studying Professional Screenwriting at RMIT. Bruce Shearer has worked as Research and Policy Adviser with the Communications Law Centre in Melbourne and at present is a Senior Training Consultant in law, news and business with LexisNexis an online publishing company.

 
Jane Miller Jane Miller lives in Melbourne and recently returned to writing after a number of years. In every day life Jane works as a Librarian which she describes as "a very interesting job but, socially, a conversation killer".  In 2006 her short plays Perfect Stillness and Hope Fades but the Duck Never Dies made the finals of Short and Sweet in Melbourne and Sydney respectively with Perfect Stillness featured on Movie Extra's five part documentary on the Melbourne Short and Sweet final.  In addition, Perfect Stillness won the Short & Sweet - People's Choice for Best Overall Production and was recently part of the programme "Two Perfect" during Dante's Minnie Fiesta.

 
10 Directors  - 10 Actors