Donna Abela, March Writer-in-Residence

Booranga's 2018 Writer-in-Residence program commences in March with our first visiting writer, Donna Abela, in residence from 5 March to 16 March. During her time at Booranga Donna will be conducting a writing workshop at Booranga on Saturday 10 March 2 to 4pm. She will be working closely with the CSU Drama Department work-shopping her new script with the students. This collaboration will culminate in a public presentation of her play at the CSU Drama Studio 10 am on Friday 16 March. 

Donna Abela is an award-winning playwright based in Sydney. Her play Jump For Jordan won the 2013 Griffin Playwriting Award, and the 2015 Australian Writers’ Guild’s AWGIE Award for Stage. It was re-printed by Currency Press in 2017, is in the 2019-2022 HSC Drama Syllabus, and will be showcased at the 2018 International Women Playwrights Conference in Santiago, Chile. The play was the creative component of her doctoral thesis entitled Dialogic Interplay: a Strategy for Representing Difference and Cultural Diversity on Stage which she completed in 2016. 

Other recent plays include: Monkey ... Journey to the West (part of the 2014 Brisbane Festival, and 2015 Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Festival programs), Spirit (2016 AWGIE Award for Radio Adaptation), Caylee’s Ukulele (nominated 2014 AWGIE Award for Children’s Theatre), Aurora’s Lament (2012 AWGIE Award for Radio), and Mrs Macquarie’s Cello (2010 AWGIE Award for Radio). Her 2004 adaptation of Tales from the Arabian Nights (nominated 2005 AWGIE Award for Children’s Theatre) continues to be a popular choice for schools and universities, and last year was produced at the CSU Riverina Playhouse by the University Theatre Ensemble.

As a dramaturge, teacher and mentor, Donna leads inclusive and culturally safe processes that support the exploration and discovery of new works for performance, and leverage the creative proficiency and resilience of writers. In 2017, Donna worked with Playwriting Australian, the National Theatre of Parramatta, Urban Theatre Projects, the University of Wollongong, Macquarie University, Excelsia College and the Starlight Foundation to teach, mentor or provide dramaturgy support to over seventy student, emerging and professional writers for screen and stage.

Donna is a founding member of the socially-engaged theatre company PYT | Fairfield, and the playwrights’ alliance 7-ON. She is currently working on two new plays with the working titles of Flame Tree Street and The Secret Warzone.

Donna’s events are as follows:

The first of our 'members only' events is our Meet-the-Writer soirée to welcome Donna to Booranga. This is being held on Wednesday 7 March, 6pm at Booranga. 
To register your attendance please RSVP


Also available to 2018 financial members is a limited number of one-on-one consultations/mentorships with Donna. 
Playwrights would benefit from this most, but if you are novelists or short story writer, Donna could work on narrative patterns or explore how you might leverage your own creative process. To submit a piece of writing for consideration for one of these consultations please email Booranga.

Writing Workshop

When: Saturday 10 March 2pm to 4pm

Where: Booranga Writers’ Centre, Mambarra Drive, Wagga Wagga

Cost: Free for members, a $10 donation is requested from non-members. RSVP

Public Performance:

When: Friday 16 March 10am to 12 noon

Where: DramaStudio, Building 71, Room 109, (map link)

Mambarra Drive, CSU Wagga Wagga

Cost: Free, bookings essential as seating is limited. RSVP

Some websites

Some plays available at: https://australianplays.org/playwright/ASC-13

Interview about Jump for Jordan: http://www.podcastchart.com/podcasts/not-in-print-theatre-is-going-off-script/episodes/jump-for-jordan-caught-between-cultures-l-award-winning-australian-theatre

Some radio plays available at: https://eastsidefm.org/blogs/sonictales/

Blog for 7-ON: http://sevenon.blogspot.com.au

Booranga Writers' Centre is supported by the  NSW Government through Create NSW.

Booranga Writers' Centre gratefully acknowledges the financial and in-kind support provided by Create NSW, Wagga Wagga City Council and Charles Sturt University.