CONGRATULATIONS ALISON MANN - shortlisted for the 2022 Queensland Premier’s Drama Award

Writer in Residence Program

Alison is the recipient of several awards including a First Draft Award from PLAYWORKS, Sydney and a Melbourne Dramatists Emerging Playwright Award.

In 2017 Alison received the Tasmanian Arts Advisory Board Chairman’s Scholarship presented by the Theatre Council of Tasmania, undertaking mentorships with performer Maude Davey and playwright Tom Holloway. Alison has been a key participant in Blue Cow Theatre’s script development program, the Cowshed, working with dramaturg Peter Matheson. In 2016 her play The Surgeon’s Hands was produced by Blue Cow Theatre at Hobart’s Theatre Royal Backspace.

Her play, She’s Not Performing was produced by the Tasmanian Theatre Company, and La Mama in Melbourne. Alison’s most recent work The Illustrated Girl was part of DARK MOFO’s Radio Gothic, a hybrid radio play performance in 2017. Alison has also studied writing for performance at the Royal Court Theatre and Soho Theatre in London.

Blue Cow’s Writer in Residence program is a bespoke journey to support a Tasmanian playwright. The opportunity is without strict time limits based rather on process and project.

NEWS…

Blue Cow’s Writer in Residence, Playwright Alison Mann is making waves on the national and international stage with the assistance of local professional theatre company Blue Cow Theatre, bringing two of her works to new audiences.

One of Tasmania’s most well-known theatre writers, the New Town resident has used her position as Blue Cow’s Writer in Residence and opportunities from the Covid-19 pandemic to make the best of a difficult year for the arts sector.

Ms Mann has been selected to be a part of the Come to Where I Am program through Sydney based company Critical Stages Touring, in partnership with the London based theatre company Paines Plough. This initiative asks regional writers to create a short video piece responding to the pandemic.

Her work is based on experiencing a family member undergoing chemotherapy during Covid-19 and is one of only 16 to be selected around Australia.

The idea juxtaposes Hobart, beautiful and protected by the worst of the virus by being an island, against the complexity of health care in a pandemic and a need to protect patients and frontline workers.

“Although fictionalised, it is based on an experience I encountered when assisting a family member going through chemotherapy recently.”

“The 10-minute piece explores the practical challenges of supporting a loved one when they are isolated in hospital for treatment and as their carer wanting to be with them.”

“It’s very exciting to tell something with so much immediacy, there is a quick turnaround to complete the work from start to finish so I hope audiences will really relate to the currency of the story.”

The play will be produced as a video postcard, filmed on location in Hobart and streamed by Critical Stages Touring and Paines Plough’s websites. The first set of stories are due to be launched on August 19.

The work will eventually be performed on stage when touring productions return to venues across the country.

Chris Bendall, CEO of Critical Stages Touring said, with so many talented writers all across Australia, and this is an opportunity to especially highlight the voices of regional writers.

“Tasmania has such a strong pool of artistic talent to draw upon, and Hobart is one of my absolute favourite cities to visit, so I was very pleased to receive Alison’s terrific submission.

“I’m looking forward to sharing her beautiful and moving story, with her vivid evocation of the beauty and tranquillity of Hobart as a backdrop,” Mr Bendall said.

Alison’s work is not unfamiliar to Hobart theatre audiences, with her play The Surgeon's Hands developed through Blue Cow Theatre’s Cowshed writers program performed in 2016 as a Blue Cow production.

The Surgeons Hands is also being published by Brisbane’s Playlab as part of their online Indie Publications.

Alison is working with Blue Cow Theatre on finalising the script of her latest work Amy’s Tattoo. The play is slated to be produced next year by Blue Cow.

“I’ve also been invited to attend the Women's Playwrights International Conference in Montreal, Canada in 2022, where an extract of The Surgeon's Hands will be read, I really hope I can get there to see it first-hand.”