Perth Workshop Festival, February 2010
The Magdalena Perth committee was born out of the desire to provide local and national women with the opportunity to learn from some of Australia's most influential female contemporary theatre practitioners. Five artists from around the country came to Perth to run five different week-long workshops in Puppetry (Karen Hethey), Breath and Voice (Helen Sharp), Writing and Movement (Nikki Heywood), Physical Devising (Leisa Shelton) and Perceptual Practice (Margaret Cameron). After each day of workshops we held evening forums and events with a mixture of performances and group discussions.
The success of this workshop festival was that it enabled women from around our large country to gather together in a skills development and sharing environment. Magdalena Perth gave us a sense that although we live in a large country, we are connected through our practice. Participants left feeling (re)inspired by the invited workshop leaders, their openness and mastery. And this is what is amazing about the Magdalena Project as a whole - it brings women in contemporary theatre together and that need to join together is what sparked us to organise this fantastic event.
This event could not have happened without the support of The Australia Council, The Blue Room Theatre, Edith Cowan and Curtin Universities. And of course, without the dedication and commitment of the Magdalena Perth Committee.
To view images of the festival go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PupSQVaHdAY
Easter Gathering in Brisbane and Perth 2008
"Magdalena Talks Back" - Magdalena Brisbane Easter Gathering 21 - 24 March 2008
Magdalena Brisbane, Metro Arts and Playlab invited women from in and around Brisbane to submit new works in development to be part of a four day exploration around frameworks for artist-focused critical feedback. Each presenting artist was matched with a facilitator who worked with them to develop a protocol and process to garner feedback for their work. This initiative was developed in response to a need identified by local artists for supportive artist-centerd feedback models. Over the weekend eight works were presented and discussed. Please read the blog, watch videos & some podcasts of feedabck
As part of the Gathering we linked into the Magdalena Aotearoa Easter gathering via a cyberperformance presented by Helen Varley Jamieson; and Magdalena Perth via a letter exchange (see attached).
As this website develops we will be adding documentation from this Gathering . Watch this space for images and links ...
Magdalena Australia Festival, April 6-16 2003
Themed Theatre - Women - Travelling, and based at the Brisbane Powerhouse, the first Magdalena Australia Festival aimed to counter the tyranny of distance that many Australian women theatre artists experienced in the late twentieth century. As Brisbane-based theatre director Sue Rider wrote afterwards, "We all know, but sometimes forget, how large Australia is. That many many countries can fit into our land mass and yet our population is as tiny as one large city...at the Magdalena Australia Festival, overseas visitors were continually astonished that the Australian artists did not know each other, had never met and often had not even heard of each other's work." The Australian creative and communications landscape has changed in the ten years since, and artists around Australia are increasingly connected, both physically and virtually. Those of us who contributed to the success of Magdalena Australia are proud of the role this signature event played in supporting greater awareness and deeper connectedness between Australian women theatre-makers.
As this website develops we will be adding documentation from this festival that brought together over 200 women from 14 countries. Watch this space for images, and links to reviews and articles...